Prince Vance showed us to our chamber on the sixth floor and left bidding us farewell. No extra words were exchanged among us, much to my relief.

As soon as I stepped inside our chamber, my jaw collapsed at the sheer beauty of this white and gold heaven.

It was like I walked into the realm of milk and honey with such warm shades of walls. The high dome ceiling had silk golden curtains swelling downward like petals of a daisy, and in the middle of them, there was a large layered crystal chandelier gleaming when light caught the sparkly diamonds.

Right below the setting was an abundance of cushions around padded white settees forming a neat square.

The bed area was on the left, raised on a three-stepped platform divided by sheer white curtains. I could glimpse the golden frame of a vanity mirror from my vantage point. The closet must have been that way as well.

But what had lured my feet was the humongous stretch of floor-to-ceiling shelves on the entire wall on my right. Well, not the entire wall because right in the middle nestled a cozy stone fireplace. Cushions of colors and upturned books scattered around the plush red carpet right before the hearth.

A pang shot through my heart at the semblance of home in this unknown place. My throat clogged as I sank into the soft carpet and touched the nearest cushions and books.

"You really saw me before, didn't you?" my voice was barely a whisper as my fingers trailed down a worn spine.

"I did." Was his casual response as he sat beside me, taking a blue cushion on his lap and spinning it in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

My lips twitched. "No. I'd think you're lying to get my hand."

"I can still get your hand now," he rested the cushion on his lap and met my gaze. "If you'd have me."

The sheer intensity of his gaze knocked the breath out of me and my heart started to gallop.

My cheeks warmed next when I realized he could feel that.

Damn, this bond! And that smirk!

However, I breathed and mustered up my courage to speak. I had questions, after all.

"Whatever you said down there..." I licked my dry lips. "Was that true?"

His eyes twinkled as he leaned forward. "Was what true?"

I looked away, unable to bear his undivided attention. "That you..."

"That I..."

He was having too much fun with this!

I huffed and met his scorching gaze.

"That you love me?"

"I do. For the last couple of years."

How was he so calm about this?

"Since the fair?"

"Since the night I saw you bargaining with a trader in a stall for knitting hoops and giving him more than his asking price in the end. Since I heard you tell your friends you did that so the trader wouldn't feel wary of serving the Coven Daughter, that you wanted to be a regular customer to him despite your status. You are a strong leader who strives for equality among her kin, and that was what drew me closer to you. I didn't realize that right away, though. Just had it fermenting in my mind for months following the night until I was officially obsessed with your thoughts, your laughter, your caramel waves," His fingers slid through my slick strands, making me shiver at the sheer tenderness of his touch. "The whole beautiful you."

Tiny little sparks of tingle burst through my veins and I could only close my eyes and savor the feeling. This man would make me fall in love with his words alone if I wasn't careful.

"And the letters?" I whispered.

The sudden loss of his touch pulled at my heart and I opened my eyes.

He pointed his toward the spine I still didn't know I was touching. "Open it."

I frowned and picked up the book, flipping open the cover.

'Another sunset with sky the shade of sweet caramel

Another sunset without her'

I looked up at him and he wiggled his brows toward the books scattered around us.

I grabbed another one.

'How is it possible for one to distract the most focused just by infiltrating their thoughts?'

Did I inhale a love potion by mistake?'

"Love potion? Really?" I grabbed a red book as he shrugged, grinning.

'I'm confirmed. She bewitched me. Through and through.'

Another book.

'I'm on the verge of the greatest discovery of my life. Well, two. I'm confirmed of the first. I'm in love with that woman from the fair with a magnetic, magnificent aura.'

"What is the second discovery?" I asked.

He twisted his lips in a pout. "Still a work in progress."

"What do you do exactly?"

"I'm a herbalist with a fascination for genetic tweaks in life, and you."

I shook my head, grinning. "Never thought you were such a smooth man."

"How smooth?" He drawled, trailing a warm finger down the side of my throat.

I dropped the book with a smile, put the cushion away from his lap, and jumped to straddle his hips, earning a surprised gasp from him.

With my arms curled around his neck and him holding onto my waist, I leaned down to his ear.

"Let me show you how."