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Vayla, who’s been absorbed in her work for the last hour, startles as well. She bows low when she sees Eren standing behind me.

“Majesty,” she says, perfectly gracious. She even smiles.

I stifle a snort. Sure, now she can be polite.

“Vayla,” Eren says, all smooth kingliness. Scratch that, all smooth, incredibly hot kingliness. “If you wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes of privacy?”

She nods and leaves the room immediately.

I can barely contain my eye roll as she goes, and Eren’s sharp gaze doesn’t miss it.

“What is it?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Allie,” he pushes. “Tell me.”

Instead of answering, I swivel around on the stool to face him. Resting both my elbows on the table so I can lean back and get a better look at him, I almost wish I’d stayed facing forward with my nose in a book.

Goddess above, he’s handsome.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. Even staring at me with a hint of concern on his face, he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t joking when I called him a pagan god this morning—it’s not a stretch to imagine one of his kind inspiring fear and worship, and not just in ancient cultures. Part of me wants to drop to my knees in supplication just from looking at him.

Picking up on the flare of color in my cheeks, the way my chest rises and falls a bit unsteadily as I study him, the corners of Eren’s mouth turn up in a dark, erotic smile.

“Little witch, looking at me like that isn’t going to make me forget that I’ve asked you a question.”

“No?” I ask innocently.

“No.”

Unable to help myself, I reach out and touch the bare skin beneath his jacket. I’d forgotten how hot he runs, how firm his muscles are beneath my hand. Those muscles bunch and twitch as I run my fingers over him in a slow caress.

Eren reaches up to still my hand. “Enough of that. Tell me what’s happened since you came down here with Vayla.”

A sudden, sour pang runs through me at the sound of her name on his lips and I have to check myself. What the hell? Since when am I jealous of my man… er, demon… justtalkingabout another woman? Tossing the irrational envy aside, I take a deep breath.

“I barely know where to start.”

“At the beginning works for me.”

I roll my eyes at him.

“Such sass,” he murmurs, reaching up to stroke his clawed thumb over my bottom lip.

The sharp-edged, slightly threatening feel of it does things to me. Like, really does things to me. A warmth spreads through my lower belly, curving around the bottom of my spine in a liquid caress.

“You better answer me, Allie,” Eren says, voice still silky soft and taunting. “You’re giving me too many ideas of how I might correct that impertinence.”

He withdraws his hand, takes a couple of steps back, and sinks onto a stool across from me. Arms crossed over his chest, he sits and waits like he has all the time in the world.

Realizing he’s not going to touch me until I give him what he wants, I huff out a breath and start explaining. Consciously, I leave out all the parts about Vayla’s attitude and my own snappishness in return. We can sort out our own shit.

A few minutes later, when I’m on to the part about looking through the library’s other books in the unfamiliar language, Eren comes to hover over my shoulder and look at the books and papers scattered on the desk in front of me.

“You think you can translate it?” he asks, running a hand over one of the pages.

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”