Chapter 206 The gift of a bite

Chapter 206 The gift of a bite
“Are you okay?” Moradaine whispered, his voice deep with concern. 

I settled Espera on my lap, and leaned my head against his shoulder. My eyes fluttered close to the comforting heat of his body as he moved his hand to cup my cheek.

It struck me how he remained my center of gravity even after centuries. 

Ma Royne, did he upset you? I will ask him to leave. 

My shoulders twitched to the sudden voice in my head. In silence, I responded No. I just hate that stupid hair. 

The dragon burst into a fit of laughter, and I blushed in embarrassment, feeling sympathy for Finn at last. Hesitantly, I sneaked a peak in his direction, keenly aware of how sensitive he could be. 

But it appeared he was a completely changed man. 

This Finn was hardened, unaffected in the face of the secret whispers and laughter. Every bit the war commander, he spoke for the first time, “Hello.” 

In the past, Finn would have said, HI.

Without pausing for our responses, he moved further into the living room and started to shrug off his jacket. My brows twitched at the sight of his arms in a well-laundered black shirt, at how much his chest seemed to stretch the cotton. 

The room fell silent, and his gaze locked on me. Even as he carefully placed his jacket on the chair, and started to roll up his sleeves, he never once took his gaze off me.

My breathing became unsteady. 

“Did you get everything on the list, Daine?” He addressed the dragon, still staring at me.

“Yes,” Mordaine responded, and only then did Finn look away. He turned, and disappeared into the kitchen.

With flaming cheeks, I turned to Mordaine, “What list?”

“He insisted on making your birthday dinner himself.” 

My eyes went round. “You knew he was coming? Why did you not tell me?”

“Where is the fun in that?” 

I turned in time to see Hale round the corner into the kitchen. Oh. They reconciled. Hale skimmed his fingers around Finn's waist as he walked past him to settle on an Island stool.

But Finn could have been a German general. Besides a slight shiver at their contact, he appeared unaffected. His face was neutral, his hands steady as he unpacked a brown bag of groceries he'd pulled up to the counter. 

I turned back to Mordaine, who was watching Espera lolling in my lap. “You knew they were coming. You planned this visit?”

He lifted his gaze, his eyes cool and dark now. “No, little wife. It was your Alpha. He planned it all.”

My heart kicked.

It was real then. I had told Hale that day at his office that I would love one more day with all of them. Was it illogical to hope that he would only do this because he was conceding to my other desires as well?

An hour passed before I could move away from the couch. I placed a sleeping Espera in her wicker basket, dusted her shedded fur off me, and headed for the kitchen. 

Hale was drinking wine slowly from a glass, quietly watching Finn work. But he turned now to smile at me. And as he slid off the stool, he gave me a suggestive wink.

The tips of my ears burned. 

As we walked past each other, our fingers brushed softly and a delicious thrill made my nipples harden.

Finally, I hovered several feet away from the kitchen island. In the background, masculine voices rolled over the sudden sound of music rolling out in waves. The men were bantering over something again. 

This was home. Everything was right again. 

“You’re supposed to be intimidating to witches.” I spoke at last, my eyes pinned on Finn’s back. His shoulders stiffened the slightest. He seemingly had not heard me come over, engrossed in his work like he always was.

“I kill them too.” He responded without lifting his head from the chocolate he was crushing to caramelize. “And in the past week, we’ve been debating whether to start burning them as well.”

I leaned against a shelf, and wove my hands over my right thigh. “That’s disturbing.”

“Yeap. So you should keep your distance from me before I give your Grandma something new to cry over.”

Deliberately avoiding his hair, my eyes swept over his face, which was bent over the island, his shoulders and those arms that looked nothing like when he left months ago. 

My gaze lingered on his fingers, working deftly as he began to pit oranges.

The rumors were true. This was a king now, arrogant. Even that endearing American accent was barely there anymore. 

“You learned to be a king.”

He looked up for the first time, and my heart stopped. “You remembered how to be a queen.” 

My heart picked up again, pounding, as his eyes moved down my body, a confident appraisal that was not at all shy. “That’s a lovely dress.”

Heat spread to my neck. I pressed my lips flat, and walked fully into the kitchen.

“Thank you. What can I help you with?”

His gaze dropped to where the flare of my dress brushed his thigh as I walked past, and he drew in a sharp breath. You walked past him with your ladies in waiting and his eyes closed almost involuntarily. It took me a minute to realize he was inhaling your scent.

Much had not changed even across lifetimes.

But when I glanced at him, his face was blank. Maybe I was wrong.

He tilted his head towards the vegetables and then directed me on which ones to screed, which ones to chop, and how he preferred them to be chopped. 

My skin pricked suddenly, and I looked up to find Mordaine moving towards us, footsteps soundless as usual. Those intelligent eyes were like X-rays, searing into our bones.

“It’s a bloody hot day.” He stopped by the kitchen island. “Will you both join Hale and me on a walk after your meal prep?”

Finn and I shared a look, and then Finn gave him a silent nod. The dragon grinned, a dark smile that sent warm liquid running down my spine. 

He plucked two clear glasses from the stemware rack hanging above us, pulled out a bottle of red wine from an ice chest I had only noticed, and returned to Hale. 

I stared after with a sad smile. He was merry just from Hale’s presence. Maybe he will heal in the end. Hale would comfort him, and it would be enough.

The sun was starting to travel down the horizon, casting bright beautiful colors all around us when we set off into the woods behind the mansion. 

The dog sitters had come for Espera a few minutes before. After lunch, we watched Finn and Hale stalemate at chess for the first time. Hale had always trashed him on this board in the past.

Now, my eyes focused on the vampire moving silently beside me. The umbrella he held over his head was as black as the rest of his outfit. 

“You should get a sun protection spell already.”

He shrugged, keeping his eyes ahead. “I need no more favors from the witches.” 

I shivered at the memory of Grandma’s voice. I should have let him die that day.

“Mordaine or Hale could make one for you,” I suggested, turning to look at the men to my right. The dragon was watching me. He took my hand in his, and laced our fingers. 

“These things never come freely, Ma Royne,” he said. “There’s always a price.”

My thoughts went to Gianna immediately, and that promise I made in Seoul. We still had no idea what the price for that was. Ainois had mentioned her twice at this point, but his words were too cryptic. 

And as if he was reading my mind, the dragon continued. 

“For instance, if his bite turned your sister that night, he would never need sun protection anymore.”