Chapter 29

2.8K 193 10
                                    

Arden finished copying the last letter in the sentence and frowned. Her writing appeared as awkward and clumsy as a newborn foal compared to the sleek, flowing lines of Dev's. "I'm done with this passage."

He peered over her shoulder, nodding. "Getting neater. Can you read it aloud now, too?"

"The cat ran to the girl." For the past two days, she'd soaked up Dev's reading and writing lessons. He'd write a sentence, read it aloud to her, let her copy it, and then make her repeat it back. Now, she was beginning to recognize common words and sound out the ones she didn't know. It made the day go by faster.

"Good." He bent over the desk, sending a wave of his scent in her direction. A spark of attraction raced through her body. "Try this sentence."

"What does it say?"

A grin broke the harsh lines of his face. "You have ink on your cheek."

She glanced down at the letters before the realization of his sentence hit her. Blood rushed to her cheeks. "Where?" she asked, grabbing a mirror.

"Here." He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. "And here." He rubbed another spot on her forehead. "Don't worry, though. I've cleaned them up."

Her skin tingled where he'd touched her. When she checked her appearance, the smudges were gone. "How did you do that?"

"Magic." He wiggled his fingers in front of her. "Now, back to your lesson."

Her concentration wandered while she copied the sentence. It drove her crazy that Dev seemed so calm and collected when she could barely control her reaction to him. But what really had her off-kilter was Loku's absence. Who would have thought she'd miss his endless stream of lewd comments?

"Dev, what did we do to Loku yesterday?"

He stiffened. "We contained him."

"But he's still inside me, isn't he?"

"Yes. The only way to be rid of him is death."

A ripple of unease flowed through her. "And how long will he be contained?"

Dev frowned. "I can't say. This is the first time I've ever tried to contain him, and I couldn't have done it without your help."

She returned to the piece of paper in front of her, not wanting to dwell on this any longer. "Next sentence, please."

"Insatiable, are you?"

"I want to learn all I can."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "You're learning quicker than I expected."

"I'm not a child. I hope I'd grasp certain concepts faster than one."

"No, you're definitely not a child." The tone of his voice made both her breath and her pulse hitch. He stared at her for a moment. The only sound in the room was the air entering and leaving their lungs. Sweat prickled at the base of her neck from the hungry intensity of his gaze. Then his usual cold mask of composure slipped back into place. "Are you up for a challenge?"

He would tie her stomach in knots at this rate. At least she knew what Kell was thinking. Dev remained a riddle that she never discovered the answer to. "Of course."

He grabbed the piece of paper and laid it on top of a book. The quill in his hand practically flew with each deft stroke. A playful glint appeared in his eyes when he handed her the paper. "Read this."

A mash of lines, curves, and dots formed strange symbols on the page, none of which resembled the letters he'd made her copy over and over again yesterday. "Is this some kind of trick?"

A Soul For TroubleWhere stories live. Discover now