He likely knew her body better than she knew it herself.
"I take my amusement where I can," she assured him as she finished lacing her boots and rose to her feet. "So tell me, when am I required to attend your little celebration this evening?"
She should have ignored his gaze. She should have never allowed him to gaze so intently into her eyes. Before she could stop him, his gaze had hers though, the sea blue snaring her, mesmerizing her as his hand lifted to cup her cheek.
"Tell me what to do, Storme," he stated as he ignored her question. "Tell me how to gain your trust."
She came to her feet, feeling a moment's regret as his hand fell to his side.
"Now, that would just be too easy," she told him flippantly. "A girl has to maintain a little mystery, you know."
The ring was suddenly like a heavy weight on her finger now. For the first time since her father had pushed it on, Storme wanted to take it off.
It was no longer a reminder of her father, it was now a reminder of everything she didn't have, and everything she wouldn't have in her life.
"A little mystery, or as much resentment as possible?" he asked and sighed.
"Hey, whichever works at the moment," she assured him as she grabbed the heavy weight of her backpack and headed for the kitchen.
"You won't need the bag," he assured her.
"My bag goes where I go," she told him firmly. "If it stays, I stay."
"Why? What's in it, Storme, that you feel you have to have?"
For a second, her gaze flickered with a vulnerability he hadn't expected.
"You never know what can happen, Styx," she finally stated, the edge of discomfort in her voice reflecting in her scent.
Styx realized that her statement, that one never knew what could happen, was far too true in her life. For ten years she had never known where safety lay, or if the next day would be her last.
Styx watched her back as she disappeared out of the bedroom, and he breathed out a heavy sigh.
The backpack was a symbol of security, perhaps. As she had said, she was never seen without it. But that didn't mean she would need it here in Haven. There were no longer any weapons in it, and there was nothing that would indicate the data chip was hidden there.
The backpack and its contents had been scanned, run through an x-ray and every conceivable electronic imaging device that would have revealed the data chip.
There was nothing hidden there, he was willing to bet his ass on it. Nothing but her need to ensure that no matter what happened, she was prepared. He could live with that.
Shaking his head at the wonder and the confusion this woman brought to his life, Styx followed behind her to the kitchen and watched as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
The backpack rested on a kitchen chair, the faded olive green canvas nicked and frayed in places. For a moment, he was damned jealous of the pack's importance in her life. She held on to it as a talisman of some kind. The way he wished she would accept him into her life. Perhaps then the torturous arousal burning in his c**k and balls would stop driving him insane. The mating knot refused to swell and release the hormone-rich se**n that would begin the full mating process.
As Styx moved to the long drawer at the side of the ceramic sink and pulled it open, he wondered at the jokes nature seemed to enjoy playing on the Breeds.
He grabbed a milk chocolate bar from the drawer and opened it and as he watched her sip at her coffee, he took a bite of the smooth, rich sweet.
Damn, he loved chocolate, but he'd give it up easily if it meant having Storme as he needed her.
"That has to be the third bar of chocolate I've seen you eat in the past three days."
She stared at the chocolate with a hint of jealousy.
"It's actually most likely the twelfth or better," he drawled, allowing the smooth edge of the brogue back into his voice.
She reacted to it instantly. The soft edge of liquid heat wafted from her, tempting his senses and making his c**k throb harder. Damn, at this rate, the pigs might overcook while he satisfied a far different hunger.
"Twelve?" Her gaze flicked to the chocolate bar again as he parted his lips for another bite.