I liked the tenor of his voice; it had nothing to do with being charmed by the things he actually said or the stupid jokes he told.
Because I wasn’t.
And why the hell wasn’t he talking anymore? Yesterday, and even this morning, I couldn’t get him to shut up. The man had rattled on incessantly, barely taking a break for air. But since I’d discovered his involvement with hunting Graykeys, he sat there as quiet as a tomb, looking miserable and distinctly uncomfortable while I read his book.
He probably assumed I hated him now. I mean, I was apathetic, of course. He meant nothing to me. But seeing him look so defeated and miserable caused a slight stir of sympathy, or maybe it was regret, to waffle through me. It was a stupid emotion, whatever it was, so I immediately tried to squelch it, except he must’ve felt it anyway.
He lifted his face, concern wrinkling his brow. “Quilla?”
“Don’t say my name,” I snapped.
Er, at least, it was meant to be a sharp, cracking snap. Except it came out sounding more like a breathless whisper. Dammit.
Indigo blinked. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t like how it sounds in your mouth.”
God, why had I said the word mouth? Now I was thinking about his mouth. And looking at it, too. And remembering how he’d pressed it against mine just a while ago, all heat and passion and hard pressure, demanding and raging, making me crave more.
Wait, no. I craved nothing from him.
Except the jump in my pulse proved that was a lie.
The bastard felt the need and energy and anticipation in my emotions, too. His lips quirked up into a sexy smirk just before he crooned, “Yes, you do.” Then he chuckled, and I absolutely hated how amazing the sound was. “I think you like it a lot.”
“Yeah, well, you think too much. You should really stop that. Your thoughts are overwhelmingly ignorant.” My pulse jerked again with my lies. “They lead you to write this drivel.”
I lifted his book, then turned it upside down before letting it fall to the ground, landing page-first in the dirt and rocks.
A muscle jumped in his jaw. The man did not want his precious journal to be vandalized, that was obvious.
But he didn’t comment about the abuse, he merely smirked and countered, “Really? You were reading it awfully ardently for someone who considers it drivel.”
“I was skimming,” I shot back archly. “Trying to find something of interest. Which I didn’t.”
He laughed this time, not to be confused with his deep husky chuckle. This was a full, open shout of pure amusement. It made a strange ache cramp the pit of my stomach, as if my gut experienced a desperate longing to make a similar sound.
“I like the way you lie,” he finally told me, his eyes glittering and lips smiling wide as he spoke.
I lifted a single eyebrow. “Lie?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “It’s refreshing. People usually say something nice they don’t mean. But you’re the opposite. You say cruel things you don’t mean, and it’s highly entertaining. You don’t have to hide what you enjoy from me, though. I would never use your preferences against you.”
“You’re mistaken, High Clifter,” I seethed. “I meant every word.”
He smiled, but his eyes turned serious before he murmured, “Yeah. Maybe you do. Just a little.” Then he shrugged. “But that’s okay. It only makes you more alluring.” His gaze strayed to his book on the ground, where his brow furrowed a moment before he turned back to me. “I had no idea what to expect when I met you. But so far, I’ve been delightfully surprised.” Chuckling to himself, he leaned his head back against the tree he was sitting against and ended the moment with a long sigh. “Who knew I’d go for an angry girl who could aggravate me to the point that I’d want to kiss all the fury out of her one moment before she made me ache to pull her into my arms and hug the pain and sorrow out of her the next? You’re like a dazzling empress I want to worship constantly in every way.”
I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that, so it was a good thing Melaina came cantering into the clearing, preventing me from having to.
“Hello, loves,” she called, waving her fingers. “Doesn’t look like anything too fun happened while I was away. Hmm? What a tragedy.”
With a chuckle, she dismounted, and the horse immediately trotted over to its last owner, nudging