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He walks up behind me and his arms slip around my waist. His fingers splay over my stomach, low and firm, his chin resting in the spot above my collarbone. The fabric of my dress is so thin that I might as well be naked, the cold of his fingers bleeding into my flesh.
His lips brush the sensitive shell of my ear. “Does this feel like a mistake to you?”
I sink into him, sighing as I do. Holy hell. Nothing should feel this good.
“No,” I whisper.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Eclipsa is going with me, but Asher will stay here with you. When I return, I’ll explain everything.”
“You’re missing the dance?”
“Not if I can help it.”
My body jerks as he pulls away. A rush of air hisses through my teeth. “Wait. I don’t understand any of this. I don’t even know . . . your name.”
He stiffens. Outside, snow batters the windows in violent bursts. When he looks at me, there’s such vulnerability in his face that I fight to avert my gaze. “I have enemies everywhere. Enemies who would use such information to destroy me.”
I reach into my dress and tug out my pendant. “I have this. I think it’s why I was immune to your glamour, which means no one can force me to reveal your name.”
“Even so. Trusting isn’t in my nature. Call it a result of my upbringing.”
The dark sarcasm in his voice can’t hide his pain.
“Prince, I’m not your enemy.”
“Life has taught me that everyone is a potential opponent, even those close to me.” A muscle flickers in his jaw. “Especially people close to me.”
“I am not your enemy,” I repeat softly. “If I can trust you not to hurt me, you can trust me with your name.”
He hasn’t stopped staring at me. Hasn’t blinked. That raw vulnerability making him irresistible. I want to break down those walls. I want to destroy them and anyone responsible for their creation.
“Be careful looking at me that way,” he says, his voice low and gravelly with warning.
“Or what?”
“Or I won’t be able to leave.”
“Then don’t. If that’s what it takes to get the name of my mate.” What the hell am I saying?
But it’s too late. He prowls toward me until we’re inches apart. His hands slide over my waist, cool and claiming. His thumbs begin circling low on my belly. “Say it again.”
“What?”
“My mate. Say it.”
A rush of air escapes my lips. I hadn’t meant to utter that phrase, but there it is. A wave of dizziness crashes over me as the words come to life on my tongue, heavy and terrifying and final.
The moment I release them, I won’t be able to take them back. Not a second time. And I can see in his eyes what that means.
But I can’t stop my rebellious mouth from parting. My traitorous lips from curling to form each syllable. My errant lungs from sending a surge of air to release the two words that will change my life forever.
“My mate.”
His hands leave my hips and frame my face. Then his fingers slide over my jaw to cup the back of my head. Two of his fingers twine in my hair, gently controlling my head. His lips crush mine. The force startling. When his tongue enters my mouth, my eyelids snap shut, a soft moan rumbling in my throat.
Instinctively my hands go to his hair, fisting the silky strands.
He stiffens before growling into my mouth.
