Chapter 33. The Marking

“I know what you’re going to say,” Amelia said, licking her fingers. “A lady should eat daintily, but…” She pierced Germaine with a look. “This shit is too damn delicious to eat it any other way.”

Germaine burst into raucous laughter. She had been contemplating licking her fingers before Amelia began licking hers.

“I see the way he looks at you,” Amelia said, finally letting go of the rabbit bone in her hand.

“Who? Storm?”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “Come, now, Germaine, you know as well as I do that the man who has refused to take his eyes off you is Keratin.” She leaned closer to Germaine and whispered in her ear. “Even now, he refuses to look away, it’s like he’s eyes are permanently stuck on you.”

Germaine felt suddenly hot and bothered. She looked down at her almost-empty plate, knowing fully well her face was flaming red. She felt, rather than saw, Keratin’s piercing gaze from across the dining table. They were seated around a table of twenty, with f