The Naiad had cornered me after the wedding. Lips a thin line, he’d cast his gaze pointedly to Kye, who stood behind me speaking to another guest, and said, “I hope you’ll act according to your promises tonight and do what is expected of you. I know it doesn’t come natural to those born feral on the islands, buttryto behave more appropriately than something I would find in the kennels outside.”
I'd forced a smile. “I’ll do my best, but there's only so much you can expect from an untrained dog,” I’d purred, as Kye turned to find us speaking to each other.
“Prince Nikolaos—” Thaan had started, but Kye snatched my hand with a growl, leading me away as Thaan struck out a hand, catching Kye on the arm. “I’ll find you in the morning, then, for our ride together to Winterlight.”
Kye swerved away, fingers digging into my palm. “Don’t talk to him,” Kye had ordered, ignoring the Naiad’s words and weaving me through a maze of party guests.
I waited until he’d successfully placed a healthy amount of distance between us and Thaan—Kye could part a crowd of people more skillfully than I could a bowl of water—and then wrenched myself from his grasp.
“Talk to whoever you want tonight,” he’d said in a harsh whisper, rounding on me. “But not him, and not my brother.” Then he’d disappeared for two hours, until someone banged their empty glass with a spoon, calling bedtime for the married couple, and a chorus of voices joined them.
The two of us alone in his room, Kye’s eyes flickered warily at me as he lifted a framed painting of a hunt, mounted men and their hounds chasing a wild boar into the underbrush of a thick forest, and thrust it down over the stone arch of the hole, covering it completely. “No, not Thaan. Just court perverts looking for a show. But we’re not obligated to give them anything. That necessity was abolished decades ago, thankfully. Besides, I’m not the heir. They don't need proof that anything’s been…executed.”
He all but spat the last few words, and I lifted my chin, angling my ire for the twinge in his tone. “So, they’ll watch Hadrian’s wedding bed?”
Kye’s gaze darkened. He stalked toward me, his movements precise and menacingly slow. “Sit, Leihani.”
“No.”
He stepped in, his chest grazing mine. He towered over me, dark and powerful, his muscles verging on the promise of violence, and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“Sit. Down.”
Warmth trickled down my spine. Goosebumps raised my flesh.
Sing. Sing sing sing—
I’m not sure why I didn’t.
Maybe it felt too easy, taking hold of his mind and snapping it like a twig between my fingers. Maybe I chased the challenge. Iwantedto see how far this went on its own, without the impediment of my mental control over him.
And maybe, a tiny, tiny shred of melikedthe electricity popping in the air around us, fizzling like static shock, crawling under my skin and setting my body ablaze.
His scent filled the room. Not only the familiar rain and mint, but the metallic, hot blur of an iron forge. Anger. And under it, a current soft and heady.
Arousal.
He stared into my eyes, jaw tight.
I stared back into his, fists clenched.
My heart hammered in my chest. My blood heated at the caustic energy emanating from his body. Something primal drew me close, and I pressed in, filling whatever space remained between us. The air around us burst—husky, tight, and eroded with the warmth of our combined breath, which staggered over our faces, hitting the walls and bouncing back like dark, humid clouds.
I suddenly craved the rest of him. His arms, hard and thick under the sleeves of his black shirt. His neck, warm and rough, inches from my nose. His hips thrust wildly against my own.
Mihaunaalive, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to want him. But I did, and he wanted me too. I was certain of it. His eyes gazed at me with unhinged disdain, but his body answered mine with another feeling altogether.
One of his hands grasped my shoulders, fingers curling into my skin, and I waited for him to force me into the chair and bind my limbs.
51
“Aalto and back,” Kye swore under his breath as his free hand wrapped around my jaw, holding it in place. “Can I kiss you?”
I was surprised he even asked; he looked ready to devour me. “Yes,” I said breathlessly, the word hardly out of my mouth before his met mine.
Hot and hard, he crashed into me, and a pool of warm liquid gathered in my stomach as I immediately opened for him. The taste of mint invaded my mouth. Fingers curled into the roots of my hair, rendering me still and at his mercy, and I didn’t care. Not as my body roared to life under the heat of his hands and mouth. The wild flick of his tongue, the tilt of his head as his fingers guided me in the opposite direction, deepening our kiss.
He backed me into the nearest wall, my shoulder blades thudding against stone with sudden carelessness, my hands entrenched under the hem of his shirt, seeking the blinding warmth of his skin.
