Page 41 of Once Upon a Fable

Smile?

Clearing my throat, I braced my shoulders and moved toward her.

She flinched and looped her hands together. Her eyelashes glittered in the harsh electrical light. Her eyes never strayed from my face while her body pretended to be non-threatening, sitting on the floor. However, every muscle twitched with tension.

I knew that pose.

I’d mastered that pose.

And I knew that look, too.

I’d worn it. I’d seen it. I didn’t need her to tell me that she hated me, feared me, and wanted me to die in equal measure.

“Here.” Placing the plate on the ground, I shoved it toward her. It slid across the concrete with a clunk, the bread tumbling into a shallow puddle. I scowled and reached to pluck it out before it could get too soggy. One of the many rules I’d learned here was you never wasted food. Ever.

She watched me carefully as I placed the bread back on her plate. A little bit of water never hurt anyone.

Holding her stare, I sat cross-legged before her, ignoring the cold concrete against my ass.

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes turning glassy as she stared at the bread. She trembled and sniffed as if food had the power to make her cry. Dismay coated her face as she glanced from the bread to the red juiciness of the strawberries that I’d tended, grown, and harvested.

Her hunger was obvious.

Her joy at seeing a basic feast sparked a cord of comradery inside me.

She wanted somethingI’dcreated.

Her desire for the breakfast I’d offered made possession flash through my heart. It silenced my hate just for a second, and with a quick snatch, I swapped her bread for mine.

I did it automatically.

Some long-dead chivalry raising its head despite my current lack of social skills.

Her head snapped up, long blond hair slipping over her shoulder.

And that was all it fucking took.

A single strand of hair.

A simple quirk of attention. Her eyes on me. Her awareness on me. Her heat so close. Her body so near.

Shit.

My cock swelled and pressed against my slacks, switching my starvation once again to her. A quaking desperation cracked my bones. I needed to shove the food away, strip her down, and wrestle her to the floor.

I’d stared at her last night, searching for tricks and lies. I’d been too focused on survival to see her for what she truly was.

But I saw now.

I sawher.

A woman.

A woman who stunned me fucking breathless with beauty I’d refused to see. Either my eyes were unused to seeing anything but my river-cast reflection or I’d forgotten what females looked like because I swore on the final shreds of my self-control that she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

Leaf-scattered hair, big green and brown swirling eyes, pink lips, dirt-smudged cheeks, and a body that wasn’t feeble or fragile but had muscletone, power, and a stark warning that if I was going to take what I wanted, I’d have to fight for it.

Images instantly sprang to mind.