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I ran my fingers through my hair for the hundredth time that morning, looking out the window and onto the courtyard below our central palace office. Flint was picking Arden up from work after her morning shift, and they should have been back by now. What were they up to?
I smirked, standing and crossing the room to stretch my legs. At least I knew they weren’t in bed together.
The doors opened as I gazed out onto the courtyard, and I turned to see who had come in. It was Arden and Flint. Just seeing Arden after several hours made my chest ache. It didn’t matter what she was doing. She was always beautiful.
The grim look on her face gave me pause, though.
“Everything okay?” I asked her, automatically reaching for her. She walked into my arms and saved me from breaking the agreement by giving me a hug. I rested my chin on top of her head and savored her post-work, coffee-and-sugar scent.
“Not really,” Flint said, his eyes flicking between me and the back of Arden’s head. She hadn’t let go of me.
“Tommy still hasn’t come in. Not on my shifts or anyone else’s,” she said, lifting her head from my chest. “And none of my regulars have heard from him, either. He’s like a ghost.”
“Shit.” I didn’t let go of her all the way, but I gave her enough space to look fully into my eyes. “It’s been a long time.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Flint said. “We should get security to dig up his whereabouts. We can’t wait any longer. He could be helping to plan another mass kidnapping, and the Forsaken Lunars could be plotting to take the artifact back any day now.”
“They won’t get the artifact,” I said. “But Arden is still at risk. We don’t know what the Forsaken Lunars know.”
My stomach twisted in knots. I trusted Flint and Jagger to watch over Arden when she was at work, but the Forsaken Lunars had gotten away with all their crimes because they weren’t clumsy about executing their plans. Who knew what they were capable of plotting? Fae had made attempts on our lives in the past. Not that they’d come close. They’d try again if it meant getting to a nymph shifter.
“True.” Flint went to his desk. “We have everything you’ve told us on file, Arden. Can you look over it and make sure it’s complete? I’ll pass it along to our security.”
“Sure.”
I sat at my desk and watched Arden read over the files. She approved of them.
“Is there anything else you need me to do?” she asked, stretching her arms up in the air. The hem of her t-shirt came up, exposing a smooth strip of skin. It wasn’t overtly sexual, but having gone a week without sex made it that way in my mind.
“No, you’re fine.” Flint studied the papers in front of him.
“I guess I have a free afternoon, then,” she said, her eyes drifting toward me.
Before, we would have gone straight to bed. But now, that wasn’t an option. I glanced outside, and an idea clicked.
“Want to go to the beach?” I asked. “The one I took you to for your first day of training? It’s a nice day for a walk.”
Arden smiled. “I’d love that!”
“Let’s go, then.” I ignored Flint’s stare as I rested my hand on her shoulder and guided her out.
We went our separate ways in the hall to get changed, then met outside the central palace. I’d asked an aide to put together a backpack with beach gear and some snacks, which he was holding as he waited with Arden. She was wearing a loose swimsuit cover-up, to my relief. I wanted to go to the beach, but maintaining my self-control with her exposed body was going to make my life difficult.
The aide handed Arden the bag, which she slung onto her back.
“Let’s go, Kitten. I’ll fly us there.” It was no problem for me to do it. Plus, I got to be closer to her, even if it wasn’t as good as kissing or sex.
I shifted, and she crawled onto my back, the bag on her shoulder. I took off toward the beach. Arden was tiny in comparison to my dragon form, but I still liked her weight on my back. She stretched out on her stomach, like she was trying to get closer to me, too.
Eventually, I swooped down onto the beach and shifted back. An aide had been here earlier to set up an umbrella and some chairs. I took Arden’s hand and walked her to them.
“Will you seriously lose your kingdom and all your money if we kiss?” she asked.
“Yep. I know Flint well. He doesn’t bluff when it comes to spells like this.” I chuckled. “When we were teenagers, we made a bet and sealed it with a spell. It was over a girl we both liked and wanted to take to a ball, but I don’t remember the specifics. Whoever lost would have all their hair everywhere fall out right away.”
“Oh, no.”
