When I didn’t take it, she threw the thing at me. I threw it right back. “I don’t need a guard. Show me to the spare room, and I will be gone by morning.”
“I don’t trust you!”
I dropped my glamour, letting her see the rage that lurked beneath my skin.
She’d soughtmeout, not the other way around.Sheneededmyhelp, not the other way around. I’d survived centuries without her—without anyone. When she was nothing more than dust, I would still be here. “Then let’s call this whole thing off.”
“Fine. What do I need you for, anyway? I will simply ask Meranda to get a message to your brother and bargain with him instead.”
That was the wrong feckin’ thing to say, human.If she thought I’d let her bargain with Tadhg, then she had another thing coming. “I’m sure Tadhg would be more than happy to oblige. Although I can’t help but wonder what poor Padraig would say if he learned you were off bargaining with the Gancanagh.” At the mention of her coachman, Aveen stiffened. “Speaking of Padraig, wouldn’t it be a pity if someone were to tell the Airren authorities that your beloved coachman has been using an illegal glamour for the last three decades?” They’d string him up faster than you could say the word “boo.”
“You wouldn’t,” she gasped.
I was no hero. I’d lie, steal, and kill to get what I wanted. “Would I not?”
With the seeds of doubt taking root, I asked again for directions to the spare room.
“You’re not sleeping there. You’re sleeping here.”
She stomped behind the screen, presumably to change. I removed my waistcoat, draping it and my cravat over the edge of the chair so they didn’t wrinkle. She’d probably have a fit if I took off my shirt—not that a layer of clothing made this any moreproper. It killed me to think of how wrinkly I’d be when I awoke, but I set aside my discomfort and climbed beneath the covers in my clothes. The things I did for this woman.
She emerged in a white shift, collected a blanket from the top of the closet and the pillow she’d thrown earlier, and went straight to the chaise, settling in like it was the most comfortable bed in the whole feckin’ estate.
“Are you seriously going to stay there all night?” The contrary woman ignored me. “Aveen, you are being ridiculous.”
Yes, she fit. But if she rolled over in her sleep, she’d end up falling on the hard floor. I went right over, scooped her up, and tossed her on her side of the bed.
“I cannot share a bed with you!” she screeched.
“Don’t worry. You’re about as appealing as a raw turnip when you squeal like that.”Not to say I wouldn’t eat a raw turnip, but it was hardly my favorite vegetable.
She drew the covers all the way up to her stubborn chin. “If you touch me, I’ll kill you.”
An entirely idle threat. Even if she did kill me, I’d only come back. “What have I done to make you believe I would force myself on you?”
“In the shed, you—”
“Stopped the moment I realized you weren’t Eithne.”
“In the garden, you—”
“Saved you from being the Dullahan’s next meal? I’m not a good man by any means, but there are lines even I will not cross.” Like touching a woman who clearly had no interest in me. “Tonight, I swear on pain of death that I will not lay a hand on you. Unless you beg me to,” I added, just in case sober Aveen changed her mind.
“Like that would ever happen. I’m not even attracted to you.”
I inhaled deeply, the lie tasting sweeter than a spoonful of sugar. “I love it when you lie.”
“It’s not a lie. You’re a disgusting troll.”
“So you’re not the least bit tempted to kiss me?”
“Not the least.”
So many sweet, sweet lies.
“Then it’s safe for me to assume that you have no desire for me to slip you out of that shift and taste every inch of you.”
Her breathing hitched. Her blush looked all the more delicate against the coverlet. “You shouldn’t say things like that to me.”