“Look at you,kulta, already changing the world.” His dimples pop when he grins. “Still think the palace is ready for the likes of me?”
I tug him closer. “The world had better get ready, because I’m not giving you up, Lark. Not for anyone. Now do you want to waste this beautiful night arguing about it, or did you have something else in mind?”
“I don’t want to waste any time I get with you. I just also don’t want to make your life more difficult.” His smile doesn’t fool me when the tension around his eyes gives him away.
I cup his cheek and kiss him, my heart steady. “You don’t make anything difficult, Lark. You make my life worth living. So unless you think I can’t handle a little challenge—”
“Oh no,kulta. You can handle anything.”
“Right answer. Then believe me when I say you’re the best thing for me, for the kids, and for the Hinterlands. Some PointFae will be jerks, but we’ll prove them wrong. You trust me, right?”
“With my life,” he murmurs. “No, with my family.”
Warmth settles in my chest. “Enough to tell me the true purpose of your little journey?”
He taps my nose. “Nice try. I already told you—Locke’s list, setting myself up as a supplier. I need to have a use besides being your consort.”
I snort. “I’d rather enjoy having you as my consort, though.” It’s especially true when he looks breathtaking with silver moonlight wrapping his body like a ribbon I want to undo. “But that’s not the only purpose of your trip.”
He only smiles, secretive and infuriating. Moonlight turns our hair silver, and when he tucks a lock of mine behind my ear, his hand lingers at my neck.
“You’ve got that look,” I whisper.
“What look?”
“The one that makes me want to forget the rest of the world.”
My breath catches at the slow circles of his thumb against my pulse. The air between us shifts, heating in the cool night. His gaze lingers on my mouth before he leans in. The kiss starts soft, testing, then deepens with a hunger that sparks through every nerve.
I grip his shoulders, pulling him closer. One arm wraps firm around my waist; the other cradles my head. His lips taste faintly of sweet tea, his scent of cardamom wrapping around me while each kiss builds—longer, deeper—until my head spins. I can’t take much more. I need him.
When his mouth trails down my jaw and neck, I shiver and move, skirts hitching as I push him down and drop a knee to either side of his hips. My fingers clutch his shirt, feeling muscles flex beneath. He moves with easy confidence, each touch knowing, until the world falls away.
The blanket is our small universe, his grin edged with mischief as he falls back to look at me. His hands slide to my waist, pulling me flush against the hard line of him beneath me. My breath stutters as I work open the laces of his trousers.
His eyes darken. He surges up to kiss me as I free him, his heat pressing into my palm.
Night air chills my bared legs as I remove the last barriers between us until I’m sinking slowly onto him. He moans while the sensation steals my breath. His hands steady my hips, though his jaw tightens with restraint.
“Storms, Talvie,” he groans against my throat. “It’s always so good with you. Always.”
I begin to move, rocking us into a rhythm that has his head tipping back. My palms glide over his bare chest, feeling the race of his heartbeat. The night folds in close—the scent of spring, the whisper of wind through budding branches. And over it all, the low, raw sounds he makes when I change the pace.
Leaning close, our foreheads almost touching, I whisper, “It’s never been like this with anyone else. Only us. It could only ever be us.”
His answering groan vibrates through me. I ride the wave of it, clinging to him as we whisper each other’s names, matching heartbeat for heartbeat, until we spin together into the stars.
Long after the final tremors ease, I hold him close.
“Are you sure you have to go?” I ask quietly, already knowing the answer.
His chest rises beneath me. “I need to bring something beyond illusions and charm to the table. You deserve someone who can stand beside you. Don’t worry, though. As your consort, I’m not leaving before round two.” His laugh rumbles low and warm.
“Fine. But be back before we leave for Rimne in a fortnight.”
“I’ll try,kulta.”
“If you’re not, I’ll take the kids with me. Mika and Doc will stay here for their apprenticeships, but I’ll bring the rest to the palace. So you’d better show up before someone accuses me of kidnapping.”
