“Why didn’t she come herself?” he asked her.
“Because she’s Perizada and does whatever the hell she wants to.” Cyn slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what had slipped out.
Thalion chuckled. “I take it you aren’t happy to be here?”
Cyn felt bad for being so rude, but she didn’t want to let her guard down. She was pretty sure if she did, she’d end up letting him kiss her. That is … if he still wanted to kiss her. What if he didn’t want to kiss her anymore? Wait, why did she care? She was supposed to be trying to avoid any feelings toward the prince. Easier said than done, apparently.
“We are asking you to reconsider your position on the matter we previously discussed.”
“Five decades ago?” Thalion interrupted, sounding none too pleased.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, five decades ago.”
“Where, exactly, have you been for the past fifty years, Cyn?”
“I’ve had responsibilities to attend to,” she answered, looking everywhere but at him.
“Were you avoiding me?”
“Why would I do that? I would have to care about you in order to expend the energy to try to avoid you.”
Thalion took a step closer to her. Cyn was sure he loved crowding her and watching her squirm under his attention.
“Why don’t I believe you, beautiful?” he asked softly.
“Perhaps you have an inflated view of yourself. Perhaps you think the world revolves around you. Perhaps you think that everyone else in the world makes their decisions based upon where they are in relationship to you,” Cyn offered as she took a discrete step back. She didn’t make it another step before Thalion had wrapped her in his arms, pulling her tightly against him.
“I’ve missed you and your insults,” he whispered against her ear as he buried his face in her neck.
Cyn didn’t know what to do. Her body was stiff with surprise, but part of her brain was screaming at her to wrap her arms around him and sink into his warmth. She couldn’t let that happen. She must not allow herself to give in to emotions that would distract her from her task. Cyn had been born a warrior, plain and simple. She’d never known any other lifestyle. Ever since she could walk, she’d been conditioned to believe the sole purpose in her existence was to protect and serve her own race, as well as any others that the council commanded. She was a servant to her people. She didn’t have the luxury of having romantic relationships, especially not with the prince of a completely different race.
Cyn felt his hand glide slowly up her spine until his strong fingers were wrapped around the back of her neck. Her breathing had increased, and she was pretty sure a pack of wild boar was attempting to do the cha-cha in her stomach. Why did he affect her this way? In all her centuries of life, Cyn had never been brought to her knees by the touch of a male. Yet there she stood, in Thalion’s arms, and had he not been supporting her, she’d have been a puddle on the ground.
“Didn’t you miss me?” he mumbled, his face still pressed close to her neck.
Cyn nearly laughed when he added, in a voice that sounded much too pouty for a grown man, “Even a little?”
She had missed him. She’d missed him so much at times that it hurt to breathe. There hadn’t been a day that had gone by when Cyn hadn’t thought of the prince of the elves. No night had passed without his face consuming her dreams. He was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and she’d felt as if she were going mad.
“I need to know your answer, sir,” she said, drawing the discussion back to business—a topic she was much more comfortable with.
“I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”
“Games? Again?” Cyn asked.
He shrugged. “I like to play with you.”
Deciding that if she ever wanted him to release her she’d have to go along with him, she gave him her answer. “I did.”
He froze. Thalion’s hands stopped the kneading and petting, and his chest no longer moved up and down from his breathing. It was as if time itself had stopped and he’d stopped with it. Cyn pulled back to look up at him and her breath caught. The look of longing on his face was painful to see.
“You did what?” He finally exhaled and asked.
Cyn bit her bottom lip. “I did miss you.” There. She’d said it. Now they could finally get on with the business at—her thoughts were completely derailed when Thalion’s lips took possession of hers. He was like a starved man being set before a huge feast.
Cyn knew she should push him away. She should put an end to the madness and force him to understand they can never happen. That’s what she should do, but her body and her heart weren’t listening. So instead, Cyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself more tightly against him. She had yearned for his touch. Cyn had been haunted by his scent and the memory of the sound of his voice. On more than one occasion, she sworn she could feel his breath on her neck, only to turn and see no one there. But he was there now. She felt his flesh and blood beneath her fingers as her hands slid up his neck and into his hair. Going against everything she knew to be true, Cyn let herself get lost in the moment, get lost in him.
Thalion’s fingers explored the contours of her face as his lips continued to coax and seduce hers. He traced her jaw, down her neck, and across her collarbone, eliciting a gasp which allowed him to deepen the kiss. It wasn’t until his other hand had managed to push her top up in the back and press against her flesh that she finally was snatched back to reality.She knew the minute he realized that she was backing away because of his groan.
