Despite my ridiculous pining, the day had still been nice, and I’d enjoyed my time with Blue. There’d been no pressure to be a badass SBI agent, no expectations or responsibility of a mission, no visits from my father’s ghost, no more shakes, and for the first time in years, I felt like I could relax and just enjoy…being.
I’d walked with Blue until my legs shook, and then we’d retired to the palace library, where I’d picked a handful of books to bring back to my room. Blue sat on my bed and chuckled, fanning her face as she turned one of the books in her hands, examining the hot guy on the front. “Oh my gods, Shan, I didn’t know you read cliterature!”
I grinned. “I don’t usually, but if Stoney’s guarding me and I can’t drink or fuck, then life’s going to get hella boring.”
She giggled. “Well, you can thank Ember for these. She left them behind. She said I needed something to read when I was out of sleeping beauty mode.”
I didn’t miss the flash of bleakness on her face, but she pushed through it. It was hard to imagine what it was like for her, being asleep for most of the month. We hadn’t really talked about her curse, but I’d made sure she knew I was there for her should she want to. Sighing, Blue put the book back on top of two other hot romance books. I’d piled them on my bedside table next to the Legends and Tales of Faery: volumes one and two. She speared me with an assessing look.
“What?”
“You’re missing him. No matter how much you love my company, you haven’t seen him all day, and you can’t keep fucking still.”
“I can.” I scowled at my friend, embarrassed that she’d noticed my pathetic pining for a Fae I shouldn’t be pining for. I glanced at her face, only just now noticing that she looked really pale with dark shadows under her eyes. I glanced at the black of night outside the windows. My heart ached for my friend. The Fae moons were breaking apart, which meant the demon curse would take her into its embrace again soon.
“Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t look at me like that.” Blue pushed up from the bed and gestured between us. “Or you and me, we’re gonna have a problem.”
“I’m not looking at you like anything.” But I was, and we both knew it. I couldn’t help it. Blue deserved so much better than to sleep her life away in the Fae version of a sleeping beauty fairy tale. “Besides, I don’t feel sorry for you. You have the hottest, most powerful Fae in this damned world looking at you like he wants to devour you. You're living your own damned fairy tale.”
She laughed, but it was forced. “Hardly. He might be a good-looking bastard, who has the sexiest damn body I’ve ever seen,but he’s still my captor. It’s not like I can run away when I’m awake, now is it?”
I cocked a brow. “Me, either. Seems we have that in common.”
Still grinning, Blue sat down, leaning back on her hands on the soft mattress. “I guess we do. Except you want to fuck your captor, I don’t.”
“Yeah, I do, but don’t you lie to me. There’s so much sexual tension between you two that if you ever do fuck, I’m not sure this world will survive it.”
“Ha, I’m not sure I would either. Ventry’s bound to fuck with as much freaking intensity as he does everything else.”
We both fell into peels of laughter.
A series of low growls from the doorway made us both jump. I had no idea why; it wasn’t like I was some innocent virgin. But my face heated like a damn inferno when I saw Stone standing in the doorway, his face inscrutable, his arms crossed over his chest, biceps straining against his coat, and studying me with the kind of look that made me squirm and feel like my skin might melt. B’nar stood behind Stone, his irises burning as he fixed a predatory stare on Blue.
Silence settled thick and heavy, and even Blue looked hot and bothered as her gaze landed on B’nar.
“Oh shit, I think I insulted the most powerful Fae in Faery,” she muttered from the corner of her mouth.
“You think I am insulted by your crass words, human? I am not. I would never sink so low as to take a liar, drug dealer, and murderess to my bed. And you do not have permission to use my name. That is for friends and family only. Shannon may use it.Youmay not. Come. Your time with your friend is done.”
“It’s done when I say it is,” Blue snapped, her eyes flashing and her flush deepening until it stained her pale face.
Purple flashed over Stone’s gaze, and he slowly prowled forward until he stood over me. It was a show of dominance, which he rarely did, especially not with me. But I was too tired and too relieved he was here to push back. Besides, B’nar, or I guess I could call him Ventry now, may not have said so, but I knew he could see the shadows under Blue’s eyes, maybe even sense her exhaustion. He’d never admit he cared about my friend, but the fire in his eyes lessened as he studied her.
Stone leaned down until he could look directly into my eyes, his breath skating over my lips, scrambling my brain even more. “Say goodnight to Blue, Shannon.”
The command in his tone should have made me want to kick him in the balls, but it didn’t. Instead, my arousal fired up a notch, and I found myself wanting more of those deep, growly words. My wolf whimpered, and I felt her urge to do exactly as he demanded. My body heated all the way to the sensitive skin between my legs, which ached at his closeness. The intensity flickering in those beautiful eyes just made the situation worse. Crap, it looked like I was totally on board with bossy Stone. I eyed Blue apologetically, and she rolled her eyes.
“Fine!” She pushed off the bed with a huff.
I grabbed her wrist, knowing I was unlikely to see her again for a long time. “Wait.” Standing so that Stone had to straighten as well, I turned and pulled Blue into a hug. “I’m sorry you have to go, but the moons….”
She followed my gaze to the window and to the separated moons. A heavy sigh left her lips, her shoulders slumping. “I know. He’s right. I do have to go. It’s time for my sleeping beauty impression.”
We squeezed each other tightly. When I pulled back, she forced a smile and winked. “Still, maybe I’ll get a kiss from a handsome prince and it’ll wake me up before the moons meet again.”
Ventry grumbled, but we both ignored him, and I returned her smile, even if mine was just as forced. “Sure you will. You’re worth all the kisses.”
“We both are.”
