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“We’re going to a different library,” he purred and pressed a hand to her lower back, leading her toward one of the two doors at the back of his room. Even though she’d been inside his space before, she hadn’t taken the time to look at the décor. Unsurprising, everything was mostly black. The wardrobe, the desk, the chaise, the walls, the bed, the floor, the chandelier. It was as though Rush wanted to prove that his heart could be black if he so wished.
Rush opened one of the two doors, and when she stepped inside the room after him, she gasped. It was one of the largest libraries she’d ever seen, even more so than the exquisite one at the Starnight Palace. Shelves lined the walls, filled with tomes of all colors and sizes, except for one area which held wine bottles and glasses. Two chairs rested in the center, an obsidian table between them, and a dark fur rug beneath.
The scent of leather and smoke surrounded her as she skimmed her fingers across the spines. Not a single layer of dust in sight. She glanced over her shoulder at the king. “You like to read?”
Rush’s lips curled up at the edges. “The King of Sin can do more than fuck. Although, some of these are great forinspiration.” His silver irises held hers and they became slitted as he drew out a bottle of wine, along with two clear glasses, from the rack. “Thirsty?”
Aura swallowed, her throat dry, and she nodded.
He popped the cork and poured them each a glass of red liquid. She drank a long sip of the wine after he handed it to her. The taste was sweet and velvety on her tongue.
“So, tell me your secrets,” he said, swirling the liquid in his glass before he drank from it.
Aura scowled. “Why the interest all of a sudden? You didn’t want to know anything about me before.”
“That’s not true, kitten. You were the one being difficult,” he drawled.
She clenched her teeth, her fist tightening around the glass. “Me?I’mthe difficult one? I won’t remind you again how you stole me from my home and have me trapped here.”
“You just did.” He chuckled and took a sip of his drink.
An unintelligible sound escaped her until she thought about how he’d saved her from her wedding. At least, in a sense. And then there’d been the party… “Even though you’re nothing but a pompous ass, I should’ve thanked you for saving me the other night. So thank you,” she whispered, then added, “But you’re still the one who forced me to attend the party.”
His jaw clenched, the vein feathering along his jaw. “Astor and I were too easy on them.”
“I’m glad we agree on that.” She smiled softly.
They drank in comfortable silence while Aura read over each of the titles on the spines. She hadn’t glanced back at Rush, but she could feel his eyes on her, especially when she went up the ladder to pore over a few more of the titles. These ones about journeys and battles, others of shifters.
As she climbed back down, she looked at the lower shelf, her gaze landing on a pastry tome and she inhaled a sharp breath. “You have recipe books?” She tore it from the shelf, then straightened quickly.
“They were my mother’s,” Rush said, his warm breath tickling her ear as he took the book from her hand. “She used to bake with Marion or help her cook meals when there was no one to entertain. It didn’t matter that she was queen—she enjoyed helping around the palace.”
“My mother is the same way. I mean, we didn’t grow up in a palace, but she likes helping the servants with the chores and taking care of us herself.” Aura smiled, then ran her finger across the worn leather cover of the tome still in Rush’s hand. “My twin sister is practically married to baking. She collects any recipe book she can find.”
Rush’s gaze held Aura’s, a line deepening between his brows as if he was trying to peel back her layers. “It’s hers then.”
Aura blinked, taken aback by his generosity before she narrowed her eyes. “What do I owe you for this?”
“Nothing.” Rush shrugged. “Consider it my apology for putting you in harm’s way at the party, even if it was unintentional. Astor can sneak it into her belongings.”
Aura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from spewing venomous curses at him when she thought about Astor talking to Hana while doing it. But then she thought about how he was giving a book that had belonged to his deceased mother. Her chest tightened as she wondered about Rush, the line of royal portraits inside the palace, the past kings and queens. Was there anyone who he had left alive? “What about your family? After your father, mother, and sister… Do you have any other relatives?”
“No,” Rush said through a tight jaw. His demeanor changed, hardened, and she knew at once she’d said something wrong. Perhaps he was thinking about how his parents and sister had died. With lips set in a tight line, he placed the book on the table beside his empty wine glass. As if she weren’t there, he pulled out another book from the shelf and flipped a few pages before asking, “Since we’re getting to know each other more thoroughly, how far did you go with the asshole prince if you two didn’t fuck?”
Flames ignited beneath her flesh and heat crept up her neck before she folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Did you watch him fuck his hand the way you watched me?” Rush looked at her then, his eyes hooded as he smirked.
“I think we’ve gotten to know one another enough for the day.” Aura turned on her heel and marched away when Rush’s hand clasped her wrist to draw her back. She ripped her arm away and shoved his chest. “If I’m to stay here, then you need to stop bringing up Pax. You need to stop punishingmejust because you hate him. I’m not a toy you can wind up and do with as you want.”
Rush peered down at her, his hulking frame casting a shadow over her beneath the candlelight. “You’re mine.”
Her nostrils flared. “Stop talking.”
Rush leaned in closer, his warm smoky breath mingling with hers. “Make me,” he rasped. And then it was there again, a slip of an emotion. Pain?
Aura didn’t know what she was even doing as she grasped Rush’s silky hair, tugging it hard as she brought his face to hers. She knew she should’ve slapped him again, but for some reason she’d chosen this. A part of her, a deep treacherous part, wanted to see if the smoky scent of him tasted just as heavenly as it smelled. There was no hesitation as he kissed her in return, his lips slanting across hers, punishing, demanding, taunting her in a way that made her want more when he slid his hot tongue inside her mouth.
