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“We had our meeting. It was awkward but we managed to work up a strategy to find the culprit. She’s the one avoiding me now.”
The fingers continued moving almost absently, tracing the hem of her dress. Belatedly, it dawned that he had sunk to his knees.
“Give it time,” she whispered. “My sisters and I fight all the time. They can’t stand that I don’t share my secrets and am not as open to them as they are to me.”
When he breathed against the back of her knee, she was dangerously close to arching her ass and begging him to do more than trace. The wantonness of it took her aback and propelled her next words out.
“When is it safe for me to leave the island?”
There was a moment of silence before his fingers were gone, even though they never really even touched her. Just like that, he was stepping away and clearing his throat.
“Soon. I promise I will let you know soon.” Then, “You can take it off now. I’ll wait for you outside.”
Regret blossomed, even while common sense told her this was good ground to walk on. She let out the breath she had been holding in when she was alone in the dressing room, then hastily changed back into her regular clothes. Outside, Bronco was nowhere to be found and Rick was the picture of patience.
“Have you had dinner?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“No more dress fitting?”
“No.”
“Good. Bedroom.”
“What? It’s early.”
“It’s getting late and some Fae folks fought earlier. I’m sure they’re not done and we have guards on standby in case they decide to continue it tonight. If they see you…”
They might take their anger out on her, she deduced. She was quiet when he led her back to their room area. So was he.
“Yu has his room now.”
“I’m aware. He’s excited.” She smiled softly, remembering the pixie’s chatter earlier. “He said he’s never had a room before and had to share everything with his fellow pixies.”
He smiled, too, and she glimpsed the brightness in his amusement. “I’ll give him a bigger one when all the trouble’s over.”
“Neat.”
“You can leave soon,” he said after a while. “I will find a way to quicken the process for you. Then we can be out of each other’s hair.”
“You already said that. Thanks.” She stopped in front of her door and turned, her eyes widening. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. Things to do.”
“Oh.”
Emerald waited for the teasing, flirting Rick to come out before he did leave, ready with her scathing remark or two. She waited for the bright grin to encompass his face again and put butterflies in her stomach—anything, whatever banter they used to have. Trepidation glissaded in when it didn’t come and he didn’t move closer.
“Goodnight,” he murmured, voice light but low. The hot brand of his lips on her cheek had her biting back a moan, but there was nothing to moan about as Rick kept it casual. When she turned her head a fraction, he ended the kiss and straightened.
It was all her and her raging emotions, fighting with the logic that she should follow his lead and stop whatever tension they were tiptoeing over. He was doing it splendidly, wasn’t he? It was what she wanted, wasn’t it? But her stubbornness worked against her this time, nagging her conflicted mind but making one thing clear.
“You don’t want to let me go. That’s what’s causing the mood swing.”
Rick’s brows furrowed. He shook his head.
“There’s no mood swing and I didn’t say anything about not letting you go. You deserve to go back home.”
