Page 21 of Moonlight Hearts

“Of course I am.”

“Anything you’d change?Anything you want?”

The light mood faded.The question was serious.His expression reminded me of the way he’d looked at me after the witch, when he’d woken me from a dream and told me I was safe.

I thought about it longer than I normally would have, knowing he wanted an honest answer.

I almost told him to be nicer to people, but then, he wasn’t ever really rude.He just liked being scary more than anything, and because he liked it so much, calling him out for it or even asking him to tone it down would be mean.It would be me asking him to change who he was, and I didn’t want him to be different.I just wanted him.

I pulled my legs up onto the cushion and settled against the armrest.

“I sometimes wonder.About your past, you know.I don’t want you to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me, but…you’ve seen so much.”

He snorted.“Well.I should be glad you didn’t ask me for your shifts back.”

I cocked my head.“That was an option?”

“Obviously not.”He was grinning like some comic book villain.

“It was an option, wasn’t it?”

Soyer shook his head.“Not without upsetting Dwayne.And you don’t want to upset Dwayne and make him worry about safety standards and whatnot, do you?”

“You’re enjoying this way too much.You know, there are people who work a lot more than I do.Plus, you make Rae and Ben work as much as I do.Please tell me they’re getting vacation time too.”

“Sure they are.”

I nodded.“Good.Ben needs it.For the writer.”

He leaned in.“You know, I could get someone to follow them around.Watch them.Take photos.Report back to you.You’d not miss anything.”

“Very funny.Seriously, though.Ben doesn’t need to follow me all the time.”

He pulled his legs up too, moving closer so that we were touching.“He doesn’t.He had most of today off.What do you want to know?About my past?”

I opened my mouth to protest on Ben’s behalf, but the possibility of answer was too tempting.Soyer could be almost annoyingly taciturn about anything that had to do with his own past.He’d barely ever told me anything unprompted, and I didn’t want to push him into memories that maybe he didn’t want to revisit.At the same time, I couldn’t not be curious about him.

My gaze fell to the ring on my finger.“Were you ever married?”

“No.”

“Did you ever think about it?”

“Think about it how?”

I looked up from admiring the bird etched into the metal, those blue gemstone eyes sparkling.

“You know…think about getting married.How many ways to think about it are there?”

“Oh, so many.I did consider marrying an older widow a long time ago, but that wouldn’t have worked out well.She understood, in the end.Careful, my heart, or your eyes will fall out.It’s not like marriage equality was universal, you know.The primary purpose of the arrangement, as it was once explained to me, was always to obtain an heir-producing servant you wouldn’t have to pay to keep house for you.”

“I’m not sure you realize this, but if you keep talking like that, everyone will soon realize that the Black Shuck is totally a warrior for social justice.”

He huffed.“Hardly.Did you mean to ask whether I ever loved anyone?Enough that I’d have offered marriage to them if it had been an option?”

“I guess.I do wonder…was there ever someone you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?”

“No.”He paused, but I could tell he wasn’t done.“I have been alive for a long time.You know there were other people.But by the curse mark that haunts my skin, I have never loved anyone like this.There has never been anyone like you.”