“You are the most infuriating creature.” As abrasive as he was, there was a tenderness in those words. A gentle laughter that was as soft as the bend of an owl’s wing. “You have been a thorn in my side since day one. There have been times when I’ve wanted nothing more than to have you out of my life, and I have imagined countless ways that I might be rid of you. Countless ways that I might quiet that filthy mouth of yours. Yet since the moment I saw you stalking the halls of my home, I’ve also felt something stirring that I do not understand, but that I’ve not felt in a very long time.
