Fated to the Vampire Prince

35 • Pousser

Alec was right. Despite the frigid temperatures, there wasn't any ice on the windows, but a healthy layer of condensation obscured the view from passersby. That was, if anyone dared to trudge through knee-deep snow.

I turned back to the vampire, who had begun adding fresh soil to a recently cleared garden bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still trying to sound casual.

"Presently?" he said. A smirk tipping up his lips. "I'm clearing out space in these beds so you can plant what you like."

My mouth hung open for a full second before I had the wherewithal to close it. I was shocked that he was taking the time to do something so labor intensive...for me.

If he had the time in his busy schedule to do this, why didn't he return to my bedchamber after everything he'd said and done last night?

To release some of the tension building inside me, I giggled as I wandered toward a citrus tree and pulled a blood orange from the closest branch. Bringing the fruit to my nose, I inhaled the deliciously sweet aroma.

"I could tend to these plants," I said. "You don't need to go to the trouble of clearing space for me."

I dug my nail into the peel of the fruit, and cherry red juice welled up. I focused on the orange so as not to focus on the vampire who was striding toward me.

"The best part of gardening is planting and watching the seeds sprout from beneath the dirt." His voice was tender and low, and it caused all the fine hairs on the back of my neck to rise. "That's what you told me."

My attention shifted back to him. I hadn't expected him to remember such a fleeting comment.

Bastien bent to dip his hands into a bucket of clean water and then wiped them off on a towel, scrubbing the dirt from each of his fingers, but his eyes remained fixed on me. "This greenhouse is yours to do whatever you like with."

"The whole greenhouse?"

He nodded. "Unless you prefer another."

It was an absolutely massive space. Narrower than the ballroom, but perhaps just as long.

He took the orange from my hand, then removed the dagger strapped to his side. Carefully, he peeled the fruit, handing me a slice perfectly cleaned of the bitter rind.

"No, this one is fine," I said breathily, meeting his gaze. Slowly, I took the piece of fruit he offered me. Juice ran down my fingers as I lifted it to my mouth. "Where will these plants go?" I asked, slipping the slice between my lips and savoring the deliciously tart flavor.

He watched me as I ate, and didn't speak again until I'd swallowed.

"I'm sending them down to Roselyn."

As he spoke, I watched Bastien cut another slice from the orange. Juice leaked from the fruit onto his hand, and a strange, sudden desire rose in my core. My body very much aware of what else his hands could do.

"We've finished building a new greenhouse that could use more plants."

He offered me another piece, and I swallowed hard, trying not to see this act as anything more than him being controlling and bossy.

"That is very thoughtful of you."

When I didn't take the orange, he lifted it to my mouth.

Instinctively, I opened my mouth and my lips closed around the tip of his finger before he slowly pulled it away, and I savored the taste as it slid over my tongue.