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“Let me walk you back.” Stepping forward, I offered her my hand once more.
Skeptically, she leaned away from me. “Don’t you think it will look bad if we walk out of here together like that?”
I hummed. “I don’t know how many times I need to say this, but I don’t give a fuck what it looks like, what anyone here thinks, or that it’s technically too early for me to leave my own party. If you’re comfortable holding my hand, the simplest of acts, then nothing else matters.”
“You know this isn’t an invitation into my bed, right?” Her hand slipped into mine, and I brought it up to my mouth to give a gentle kiss.
“I won't touch you like that until you ask. Though,” I added, “I’ll be waiting, oh-so-impatiently until you do.”
Heads turned to watch us walk together up the stairs. Ryker tried to smile at me as we took our time. In my head, this wasn’t about what my court needed to see. Though the sight of Fae and Nymph hand in hand was necessary, this was one of the small moments where I felt like I was who I was meant to be. Life came at me in overwhelming waves, but Ryker somehow slowed them down and brought them into perspective for me.
The smile she gave me in return wasn’t without the sadness that still touched her eyes. Her back, her very scarred back, was in plain view for all to see. More eyes were trained on her than on me, for once. I hoped they saw the beauty in her like I did. I hoped they saw the wicked in them.
Together, we stepped around the corner and out of sight. Ryker let loose a long breath, like walking up the small flight of stairs had been painful to bear. Her pulse still raced; I felt it in the grip of her hand and heard it thudding in her chest.
She trembled next to me. Tentatively, I let go of her hand and reached to put my arm over her shoulders and hold her close as we walked. “May I?”
“I’m honestly surprised you even asked.”
“Have I not been anything but polite?” I wrapped my hand over her cold skin and brought her up against my body. The smell of her drifted in intoxicating waves up to my face. It took all of my strength not to bury my face in her hair.
“Polite but assertive,” she thought aloud. “Cocky and full of assumptions.”
“I thought you were starting to like me.”
“You may have convinced me that you havesomeadmirable traits.”
“Mmm, say more things like that,” I murmured. The silk of her dress was just a thin layer of material between us. My mind couldn’t quit thinking about it as I felt her frame shift with each step against me. “You must be great at talking dirty.”
She chuckled awkwardly. “Your version of talking dirty would be hurtling taunting remarks at each other.”
“Sorry, years of crippling mental damage will do that to a guy.”
A few posted guards bowed slightly at the waist as we passed. I’m sure many assumed that she wasn’t the queen-to-be, but a pawn in a game since she was a Nymph. It would take time to untrain their minds from thinking that way.
“You’re not the only one damaged,” Ryker said, watching the guards.
“Two peas in an unstable pod,” I whispered.
The door to the suite she was staying in came into view. I unwrapped myself from her and took her hand again. Once we reached the door I turned to face her. I couldn’t quit looking at her, touching her, and getting high off the reality of her.
“May I kiss you again?” I leaned forward.
Ryker’s back reclined against the door. Her lips pressed together, her eyes darting from my gaze to my mouth.“Yes, please,” she breathed.
That was enough. The space between us evaporated. Both of my hands held her face, tilting her chin up toward me. Excitement ballooned in my abdomen, the ecstasy of her embrace spiking desire that traveled straight to my cock.
Her lips parted for me. She opened her mouth wider, the kiss deepening. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I could do was want and taste and enjoy.
Her hands ran down my torso, settling along my hips. Her fingers gripped me tightly to her, digging sharply into the fabric of my shirt.
I pulled away just enough to press kisses against her tan skin, trailing down along her jaw and onto her neck. The briefest of scents caught my nose. Two small white dots had yet to fade, and still contained the smell of another man. My tongue flicked out over the spot. I wanted to claim her. I wanted to be the one to sink my teeth into her. If you did it right, if she wanted as much as I did, pleasure would spike wildly. It would make her legs tremble.
I paused, brushing my nose along her neck, trying to fight the primal urge that grew as the smell of her arousal filled the air. “I know you didn’t ask for that,” I said, pressing a kiss to the mark. “I could cover it up for you if you’d like.”
One hand rose and she cupped her neck, pulling away to watch me. “It’s almost faded. It will be gone soon enough.”
Absently, her other hand brushed my hair out of my face, trailing over my scalp, around my ear. She watched me, still trying to catch her breath as I was.
