Prince of Wolves - Tasha Black Page 0,15
down.
“He’ll have some of our chicken,” he assured her.
She nodded looking relieved.
They left the shop together, and headed up the stairs to Willow’s apartment.
Ashe’s apartment.
He didn’t want to get too used to that.
They got right to work, and twenty minutes later, they had covered every surface in the kitchen with food prep.
Chicken stew bubbled merrily on the stove as Ronan chewed on a raw chicken wing in the corner. Ashe stood nearby, smiling and rosy-cheeked.
“So do you think you could make this on your own now?” he asked her.
“I just chop everything up and boil the heck out of it, right?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he laughed. “You can make stew with any starchy vegetables you can find for a good price and with even an inexpensive cut of meat. And it’s one meal that is only better the day after it’s made.”
She nodded. “I am glad you showed me.”
He watched in wonder as she began cleaning up.
“How did you learn to do that?” he asked.
“Oh, I used to help the cook sometimes,” she told him. “When I was little and the others were training.”
It felt like a punch in the gut, this knowledge that because he had switched her at birth, she had been left feeling less than. He could picture her in the kitchen, scouring pots while her siblings learned to control their magic.
“That was kind of you,” he said.
“I liked the cook,” Ashe said, shrugging. “She was always nice to me, but she had a bad back. It was fun to help.”
“You really like helping,” he observed, carrying a pan to the sink and soaping it up.
“Not really,” Ashe said. “That was why I ran. I knew I couldn’t be a royal, living only to lead a kingdom. It didn’t feel right. And then when I realized I was a changeling… well, it all makes sense now. I’m not built to live for others in that way.”
Funny, from what he’d already seen of her, he would have sworn she would adore a life helping others. And he’d only spent a day with her.
“So, do you have a family back in faerie?” she asked quietly.
He willed himself not to read anything into the question.
“Just Ronan,” he said fondly.
They both glanced at the pup, who was gnawing the bone.
“He’s really wonderful,” Ashe said.
“You have no idea,” Varik murmured.
Ronan meant everything to him. He only wished he could give the little one the life he deserved.
“What’s it like to be a bounty hunter?” she asked.
No one had ever asked him that before.
“Dangerous,” he replied. “But mostly boring.”
She laughed. “That wasn’t what I expected.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked. “What did you think I would say?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You have an adventurous life. You go back and forth across the veil. You meet new people and learn new skills.”
“Are you angling for a job?” he teased.
“I’m becoming quite an expert in both realms,” she said, shrugging.
“But you…” he caught himself just before saying she had no magic. It would hurt her feelings, and that he would not do. “You are too nice,” he said instead. “You would never actually capture anyone.”
“No,” she agreed. “I would probably just accompany them on their day to day tasks and give them cooking lessons.”
“That’s fair,” he chuckled.
“This will cook a while, won’t it?” she asked, wiping the last of the mess from the counter. “I think I need a shower.”
She wasn’t wrong. She had vegetable bits in her hair.
And he couldn’t help but notice the bit of enchanted ice he’d given her, already nearly half the size it had been. Their time together was running out, one way or another.
“Go ahead,” he told her. “I’ll finish up here.”
He watched her dig through her dresser and then head to the bathroom.
The water turned on a moment later and he tried not to picture her curvy form naked, rivulets of water skimming down her sides and over her breasts. He tried even harder not to picture himself, kneeling at her feet in the hot steam, lapping the droplets from her tender flesh as she trembled and burned for more.
You’re here to bring her back. You can’t fall in love.
But it was too late for that - far too late.
He glanced down at Ronan, who was sleeping on the kitchen floor, paws twitching as he chased some small prey in his dreams, his small belly round and full.
I’ll bring her back anyway, he promised his little one. I’ll find a way to convince her.
Visions of pleasant ways to convince