Page 76 of Storm of Shadows

I glare at him. “No, thank you. I’ve already eaten.”

“Oh yeah,” he says, his gaze falling to where my hand remains resting in Beaufort’s. I snatch it away and cross my arms over my chest. “What’d you have?”

“Erm …” That was not the question I was expecting. “Some kind of stew.”

“Meat?” he asks.

I shift my weight from one foot to another. “I guess, it was difficult to tell.”

Dray laughs.

“You can eat your meals here,” Beaufort says. “You can see we have enough.”

I shake my head, ignoring Beaufort’s corresponding frown.

“I got them to make you up some chocolate mousse,” Dray says, shoving the last of the pie into his mouth. “It’s my favorite. Do you like it?”

“I’ve never tried it.” I snipe. “Chocolate is a luxury in Slate Quarter. One my family can’t afford.”

Instead of looking suitably ashamed, Dray chews and swallows his pie, and then a huge smile spreads across his face. His eyes seem to twinkle.

“You never tried it? Shit, little thrall, you have to. Sometimes I think it’s better than sex.”

Beside me, Beaufort snorts.

Dray picks up a large glass bowl filled with a brown substance and one of the silver spoons and walks around the table towards me. He dips the spoon into the mixture, scooping some out and holds it up to my face.

“Try?”

It looks pretty gross, but the smell of it is divine. Rich, velvety chocolate. It makes my mouth water.

But I wasn’t won over by a pretty, gold collar. I won’t be won over by chocolate either. I stare back at him and refuse to open my mouth.

“Shit, you really are a stubborn little thing.” He cackles. “I fucking love it. Now, open wide for me, come on.”

I stare right back up at him, into those mischievous eyes. Up close I discover they are a multitude of colors: blues, greens, grays, even flecks of gold.

He cocks an eyebrow and says again, more firmly this time, his magic crackling in the air ominously, “Open.”

It’s harder to refuse with his magic so threatening, and something more dangerous bubbling to the surface of those eyes, but I refuse, nonetheless.

I am not their thrall. I am not their slave to be commanded and ordered about. I’ll keep showing up if I have to but I will not make this easy for them.

“You know I could make you,” he says quietly. I adopt that blank expression. “Have it your way then.” To my astonishment, rather than blasting me with magic, or forcing the spoon between my lips, another wicked smile breaks out across his face and before I know what’s happening, he’s landed a large blob of the chocolate mousse right onto the end of my nose. “Right,” he tells me, turning around to place the bowl back on the table, “make yourself at home. It’s time we left.”

“What?” I say in even more astonishment. “Are you locking me in here again while you hang out with your friends?”

“Nope,” he says, spinning around to face me. His eyes drop to the mousse on my nose; he grins, looks into my eyes and then he actually leans down and licks the dessert right off. I squeal, jumping backward and he laughs.

“You’re such a fucking child,” Beaufort mutters.

Dray licks his lips. “Of course, if you wanted us to stay, we could smear this mousse on other places on your body too. Then, afterwards, I’d be happy to lick it off.” He winks. “Slowly. In a way that would make you moan.”

I swallow. Dray is way more unpredictable and flirtatious than Beaufort and he has heat creeping all over my body.

I keep my face expressionless though and shake my head.

“You have free rein of the place,” Beaufort says, ignoring Dray. “Try not to trash any more rooms, okay?”