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Her laughter heightens to a squeak and turns the final words into a question.

“… in our daemonic duel?”

My entire body is shaking with laughter, and Winnow steals the opportunity to pin my thumb down. With my muscles still unable to cooperate, she easily pins it down, holding it there for several seconds before flopping onto the bed beside me, exhausted by our hysteria.

When our laughter finally begins to slow, she wipes the water from her eyes. “Victory is mine, Gideon Kincaid.”

My laughter slows, and finally, I swipe my tears away, catching my breath.

“Darlin’, if you just made that up, you’re a fuckin’ genius.”

She giggles. “My sweet, sweetferion. So certain you would win, were you?”

My heart jumps at hearing the endearment again.The one I am feral for.

Too fucking right.

I give her a guilty nod. “Yes, ma’am, I was.”

Our laughter slows on a blissful sigh.

“Is that really how your thumb war song goes?”

Her head turns to look at me, lips pressed together to stifle a grin.

“I suppose you’ll just have to come to Caerwynath with me to find out, now, won’t you?”

My heart gives a silly pitter-patter at her invitation.

I’ve never been to Europe.

“I suppose I will.”

WINNOW

I’ve just finally caught my breath when, in an alarmingly smooth and practiced manner, Gideon sits up and scoops me into his arms to haul me onto his shoulder, toting me down the hallway. With a yelp, I clutch onto him. Trigger barks excitedly in response, following us down the hall and into the bedroom.

“What’re you doing?!”

“Taking you to your bed, obviously.”

“But I won! Without deceit or fuckery!”

Gideon cackles, and his hand comes down on my left butt cheek with a swift smack that makes my core give a needy clench. When his palm soothes over the stinging spot in apology, my clit throbs in response and slickness blossoms between my thighs.

“I’m pretty sure that no matter where you’re from, sabotaging my inevitable win with laughter would be consideredfuckery.”

When Gideon arrives at his bedside, I expect him to toss me down, but instead, he steals my breath by laying me down with heart-rending gentleness.

We’re both grinning like fools, and there’s a moment where he hovers over me, bracing his arms on either side of my head, and I wonder—hope—that he’s going to kiss me.

With a frustrated grunt, as if holding himself back, he presses his forehead to mine briefly before straightening. I can’t help but pout.

“But you promised.”

Gideon crosses his arms over his broad chest, tongue curling over his teeth as he seems to ponder this fact.

“Perhaps so, but it’s a matter of conscience now, and making you sleep on that lumpy sack of springs makes me feel worse than not honoring a bet I should have won in the first place.”