Good.
“Here,” he said, turning to clip a single flower from the bunch Arken had been admiring, and offering it to her. “As my father says, a pretty lady should always have a pretty flower in her hand.”
If the man noticed me snarling beneath my breath as Arken accepted the offering, he didn’t show it. He was too busy blushing over the delighted, charming little smile she’d offered him in exchange.
“Oh, it’sbeautiful, thank you!”
Seth looked a little too pleased with himself right about now.
“These ones are rather rare—we ship ’em in from a small island off the coast of Exxem. Only available this time of year. Please, keep it. On the house.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I purred, placing a few golden coins upon the table before plucking the flower from Arken’s admiring hand and brushing her hair back, exposing more of her neck—and what I’d done to it—before tucking the flower behind her ear.
“Sir, that’s far too generous,” he began to protest, as I’d just paid near enough to buy out the stall. “I must protest?—”
“It’s nothing,” I said smoothly, looping my fingers around Arken’s wrist as I spoke. “But we really must be going. Thank you for the gift. Miss Asher and I have some important things to attend to.”
With that, I gave her wrist a subtle but sharp tug. Well-trained in this regard, I was able to disguise my movements well enough that no innocent passersby would assume any ill intent, but my hand kept her shackled to my side as I dragged her toward a tight alleyway, shrouding us both in Shadow once I’d pulled her in with no small amount of force.
I pinned her up against the brick facade with a thigh between her legs, biting down on her neck before she had time to question what I was doing.
“Pull that shit again, Arken,” I hissed in her ear. “And I will fuck you so hard you won’t be walking straight for a week. I will make these lovely little bruises you like so much look like child’s play. Go ahead. Try me.”
Arken shivered, but the look in her eyes as I withdrew was anything but fearful.
Yeah. She knew godsdamned well what she was doing back there.
“Your townhouse isthat way,you know,” she said, breathless but smirking.
“Yes, I know,” I snarled. “I’m well aware, Little Conduit. We’re not going to my townhouse.”
I was taking her back to her own godsdamned bed, where I was going to fuck her stupid, until I made damn sure she would never forget who thefuckshe belonged to now.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ARKEN
The brisk walk from the alleyway back to my apartment took all of ten minutes, but it felt like hours as I squirmed with anticipation.
I really hadn’t beentryingto bait him…
I bit my lip as I stole another glance at the muscles feathering in Kieran’s jaw as he continued forward with clear purpose, keeping my wrist within his tightened grip.
Okay, maybe I had been trying to bait hima little.
I could admit to myself that it hadn’t been entirely fair, flirting with the kind-eyed florist as he’d given me his spiel. Seth had only been a good-natured salesman, and I was certain he pulled that same routine on most, if not all, the women who stopped by his stall. It hadn’t been even remotely serious, but I did know what I was doing when I had referred to Kieran as myfriend.
The intensity of Kieran’s gaze as he stared forward, still tugging me toward my studio with haste, left me feeling a littlebit guilty. In retrospect, it felt like manipulation…Like I’d been trying to force his hand into some manner of an admission.
It wasn’t like that, though.
It was more so that his possessive streak had been showing up more and more lately, and I kinda got off on it. When I saw the opportunity to fan those flames just a little, I took it without thinking.
Eventually, I knew we would have to figure out what this meant—this blossoming new growth between us, this entanglement of vices and vines wrapping around us both.
But that didn’t need to happen today. I was in no rush.
Kieran certainly seemed to be, though.