“I’m not leering. I’m standing. You just happen to be down there and I just happen to be up here. And I’m not trying to be intimidating. I’m trying to make you feel safe because you look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”
She merely chews the side of her lip. A startled gasp puffs out of her as I flick my hand, levitating her off the ground until her face is level with my own. “Better?”
“U—unnecessary.” She turns her head the opposite way, refusing to face me as she snatches a hold of my wrist, clinging to it for dear life.
“Do you think I would drop you?”
“Accidents happen.”
“Do I seem concerned to you?”
“N—not particularly but you wouldn’t be the one falling to your death.”
“Your death?” I snort. “Says the girl that literally dangled several stories high from a rope that she crafted out of a blanket.”
“How many times are we going to go over this?” she groans and I laugh.
I lean forward, dropping my voice to a murmur. “I didn’t mean about that. I meant, do I look concerned about this? Tonight? Any of them?”
She works a swallow. “Last time…”
I inch closer, mouth almost grazing her ear. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I swear.”
She finally turns back to meet my gaze, her eyes cautious and bottom lip slightly extended. I have the most delinquent urge to take that pouting lip between my teeth until she forgets why she was so afraid in the first place. Which is the last thing I should be doing here in this place. I’m too aware of the close proximity of our naked bodies. Based on the blooming blood in her cheeks, so is she. I throw another surreptitious glance around the clearing. “Do you trust me?”
“Yeah, of course,” she says working a swallow. “I trust you with my life.”
I hear the distinction in those words. She trusts mewith her life.It doesn’t mean she trusts me with anything else. I already knew that though. I wrack my brain trying to think of something I can say that will make all of this easier for her. “Who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy seeing all of this…variety.”
“There’s nothing I will enjoy about this,” she hisses snapping her head back to glare at me.
“Nothing?” I tease. “Not even seeing me?”
“I willnotbe looking at you.”
“I think it’ll be more tempting than you want to admit.”
“You just can’t imagine that anyone wouldn’t want to seeyou.”
“Not anyone, pet, just you. You do seem to enjoy a certain book I have stashed under my bed.”
She stiffens, and I let out a quiet laugh, lowering my voice as I say, “Though, I think I’ll vastly prefer what I see tonight than anything in that.”
She turns away again, shoulders tensing. Her tone is flat and distant as she says, “Strange thing to say about your punishment.”
My face scrunches as I glare at the side of her head. “I think we’ve established that I’m a glutton for punishment.”
“Right,” she huffs.
My brows pinch in vexation. “Haven’t I made that clear?”I don’t know how I can make it any clearer.
“It’s not much of a punishment unless you actually have to be seen with me. Isn’t that what you said? Careful, Sitri, wouldn’t want anyone to gossip.”
I tense, finally seeing the error of my words. “If gossip were my only fear, I wouldn’t bat an eye, but—“ The sound of footsteps lights up the clearing as a group of Magi passes by us, much too close. I break off—repositioning myself to keep her hidden from view. One of them howls obnoxiously when he sees me.
She lets out a quiet scoff as if it’s some sort of proof and my frustration riles. “We’re going to talk about this, but this isn’t the time or place.”
“Of course,” she chirps. “Wouldn’t want anyone to overhear now, would we?”
