Page 29 of Tangwystle

He picked my hand up, which I immediately tried to take away. He ran his thumb over the red, rough skin before bringing it to his lips.

I’d like to have told him we didn’t have time for kisses, but even in that moment, I could have admitted I wanted him still. Even with Gretel’s earlier words in my mind.

Everyone sleeps with their staff.

Here I was, no better than the next girl.

Was I deluding myself by thinking Baz Coldwell actually wanted me? What man didn’t want easy access to a woman in bed?

Baz had run his hand over my bare ass, but he touched me in other ways too.

He made me laugh when all I wanted to do was fret over the housekeeping. The evenings were no longer dark and bleak thanks to our time in the library.

His hand tightened around mine, keeping it pressed to his lips. “You all right, fairy?”

I nodded, but didn’t shrink back when he pulled me in for a hug.

“I love how caring you are,” he said. “You’ve treated your patient well.”

The memory of Gretel washing between her legs caused my breath to hitch.

I pulled back. “You found the apple turnovers didn’t you?”

He grinned widely and tugged a strand of my hair. I rolled my eyes but let him tease. “If you’re not careful I might start thinking you care about me.”

His eyes darkened as he ran his gaze over me, knowing exactly what I wasn’t wearing underneath my dress.

I grabbed the ointment pot out of his hands and marched up the stairs.

“Wait for me!” The servants’ stairs creaked under his boots.

“For what?” I called over my shoulder.

“I’ll help.”

I snorted, but when I arrived at Gretel’s door, I hadn’t lost him.

“I’ll help,” he said again and scooped the pot out of my hand. He turned the door handle without waiting for my reply.

I remember my face freezing. My lips parted as I watched Baz stride into the room, his usual cheerful self.

Gretel sat up in bed, the sheet covering her chest. But if I looked hard, I swore I saw the hard peaks of her nipples.

Baz neared the bed, unbothered. He held up the ointment, Gretel’s green eyes staring at it in amazement.

“Just for you,” he offered, holding it out flat on his hand.

I snatched it. “Lie on your stomach, I’ll apply it.”

Gretel’s gaze went from me to Baz.

He’d seen her body. He’d carried her to the house and helped me peel her bloodied dress off her. Watched me tend to her flesh.

We didn’t say anything, we didn’t make it into anything.

Gretel turned, pressing her chest flat to the mattress. I pulled the sheet down her body, draping it just over the round globes of her ass.

Baz crouched beside Gretel, pulling an errant curl off her shoulder.