Page 64 of Sweetling
She didn’t know why, butvehement suggestionshad a giggle bouncing up her throat.
“Good. That’s what I wanted to know.”
Feeling a bit braver, she let go of her mug and extended her other hand across the countertop to him. The small smile that cameto his lips upon seeing it almost broke her heart. He connected them together as if she offered the most precious gift, his touch gentle and his gaze reverent.
Him looking at me like that could go right to my head.
“I will stay and give this a try,” she said, for her own benefit as much as his. “If it’s to work, I think we shouldn’t have secrets.”
When his look grew troubled, she said, “You can have the one. I respect that it’s not yours to share yet. But otherwise, we’re honest with each other.”
He squeezed her hands, and his thumbs began to make little teasing circles on the delicate, sensitive insides of her wrists.
“You are as wise as you are brave, my Molly. Whatever you need, you shall have—you need only ask.”
She truly listened and heard when he said it this time and nodded her agreement. She’d be sure to test him on it soon.
“That goes for you, too. No more assumptions.”
He had the decency to look embarrassed, those pale cheeks purpling in an endearing fae blush.
“I agree to your terms. To honor our pact, I shall tell you a truth—we fae cannot lie. We may omit, we may obfuscate, but a baldfaced lie, we cannot tell.”
Molly’s brows nearly arched up to her hairline. She supposed she’d have to trust him on that, too.
“All right, then. I’ll endeavor to be as honest, too.”
They shared a smile, and though it was but a moment, it lingered for Molly. Like laying tinder for a new fire or filling an empty pitcher, there was something about it that made Molly think of changes, or renewals.
His lips parted, and he searched her gaze with his when he said, “We go at your pace, like I said, but this once, may I embrace you?”
Molly blinked in astonishment. All this talk of mating and he just wanted a hug?
“Yes, that’s fine.” With the way her body seemed to vibrate, like it needed to be closer to his, she suspected it was more than fine.
He rose with the grace and fluidity of a great wildcat, that predator’s hungry gaze focused on her. Keeping one of her hands, he gently pulled her toward him once he’d come around the butcher block.
Molly stepped into his space, heart thundering in her chest.
Given how tall he was, she fit neatly under his chin. Tucked into his chest, she wrapped her arms around his narrow waist and laid her cheek on the slab of muscle over where his heart would be. Nothing beat below her ear, but he was warm to the touch.
His arms came around her, securing her to him, and she felt his lips fall to the crown of her head. He breathed deeply there, a contented sound rumbling through him.
Those big, tapered hands held onto her, and for a fleeting moment, Molly imagined this was what feeling safe and secure felt like. It’d been a figment of her imagination for so long, she didn’t trust it to be real. But the glimpse was nice—and so was holding onto him, bony as he might’ve been.
He felt…goodin her arms. Molly wasn’t the most tactile person, but she could appreciate a good hug, and this one was excellent. She almost wanted to burrow her face into his chest.
Warm lips teased at her temple, and in that honeyed voice, he murmured, “Welcome home, Molly.”
15
Molly awoke to a new day with a hopeful glimmer in her heart. Going to sleep the night before, she’d decided, for her own sake and Allarion’s, she would close the chapter on her first fortnight here fresh—not start over but anew. They would move forward, as he’d said.
Stretching under the luxurious bedding, she rolled around in a happy little wiggle. Without the burden of dread, she practically floated from the bed to her things.
It was as she laced her stays that she took a long look at her things. Still strewn about the far side of the room, her clothing, a few keepsakes, and what she’d gotten from Mullon sat in unkempt piles. Things were getting wrinkled and a bit rank, if she was honest. She’d need to do laundry soon, but she could get a little more life out of a few things if she finally…
Drawing in a deep breath, she looked over at the armoire.
