His eyes snapped up from their path down her throat. “You wouldn’t tell anyone, would you?That’s what you said.”
Understanding clicked into place. She’d said that, yes, but not because she was ashamed. She scooted close enough that her knees touched his leg and rested her head on the couch, facing him. “You know how people watch Isobel and Sean?”
He said nothing, but she knew she held his rapt attention.
“I thought that if anything happened between us and everyone knew, they’d watch us like that, too. Only…Sean and Bel are loved. We wouldn’t be. I’m a pixie. You’re akeilaand Galadaine’s heir. They would rip us apart before we could even try,” she said. “I just…wanted a real shot.” She looked down, drawing a finger down his arm. Something deep inside told her this man was significant, that he could become crucial, could be somewhere she belonged. She might never discover her own roots or know her own past, but she could choose a good future.
With him.
David blinked once. Twice. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
She laughed. “I thought I did.”
“Bloody hell, woman. Can you turn off cryptic mode?”
“No,” she deadpanned.
He touched her knee, drawing circles in a maddening way. “At least your emotions are easy to read. Storming in here with anxiety like a hive of bees. You were worried about me, weren’t you?”
She fidgeted in place. “I mean, you and Sean barely have any training, and—you?—”
“And I what?” he asked with a mocking quirk to his mouth.
“You rarely fight back?—”
He let loose a fond laugh. “I fight back when the situation calls for it.”
Anna dropped her gaze to his hand on her knee and grew bold enough to slide her leg over his lap. His hands glided over her skin,his pinky playing with the hem of her dress. She ached for his touch, far more than she would readily admit. Beyond curious what hid inside, she prodded at the ice around his emotions.
“It feels strange when you do that,” he murmured, eyes falling shut again. “Like you’re nuzzling my soul.”
“You’re always hiding. Tell me what you’re feeling right now.”
“I feel…” Frosty emotions flickered before resettling. “Tired.”
Oh.She straightened. “Do you want me to leave?”
His grip tightened on her leg, and his gaze went sharp. “Try it and see what happens.”
Flares of sparks erupted and burned the oxygen from her chest. Her blood turned to crackling lights.
His attention dripped down her face, throat, chest, landing squarely between her breasts. “Your happiness feels like sunshine. Do you have any idea how good you feel when you’re happy?”
Anna chuckled. “No one’s taught me to cage my emotions yet.”
His brows rose. “Mother dearest hasn’t delivered?”
“She said we’ll work on it soon.”
He twisted toward her and dragged a finger to that same place between her breasts, where her heartbeat slammed against her ribs. “You’ll need a big cage for all that.” Her breathing sped as he hooked a finger around the neck of her violet dress. “Please tell me you wore this pretty thing for me.”
She nodded and threw out all her courage to say, “I also wore what’s under the dress for you.”
Heat flared in his eyes, and he pulled on her neckline. When David’s lips touched hers, soft and sure, fuel poured onto the crackling lights in her veins. He tugged, and it was so easy to slide on top of him, to spread her legs and press against him, to let his hands trail beneath her skirt until he gripped her hips, holding her firmly against his growing length. He deepened the kiss, luring her with hints of that minty lemon drink he liked so much.
“I thought you were tired,” she murmured against his mouth.
“Not for you.” His fatigued voice slurred again as he smearedkisses down her neck. She threaded her fingers through his hair, and he kissed a line across her chest. “Even half-dead, I’d still want you. I think you’ve ruined me.”
