Page 50 of His Ruthless Match

“Right,” I said, amused. I smiled at Grelth. “Thank you for the wonderful meal.”

“My pleasure, Miss Eva,” he said with a bow.

I followed Jareth out the front door, wondering why I felt so at ease here—and with Jareth of all people.

14

JARETH

The waves crashed in steady crescendos, only broken by the occasional call of a distant seabird. The air smelled of salt and dampness, and the sand shifted beneath my boots as I walked a few steps ahead of Eva. The soft glow of the moon illuminated the endlessly stretching beach. It was one of the rare moments in The Below where things were quiet. Almost normal.

I glanced over my shoulder. Eva trailed behind. Her shoes dangled from one hand, her head tipped back slightly to let the ocean breeze brush her face. Strands of her dark hair had escaped the loose knot and danced wildly in the wind, escaping the loose knot she’d tied it into. For the first time since I’d met her, she didn’t look like she was carrying the weight of the world or her stubborn pride on her shoulders.

She didn’t look like the Eva Delgado I had come to know. She looked… peaceful. Soft.

Utterly human.

“You look like you’re actually enjoying yourself,” I said, slowing my pace enough for her to catch up.

She gave me that trademark shrug that somehow managed to be nonchalant and exasperated all at once. “Don’t get used to it.”

A chuckle escaped me as I stuffed my hands into my pockets. “Noted.”

We walked in companionable silence, with only the sound of the shifting sand beneath our steps and the rhythmic roar of the waves. Eva stopped suddenly, curling her toes into the cool, damp sand. Her expression shifted, becoming unguarded, as if she’d just let a fortress door crack open.

“I didn’t think I’d like this place so much,” she said, her voice soft and uncharacteristically honest.

I tilted my head, unsure if I’d heard her correctly. “Oh yeah?”

She nodded, her gaze fixed on the horizon where the moonlight shimmered on the water. “It’s peaceful. I didn’t realize how much tension I was carrying until now.”

Something about her confession stirred a warmth in my chest from my cougar, a dangerous pull I didn’t want to examine too closely.

“We can keep walking,” I said, keeping my tone light. “The shoreline’s quiet this time of night. And there’s no one out here to bother us.”

Her brow lifted, a flicker of amusement crossing her face. “No one except the inevitable, terrifying creature that’s bound to try and eat us.”

I laughed, the sound ringing out over the waves. “With me here? Please. Nothing’s dumb enough to mess with us. The Shadow’s second commands respect. And fear.”

She stopped walking and dipped into the most exaggerated bow I’d ever seen. “Oh, forgive me, Lord Jareth,” she said, her voice dripping with mock reverence. “I didn’t realize I was in the presence of someone so admirable.”

The corner of my mouth quirked up, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “You mock me, but it’s true. I’m basically royalty around here.”

“Royal pain in the ass, maybe.”

I bolted toward the water. The cold waves splashed around my boots as I waded into the shallows, cupping a handful of icy water in my hands.

“Jareth, don’t you dare?—”

I hurled the water toward her, catching her squarely on the front of her dress. The droplets sparkled like tiny stars against the dark fabric.

Her gasp turned into a sharp laugh. “You asshole!”

“You wound me,” I teased, grinning wickedly.

She tossed her shoes aside and marched straight into the water, eyes blazing with mock vengeance. Scooping up a handful of water, she flung it at me with surprising accuracy, and it soaked right through my shirt.

“Cats don’t like water, right?” she quipped.