“Hmm.” Biting my lip, I let my fingertips drift lower, mapping his pale chest as it rose and fell with increasingly shallow breaths. In all my years of designing unnatural, magical inventions, I had never created anything half so beautiful as Leander Fabian at that moment, his pupils expanding to fill his dark eyes as he held his long body still, flexing his elegant fingers at his sides but allowing me the freedom of my explorations. “I have nearly finished working out my new device, but I suppose I could wait just a little bit longer before I go back to my workshop and get started…”

His tongue darted out to lick his lips. “You could always move your workshop into the castle. There’s a whole room set aside for it already. Plenty of space.”

My eyes flashed up to meet his, my fingers stilling on his smooth skin. “What do you mean, you’ve set aside a room? I thought we’d agreed that I was keeping my workshop in the cottage.”

“Actually...” He cleared his throat, his eyelids drooping. “You told me not to bother clearing any space. But it wasn’t any bother for me or for my minions. They want you here, too, and this castle is so much bigger than your father’s cottage. If you move your tools and materials here, you won’t have to leave every time you want to work—”

“But I don’t want to move them.” Drawing my hand back, I pushed myself upright with rising unease. “I designed that workshop just the way I like it.”

“And you can design one exactly like it here. No one will overrule your choices. Mia…” Leander reached out to capture my hand, his plain silver ring glinting where I had placed it three months earlier. “Doesn’t this make sense to you?”

“I…I don’t know.” I tugged my hand free, panic as bitter in my mouth as the ashes of old fire. That too-familiar scent was suddenly back in the room with me again, fogging my thoughts and tightening my chest. “I can’t believe you cleared that room without asking me first.”

“For darkness’ sake, I’m not forcing you into anything!” Leander pushed himself upright, too, his pale face hollowing. “Don’t look at me as if I were trying to take you prisoner. You know your father can move in, too, if that’s what concerns you. I’m not trying to keep the two of you apart!”

Dad wouldn’t move in, though. I’d tried to talk him into it so many times already that he’d started rolling his eyes whenever the subject came up. “Mia, love, I’ve told you: don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine on my own…and not only on my own, either.”