Page 73 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
One side of his lips ticked up. “I don’t know what a plumber is, but I have magic.” A spark of silver shot from the palm of his hand.
“Show-off,” I muttered.
His laugh was rich, and I took a moment to absorb it. When I shifted to stand, he offered me his hand, and it quickly swallowed mine. Together, we picked up the uneaten food, and when he followed me to the back room, where we put the plates on an empty table, I grabbed a strip of deer meat and held it out to him.
“If you’re gonna go do magical shit, you need energy.” I brought it to his lips. “This gives you energy.”
His eyes blackened, and when he bit into the meat, his wet lips grazed my fingertips. I gasped, a knot growing in my stomach. Mesmerized, I watched his face when he ate another piece of meat from me, his dark eyes never leaving mine. Swallowing hard, I looked for the smallest cube of cheese, and when I offered it to him, his throat bobbed. He circled his hand around my wrist, and when he took the piece, he swirled his tongue over the tips of my fingers and moaned.
His sturdy hand reached the base of my neck, and I inched closer to him so that our chests were flush against each other. He reached for the plate and ran a red grape over my lips. When I took it, I brushed my lips over his fingers. I licked my lips, trying to taste him, and he let outanother feral moan.
One by one, we fed each other. Neither of us talked, and his eyes remained intent on me.
It was a dangerous game I very much wanted to play.
When we finished, I went on my tiptoes and brushed my lips over his. He let out an unsteady breath and slowly, so achingly slow, traced his lips across mine. He seemed to take his time, exploring and savoring. I opened my mouth for him, and his tongue tangled with mine in a tentative sweep that grew more confident. His hand went to the nape of my neck and down to my back.
Sighing, I arched into his touch, but he kept his kisses soft, his touches featherlight. Patient, tender, sweet.
Everything I never knew I wanted in a kiss.
I drew in a deep breath when he inched his face away to rest his temple against mine. When he traced his thumb over the back of my hand, it sent a hot blaze of goosebumps everywhere.
“Thank you for lunch,” he said, his voice husky and slightly breathless.
I kissed the center of his chest, where I knew a massive wall of muscles quivered at the gesture. His expression was open and bewildered when he cupped my face before his lips spread into one of his beautiful smiles and he kissed the tip of my nose.
“I should go do some magical shit on your pipes.” His now violet eyes danced when he awkwardly repeated my words back to me. “Now that I have my energy up.”
Heat bloomed on my cheeks, but I ignored it and grabbed his hand to lead him outside. He followed without question, his grip tightening on me when Brenton’s eyes widened when he saw us holding hands. Snow crunched under our boots,and for once, the snow fell slowly with the wind a mere whisper.
From a distance, Victoria’s squeals rang out along with the sound of other children of our town, while George pulled her sled faster than any human could run. When they reached Everly, George offered her his hand, but she brushed past it to sit on the sled with Victoria between her legs. George shook his head in either amusement or disappointment, before he took off in a steady run that outpaced every other adult playing in the snow with their children.
“He won’t hurt Victoria,” Elias told me. “We don’t have very many young in my realm. It’s rare for a coupling to result in pregnancy and even rarer for the female to be able to carry the babe full term. We cherish our young more than anything.” He paused. “And, George.. .you have my word, George is a good male.”
I scrunched up my nose, embarrassed he’d seen my trepidation with George. It wasn’t like I’d ever tried to hide it, though. I felt what I felt and hadn’t felt ashamed about it until now.
“I don’t know what my problem is with him. He’s never been anything but kind to us. Especially Tori. Everly said the same thing—that he’s a good male. She said the same thing about you.” Elias stiffened and I squeezed his hand. “She was right about you, which probably means you’re both right about George.” I paused. “I promise I’ll try to stop being afraid of him.”
He stopped, his brows drawing together, and he placed an open palm to my chest. “Trust your instincts over me, Teddy. Over anyone. If something inside you tells you someone or something is dangerous, listen to it.”
“I trust you, though.” I brought his palm to my cheek and leaned into it to kiss his wrist.
He blinked, and his eyes turned a heated black. He rubbed his thumb over my cheek in a gentle, almost reverent caress.
“Thank you for giving me your trust.” The way he said it, so impassioned as if I was someone he treasured, made my heart hammer.
I gave him a sheepish smile. “You earned it.”
With a lick of his lips, he traced his fingers over my smile. “Will you allow me to kiss you again?”
I kissed the tip of his finger before I bit down gently.
His fangs extended, and he took a step closer to me. While his hands were on my waist, I peered up at him, a bit frightened but also eager to see what he did next.
“Why do you fear me?” His eyes dulled momentarily, and I missed the intensity of the black orbs that had held me captive seconds before.
I licked my lips and tilted my chin higher. “I’m not scared of you, Elias.” While not entirely a lie, it wasn’t the absolute truth either.
