Page 29 of Saved By the Headless Horseman
“Regardless of ghosts, you know the stories about this place.A mad king who slaughtered his whole family.It’s said to be?—”
“Cursed?”Krane points a long finger at his pumpkin head.“I think we’re well past that.”
I fight not to roll my eyes.
“Regardless, no one travels this deep into theWhispering Woods.Lest you wish to lose your mind and become a meal for whatever manner of bloodthirsty creatures dwell here.”
“Look at me.I’m quite the deterrent for anything that would seek to do either of us harm.”
When I still don’t look convinced, he shrugs.He takes the other half of my biscuit and spreads jam on it.
“When I first changed, I needed a place to heal.This seemed as good a place as any.”
He sets the biscuit on my plate.
“Oh, no.I can’t.It’s too much?—”
“Eat,” he commands.
I do as he says, still ravenously hungry.He observes me, taking in every bite.
“No one would happen upon me here.I could regenerate in peace.”
“You were always fond of your alone time.”
Krane throws his head back, a rusty laugh escaping him—my heart pounds at the familiar sound.
“I rarely got any.Between my responsibilities around the manor and you, I barely had a moment of peace.”
Biting into my biscuit, I roll my eyes.
“You poor thing.Was being with me really such a chore?”
Krane stares at me as I sit back in my chair after polishing off the last bite of biscuit.I am stuffed now.I feel as if I will burst out of my gown.Krane lifts a tentative hand, and I hold my breath.His thumb drifts to the corner of my mouth.Thumbing away a lingering bit of jam, I watch as his thick tongue snakes out from his mouth hole and licks it from his finger.
I suppress a shiver—moisture slicks between my thighs.
“A chore?No.”His eyes gleam with mischief.“Exhausting?Yes.”
I raise a brow.
“I don’t recall you complaining.”
Krane huffs a laugh, flames slipping from his mouth.
“Who would complain about receiving a gift they’ve always wanted—even if that gift demands my full enthusiasm, even after toiling away in the stables from dawn to dusk.”
My lips lift into a grin.
“And enthusiastic you always were.”
The lightness between us is familiar.We were always like this—bantering back and forth, calling each other's bluffs.Always quick to share a laugh.If this were before, we’d already be naked.With a whole castle to ourselves and no one looking for us, we’d never be able to pull ourselves apart.
Even with the levity between us, I can see the separation that remains.That wall of ice is the only barrier between our hearts.His gaze becomes more guarded, smothering his good-humored smirk into a straight line.
I’m desperate to keep it from forming further.
“Do you remember my old tutor, Madam Bovery?”
