Page 43 of His Winter Wonderland

“No. You were looking at my hips.”

Busted. “You’ve put on weight.”

She sighed. “Has no one ever told you not to tell a woman that?”

“It looks great on you. You’re still slender. Just curvier.”

“Let’s talk about Sinclair and Kaede, please.”

He liked the way she said please. He liked watching her lips move as she talked. He liked everything about his kitten. He wanted to hear her purr again. Rhen stood up. She quickly took a step back.

“I want a drink of water,” he told a little white lie.

“You just said you wasn’t hungry.”

“I suddenly find myself very hungry, Kitten.”

Her eyes widened. “Don’t call me that.”

“Have we not reached the nickname stage?”

“We’re at the, I’m close to staking you, stage.”

He shook his head. “We’ve passed that stage. You purred for me. We’re way past that stage.”

“Want to bet?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ll go grab me a glass of water.”

Hands still folded over her chest, she scooted left. Chin raised, she told him, “I’ll get it for you and you better drink every last drop, vampire.”

“You know me. I never miss a drop.”

There was that growl again. She turned and raced into the other room. Rhen assumed she was heading to the kitchen. He waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps then he started dancing around the room.

“She purred for me,” he whispered, not wanting her to hear him. “She purred for me twice in one night. And I was hella close to her and my dark side didn’t rise up.”

He stopped dancing and pushed his hair out of his face when he heard her heading back to the main room. She entered with a small glass of water in her hand. If he drank that, he was going to have a stomach ache for a couple of days. It would be worth it. She presented the glass to him.

Their fingers brushed against each other as he grabbed the glass. She jerked her hand away. But Rhen saw the blush in her cheeks. All these years, he’d thought her indifferent, he’d thought she didn’t want him. Yet, she’d been locked away in this cabin, wanting him just as much as he wanted her.

He took a sip of the water then frowned. There was something wrong with the water. Distracted by her, he hadn’t noticed. He inhaled. And closed his eyes. He knew that smell. The darkness in him was clawing at his insides, desperate to be set free. Rhen pushed back, refusing to let him rise.

Opening his eyes, he stared into the eyes of his mate. “You put a drop of your blood in my water.” Why? Was she testing him?

She nodded. “I had no choice. You insisted on having water. If you drink it without blood in it, you’ll be sick. I only put a few drops in it.”

His gums ached, but his fangs didn’t push through. “Are you trying to see if I’ll experience bloodlust.”

“That’s not the main purpose. But, I’ll like to see how you handle it.”

“If I don’t change, will you try trusting me again?” Already, his voice was deepening. He swallowed to clear his throat that was parched, dry, wanting a sip of her.

“If you don’t change, I won’t have to kill you. Today,” she told him then nodded at the glass. “Drink the water.”

This was one test he couldn’t afford to fail. Rhen stared down at the glass. “I won’t hurt you,” he said, eyes still on the water.

“Drink the water, Rhen. Then we can start our plan for saving Kaede and Sin.”