Page 95 of Hexbound

Verity's eyebrows shot halfway to her hairline. "Lady E, what a thing to suggest!"

"Please." Lady E snorted. "Let's not pretend that you don't know precisely what I'm talking about."

With a grin, Verity slipped through the door, though she was more pleased than she let on. The old harridan had clearly just given her permission, and hence, approval.

Which made her feel almost like she had a new family of her own.

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Chapter 22

AFTER HER BATH, Verity found Bishop in his workroom in the cellars. A row of windows along the top of the far wall gave just a hint of starlight, and the fire was dying low in the grate. It made him seem like a man wrought of shadows, the firelight gilding the harsh cut of his cheekbones and that temptingly full mouth.

Bishop sensed her coming, of course, his head tilting toward her even as his hands worked some sort of mechanical object. He was always working at something.

"How was your bath?" he murmured.

"Just what I needed." Verity shuddered. She'd been covered in muck and grime, and something that smelled suspiciously like rot. "And you?"

His dark hair was still wet. "Likewise."

The fire crackled as he fell silent. Verity gazed at his broad back, then crossed to the fireplace. "What are you working on?"

"A warded necklace," he murmured, holding up the pretty gold chain. Small sigils hung from it at certain points. "For you."

"For me?"

He shrugged. "Just in case Agatha convinces you to join her on some other foolhardy quest and you get trapped again. I'll tune it to your presence and teach you what to say to activate the wards. Only use it when you're in trouble."

"It wasn't foolhardy," she argued. "We found the Chalice and we recovered it."

"Agatha nearly died, you were nearly trapped in a circle of flesh constructs, and you barely escaped from the Crows without signing your life away."

"Nearly, nearly, and barely." Verity crossed her arms. "Are you bothered more by the fact that you were completely oblivious to events, or the fact that we didn't need you?"

That earned her a dark-eyed look. "Didn't need—"

"Youwerevery helpful this afternoon with Agatha," she said in a softer tone. "But if you think I can't handle myself...."

Bishop scowled and dropped the necklace on the bench. He ran his hands through his hair, cupping them behind his head. "You should have warned me of what you were doing."

Verity stoked the fire, her bare toes curling in the fur rug that lay before it. "You're right. We should have."

He shot her a startled look.

"I'm not used to having someone watch my back," she admitted. "And Lady E seems invincible at times. It made sense to go after the lead, even without my big surly assassin protector."

His brows drew together in a scowl, but she could tell that he was trying not to smile at the same time. "You're incorrigible."

Verity bit her lip as she set the poker aside, and crossed to stand in front of him. "Were you worried about me?"

"Of course I was." A pause. "Verity. I wouldn't like it if anything happened to you. You know that?"

She leaned up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "I think I'm starting to. Thank you. For worrying. And for making me a necklace to guard me in future reckless endeavors."

The stubble of his jaw tickled her sensitive lips. Verity sank back down, but she kept her hand on the lapel of his coat. His skin smelled like lemon verbena soap. She wanted to inhale more of it.

"Are there going tobefuture reckless endeavors?"