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“What is it?” he said.
I swallowed. “Only that all of this is so incredibly ridiculous, isn’t it?”
His eyes were serious and steady. “Which part?”
“Pretending to be lovers. Being here, with you, in this ridiculously perfect garden after your court was just attacked by monsters.” Monsters of their own creation. His was a dark court indeed. “It’s all... too much. And I thought the Rose Court was a thorny mess.”
His smile grew. “Ours is a volcanic mess. On the verge of eruption.”
“Very funny. But truly, can’t you let me go, take a step backwards, and we’ll stop pretending for a few minutes?” I pleaded. “Just go back to being plain old us? You, grumpy Draven and me, angry-at-you-forever Morgan?”
His arms remained around my waist. “What if I don’t want to do that?”
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. “Don’t make me use an earring,” I said, trying to keep my voice light.
I shook my hair a little, showing off the long silver tendrils Breena had placed in each of my ears.
But instead of looking amused or annoyed, Draven’s face turned serious.
“You have the most beautiful laugh, you know. You rarely use it, but when you do...” He took a breath and to my shock I felt him tremble. “It shakes the world. My entire world.”
I said nothing. Had no idea what to say.
“I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier this evening,” he continued, his voice low and husky. “But you look breathtaking tonight in that gown.” He raised a hand and gently touched a finger to a strand of my hair. “Your hair is like liquid moonlight, a crown fit for a goddess.”
I laughed nervously before I could stop myself, then made a dismissive sound that said I didn't believe him.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Stop it.”
He shook his head, face set stubbornly. “I can't. Don't ask me to.”
He squeezed my waist gently, reminding me of the strength of those large hands and what they were capable of.
“This. The touch of your waist, your hips, your skin beneath my hands? It sets me on fire, Morgan. I'm in awe of you, every part of you. Can't you tell? I'm spellbound. You've awakened something in me I thought was long dead. Something I never thought I'd ever come close to feeling again. And now I live for your presence. For the hope of your laugh, your smile. All of this. The court. The throne. Bringing you here. I know I can never convince you, but it is all for you. What I do is for you, always.”
He leaned forward abruptly, breathing in deeply. “Your scent is intoxicating. Do you have any idea what your fragrance does to me? The longing I feel when I'm this close to you?”
An electric shiver danced through my veins, sending sparks through my body.
“Your brother and his court? They had no idea who you really were, what you were capable of. But I see you, Morgan Pendragon. I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine.”
I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came out.
He was saying the words that part of me had always wanted to hear. A part of me I had kept locked up and hidden away, too afraid to even admit it was there.
He was Kairos Draven. My enemy. My protector. Sometimes something close to a friend. Sometimes the man I wanted to stab while he slept.
Pretending to be his lover was a terrible joke, yes–but it was also terribly cruel.
Because part of me had always longed to be. From the very beginning. From the moment we had first met.
And now to hear him say these words...
“Stop,” I managed to get out. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t mean any of the things you’re saying. It’s just courtly bullshit, so stop. Stop it right now.”
The heat behind his eyes singed my heart. “How can I convince you I truly do?”
He pulled me more tightly against him and I felt every inch of his body along mine, felt the press of his desire, hard and unmistakable. I gasped. My body reacted by bursting into flame–heat racing over every inch of my skin where our forms merged and touched.
