Free Hood's Obsession by Marie Hall Page A

throbbed.
    And Lilith couldn’t understand whether he referred to Kym or their situation, but suddenly it all seemed so ridiculous and yet at the same time not at all, and the only thing left to do was laugh about it.
    Which they did, and that more than anything broke the ice of the past two weeks.
    For a while they talked of random nonsense like the weather and what their favorite colors were. It came as no surprise to Lilith that Giles enjoyed the darker tones. And he’d chuckled when she’d told him pink was her color of choice.
    “Pink?” He snorted. “I don’t believe it. You’re teasing me.”
    She gave a short burst of laughter. “No, I’m not. And the pinker the better. You may not believe it, knight, but I am a total girly-girl.”
    His soft gaze roamed the length of her face. “Maybe you are, little wolf.”
    The endearment slid off his tongue so easily that for a moment she lost her words and could only swallow back at him. He cleared his throat as her cheeks blossomed with heat.
    Shifting uncomfortably, she quickly changed subjects. “But honestly,” she said, shaking her head, “don’t you ever get bored living in the clouds?”
    His smile was broad and caused her heart to thump so loudly she was surprised he couldn’t hear it. She clutched her cold apple ale and chugged it down just to give herself the pretense of doing something.
    “No, it’s lovely up there. The sky can become whatever you want it to be.”
    “Whatever you want it to be?” She narrowed her eyes, tapping her long nail on the rim of her mug. “So if I asked that it transform into a den of fiery opals?”
    “It would.” He lifted his palm and made an arching motion, mimicking the size of a massive jewel. “And it would be the most brilliant opal that you’d ever seen, enough to make even a dragon jealous.”
    She almost laughed until she realized he’d grown completely quiet. She quickly changed the subject, but the ease of their conversation after that definitely changed.
    A mincemeat pie, cheese, bread, and four tankards of ale later, Lilith and Giles were officially spent. Shoulder-bumping Giles, she jerked her head in the direction of the exit. “You ready?”
    Brushing fingers through his thick, wavy hair, he nodded. “If you are.”
    Wishing things could go back to the casual ease of earlier, she sighed and nodded. But now she was more determined than ever that they get over whatever issues he was having. They still had weeks together and she’d rather it not be tense the whole time. Also, the entire time they’d been chatting, she’d not once thought of her attraction to him.
    Okay, well maybe once or twice.
    Or three times.
    Oh, whatever…
    Scratching her arm, she grimaced as her entire body suddenly flared with a driving wave of madness.
    “You okay?” his voice whispered in her ear.
    Pinching her lips shut, she inhaled two quick breaths before turning to him and giving a slight nod. “Yup, tomorrow’s the full moon and it’s annoying me. I’m okay now, let’s go.”
    The sudden rush of itchiness abated somewhat, but her head still felt woozy. Maybe the drink had been a bad idea. Wanting to put on a good face for him, she gave him a weak grin as he continued to stare at her with worry in his burning coal-red eyes.
    Hopping out of her seat, she recalled that she should be shuffling as a crone and not moving with the spryness of youth. Grabbing her back, she clutched Giles’s forearm.
    He looked down at her hand with a question mark on his brow.
    “It’s just for show.” She scratched at her arm.
    His hawk-like gaze zoomed in on her movement.
    A little too tipsy on cider ale, Lilith bumped into one of the humans wearing green, causing him to splash most of the contents of his tankard onto the front of his shirt. Slamming his fist down on the table, he stood with a growl, glaring at Lilith with hard brown eyes.
    He was a mountain of a man. Thick and barrel-chested with a broad waistline.
    If he’d