Page 33 of Happily Ever Witch
“Girls in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” Trevelyan watched with hooded eyes as she combed her thick mane of black curls. “Speaking of which, when the Queen of Clubs arrives, I’ll be taking the lead. I’d prefer some answers from her, before you turn her into a hog or a log.” He paused with a slight frown, as if he’d just realized that the words rhymed.
“You’re accusing me of being magically violent?” Esmeralda scoffed, before he could question her about hermisfiring magic. “Like you’ve been such a frigging peacemaker, since you woke up.”
He’d set some harmless grandfather clock on fire earlier. Legit burned it to ash. It had smoldered straight through the floor and taken out at least six hundred square feet of castle. The damn thing had finally stopped warbling out the wrong time every two minutes, though.
“I don’t have level one magic.” Green eyes gleamed. “Even in my current state, I can figure out a way to deal with our enemies. You, on the other hand, are far more vulnerable to angry villains.”
“Wicked witches are never vulnerable.” She informed him, doing her damnedest to hide her fear of the storm.
“Just be more careful about who you piss off, alright? Especially if I’m not around to ensure you survive the battle.”
Esmeralda snorted, working the brush around the tiara on her head. She still needed to find a way to get the damn thing off. “Except you have no intention of heroically rescuing me, remember?”
“I’m mercurial.” He made a languid gesture with one palm. “It’s one of my defining characteristics, along with innate wisdom and great hair. I might change my mind, at any moment, and keep you alive. Iamcurious to see you naked and that’s sure to be more fun if you’re breathing.”
Esmeralda made a face. “When you’re around,you’reusually the huge, angry villain I’m pissing off.” She gave her hair a toss. “And I’m pretty sureI’llbe the one who survives any battle between us.”
His mouth curved into a less-mocking-than-usual smile.
Damn it, it was completely unfair how attractive the man was. “What are you smirking at, now?” She demanded, attempting not to notice his miasma of sexual energy.
“I’m just thinking I’ve never wanted to fuck a woman more.”
She leveled another glare at him. “Really?”
“Be fair, darling. If I said Ihadwanted to fuck a woman more, you’d be offended by that, too. A man can’t win with you.”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes and tossed her hairbrush towards the heart-shaped dresser. It broke the heart-shaped mirror above it, spider-webbing the glass.
Who cared?
“Your side of the wall.” She pointed to the area on the right section of the bed. “My side of the wall.” She pointed to the left section. “Got it?”
“‘Wall’ seems a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Trevelyan drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. Scorch marks were left wherever the tips of them touched the velvet, like he just couldn’t help himself. The man was addicted to arson. “If I wanted to get over that pile of pillows, what could possibly stop me?”
“You could get over the wall.” She agreed, climbing onto her carefully delineated territory. “But you’re not going to. Not if you plan on keeping your dick attached to your body. And not if you want this truce to last more than five seconds. And certainly not if you want to build any sort of trust with me, as we figure out what the hell we’re going to do with each other.”
He heaved a sigh and got to his feet. The exotic beads in his long hair jangled enticingly. “No other dragon has ever hadto endure this much trouble from his True Love. I guarantee it. Most would have eaten you, by now.”
“No other witch has ever gotten matched with such a colossal moron, so we’re both making adjustments.” She flopped down, wishing she’d saved one of the pillows for her head. “I just know you’re going to screw this up. It’s a waste of time to even try with you.”
“You’re the one being difficult, not me.”
Esmeralda snorted. “Another lie.” She pulled the covers up and instantly felt safer from the rain. She had a morbid and not-completely-rational fear of ceilings leaking, so she always slept cocooned in blankets. It was why she’d paid that damn chicken-man to fix her roof back home and why she was so pissed that he’d done such a lousy job.
Building her house out of gingerbread had been a huge mistake.
“It’s not a lie.” Trevelyan began removing his clothes, without a drop of self-consciousness. When you looked like him, it was probably hard to be modest. “You’re the one who’s resisting the True Love bond and piling up pillows between us. I’m already resigned to our fate.”
Her lips pressed together at that incredibly unromantic sentiment. She made a point of not looking at him, as he casually removed his shirt and revealed his intricate, enticing, possibly enchanted tattoos. “Are you really going to sleep in this bed naked?” She demanded, because that seemed to be the way things were going.
“Afraid you can’t keep your hands off me?”
“I already saw you nude and I managed to contain myself.”
“You kissed me, when I wasn’t able to consent.” He reminded her piously. “In some kingdoms, that’s assault.”
Insufferable ass.
