Chapter 10

The scent of spices hangs heavy in the air. Colorful jewel-toned awnings and canopies blot out the afternoon sun overhead. I inhale deeply, keeping Danielle in my peripheral vision. She's irritated, angry with me, even, but all I do I do to protect her.

Except for telling her the truth about mating.

I run a hand over my horns, guilt twisting through me, and glance at her. Her heart-shaped faced is full of astonishment, her green-flecked brown eyes wide and her lips parted. I follow her attention. A man juggles balls of flame at the end of the alley, a trio of musicians picking out a jaunty tune. Above us, a monkat swings across rainbow ribbons dangling between the canopies, hissing and mewling alternately.

I cock my head, studying her. Her mouth curves with pleasure as she drinks it in, and I've never seen anything I've wanted more in my life.

"It's incredible," she breathes.

"It is." I can't look away from her.

Sizzling meat fills the crowded market with a fragrant aroma, and I pull Danielle close as a boisterous group of children runs past. Their laughter rings out over the market. It almost hurts to hear it; how happy it makes me. I smile slowly. Their safety here, in Kirdiff, has been hard-fought, but they have it.

"Something smells amazing," Danielle says, tugging away from me.

I swallow my disappointment. "Let's go find out what it is, yes? Then we will go to the seamstress and order you proper clothes." A vision of her, draped in red silks, naked underneath flashes through my mind's eye, and I choke back a groan.

"What's wrong?"

"Swallowed wrong," I beat a fist against my chest for good measure. "Come on, let's get you some food, then clothes, then we will order food and meet with Kaus and Castor."

We order three of the skewered spiced meats. Danielle eats carefully, tugging the meat off with her straight, white teeth. I hardly remember my own meal; I'm so taken with watching her. When she licks a spot of grease off her thumb, her pink tongue darting out, I turn away from her, painfully aroused.

"What is it? Are we in danger?" She presses herself against me, and I can't hold in the groan that escapes. I hate that she fears for her safety… but I find that I like even more how she seeks me for protection.

"No," I manage. "I am simply looking around."

Her gaze drops to groin, and her eyebrows go up. "Oh. I see. I really see."

When she looks back at me, our eyes lock. Her pupils dilate. I turn towards her slightly, blocking her into the stone wall so that only I can see her.

"Danielle." Her name is music in my mouth.

"Uh-huh?" Her chin tilts up, and my gaze drifts to her lips.

"I'm glad you enjoyed my meat."

She blinks. "Pardon me?"

"The meat I bought you," I add slyly. Good. She is thinking about my cock. Progress.

"Oh. I…yes. The meat. Not your meat. The meat tasted good, yes." Her throat bobs, and my smile grows.

We spend the next few hours at the seamstress, something Danielle appears completely perplexed by as they measure her and present her with fabrics. When I run my hands over a red silk, and one of the seamstress's girls winks before adding it to the growing pile.

"We'll have it to you tomorrow morning," the woman tells us once she's done taking Danielle's measurements. "We'll get the cobbler the measurements too. Boots and shoes, yes?"

"Yes," I agree.

"That seems really fast," Danielle objects. "I don't think all of that's necessary—" she narrows her eyes. "Or possible."

"Don't fret about it, girly, we'll use the clockworks," the seamstress waves her off.

"Tomorrow morning will be fine," I tell her.

"Staying at Castor's?"

"Aye."

"We are?" Danielle stops inspecting one of the bolts of fabric, surprise writ over her features. "We're not going home?"

She called it home. Not my home, not my house, but home. Her home. It staggers me, fills me with heady hope and renews my lust. Does she even know she said it?

The seamstress's gaze darts between us.

"It won't be safe to travel after dark," I finally point out.

"That makes sense. Of course." She pushes her hair from her eyes, scowling at it.

"Here, dear," the shopkeeper hands her a length of leather, dyed white. It shimmers in the soft light of late afternoon.

"Oh, I didn't mean to?—"

The woman closes her hand around Danielle's, a sad smile on her face. "It's nothing. For the hope you have given us all today, it is nothing."

Danielle nods once her expression inscrutable. With the shopkeeper's help, fastens her hair with it. I watch carefully, should she need assistance binding her long locks again.

"Let us find Castor and Kaus." I extend my hand, and to my delight, Danielle takes it.

We walk hand-in-hand down the cobbled streets, and she walks slowly beside me, a thoughtful expression on her face. Vendors call out to her, and I wonder just how fast word's spread of a Starbound woman here, roaming the streets of Kirdiff. A cold shiver travels down my spine. I tug her closer to me, wrapping my arm around her waist.

We round a corner, Castor's inn and pub spanning the street before us. I swallow and close my eyes. Tonight, I must tell Danielle the truth. Better I do it than wait for Kaus or Castor to say something.

The truth of the Butcher King and the Starbound women.

And the truth of what will happen if she chooses to be my mate, after all.