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My stomach sinks as I hold up my hand to stop her. “I’m sorry. I presume much.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just you are the a’deve and,” she lowers her voice, “a princess. Such work is beneath you, is it not?”
Under the wine’s influence, I sway a bit, smiling ruefully. “Everyone is under the impression I’ve come from a life of luxury. But I assure you, I’ve worked every day for most of my life.”
Once her surprise fades, she lifts a hand to squeeze my arm as if in solidarity. “Then, I’d be honored to teach you all that I know. Now, let’s not keep the men waiting. I don’t wish to bank Eldon’s passion.” She gives me a saucy wink and my heart leaps with the knowledge that we have a chance at becoming friends.
The cold air greets me like a slap as we step outside, but my steps falter for another reason. The night sky. It’s as if the Mother herself has painted it with swathes of blue and green.
“It’s an auspicious night, indeed,” Daysa says from beside me, “if we’re to be graced with the northern lights.”
“It’s incredible,” I breathe as the light slowly shifts across the sky. “Does this happen often?”
“No, not often. A few times each winter season maybe.” I startle as she takes my elbow. “Come. They grow impatient.”
With my eyes glued to the sky, I’m not sure how I make it to the barn without stumbling.
“We bid you a good night,” Daysa says, handing me the cloak.
“Oh, thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”
Luka steps forward. “Give it to me.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Luka,” Eldon says, then gives me an incline of his head. “A’Deve.”
They start back to the house and my manners come back to me in a rush. “Thank you for a wonderful evening,” I call and Daysa gives me a final wave. The thump of the bar being lowered on the inside of their door echoes through the clearing, but I’m too busy gaping at the sky once again to give it much notice.
“You’ve never seen this before?” Luka asks, drawing my focus back to his solid, inimitable presence.
“No, it’s magnificent.”Like you,I think, taking in his broad frame.
His nostrils flare. “You’ve been looking at me like that all night,” he accuses.
I swallow hard. “And how’s that?” I whisper.
His brows lift ever so slightly as if daring me to continue with my charade, but I refuse to back down even when he prowls forward, throwing the borrowed cloak over Nightshade’s back. “You know exactly how.” He comes so close that I have to keep raising my chin until I can feel the warmth radiating from his chest on my throat.
He runs a single, callused finger from my temple down over my cheekbone to my jaw, causing a shiver that has nothing to do with the cold. The caress doesn’t end there, but continues down the side of my neck and skims along the fur collar of my vest. The thick leather creaks as his fingers hook into the neckline and slowly pull me forward until I’m flush against him. “There it is again . . . that look.” The low pitch of his voice settles like a warm weight between my thighs.
My heart beats madly as his other hand wraps around my waist to pull me in more tightly, letting the obvious ridge of his length come to rest against my belly. “Do you feel that, little raven?” He curls his hips into me. “That look of yours does things to me.”
Feeling completely overwhelmed, I can barely breathe as the hand at my collar slides around my neck to the hair at my nape. He holds me there, vibrating with need, just staring at my lips, for what feels like an eternity before his mouth finally descends on mine. It’s worth the wait. He’s hungry and insistent as he plunders my mouth. I revel in the aggression which is in stark contrast to the softness of his lips and the lush taste of the wine. My knees turn to water and my mind spins endlessly on the thrill of it all.
Luka is kissing me.
After long moments, we settle into delicious nips and grazes and nibbles and my fingers dance their way up his arms, tracing each muscle and tendon through his thin shirt, until they reach his neck.
Then our tongues meet and the shimmering desire explodes inside of me. I become desperate for him, needing him closer. I’m not sure if I mean to pull him down or pull myself up, but I pull. And my efforts are rewarded as he hoists me up with an arm under my bottom.
Our lips break apart and his dark, lust-drenched expression comes into view.Is he . . . angry?I want no part of that, so I nuzzle into his neck, filling my lungs with his scent.
“Damn you. I –” His words cut off when I suckle at the spot below his ear, letting my tongue taste his skin.
“Hmmmm, damn me for what, you big brute?” I bite him gently, causing his breath to hitch. “You can’t deny you want me just as badly as I want you.”
“This isn’t right. You –”
Not wanting to hear a list of my inadequacies, I re-seal my lips to his. And this time, the kiss escalates quickly. We’re soon panting into each other’s mouths, sucking on tongues and bruising lips, completely lost in each other. The heat in my core becomes so insistent that I attempt to get my good leg around his hip. If I don’t get some friction to my clit, I’m going to be devoured by the heat of our own making.
