Dammit, did I have to break down in public? I was only giving more fodder to the gossip columns.
The ballroom was less crowded than the courtyard but still too full to have a quiet conversation. The hotel lobby, however, was practically deserted except for the security guards stationed at the door. Severn scanned the various corners, looking for a private spot, then changed his mind and led me to the coat check room. The attendant was gone now, probably taking a smoke break with the other staff or sneaking a glimpse at the famous attendees at the gala.
The door shut behind us, bathing us in darkness until Severn switched on the overhead light. It was a narrow room, dimly lit, padded on all sides by designer coats that probably cost as much as most entry-level cars. I was very aware that we were alone for the time being but that at any moment the attendant might return or a guest looking for their purse or coat.
“Something has upset you,” he said by way of question.
I flinched as I remembered Briar’s smirking face in the bathroom mirror as she told me about Severn’s history. Wringing my hands, I asked, “Is it true that you dated a human actress? A witch?”
He clearly hadn’t been expecting the question, and he blinked a few times before saying, “Yes, briefly. I’ve dated many famous women. None of them for long—and it’s usually only for show. Part of a fae deal. Alliances with the other courts, that type of thing.”
“Wasshepart of a deal?”
A vein of worry flickered over his expression. “No. It was a real relationship, but as I said, brief.”
A fur coat brushed against the bare skin on the back of my arm, tickling me in an unpleasant way. “You never told me you dated a human before.”
He pushed a coat out of the way to give us more room. “What does it matter? I don’t know about every man you’ve dated before me.”
“Yes, but…” I paused. When we’d first gotten together, he’d acted like I was some undecipherable foreign creature, utterly beguiling to him. He’d insisted that he’d never gotten close to any human except for Marco. I had taken that to mean he hadn’t ever dated a human, but now I saw that was my misunderstanding. “Is it true you went to Italy with her? To the villa? And then just left her there?”
His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the tight set of my shoulders. “Willow, are you jealous? It’s long over. She means nothing to me.”
I shifted my weight, bumping into more coats, cursing them under my breath. “That’swhat I’m concerned about. Look, someone told me that you get…erratic…at times. Fall into a short-lived obsession and then drop whatever—orwhoever—your infatuation is with and never look back.”
Severn’s narrowed eyes turned even colder, though his wrath clearly wasn’t directed at me. “Who’s been talking to you?”
I took hold of his suit lapel, drawing his attention back to me instead of concerned about who was spreading gossip. “It doesn’t matter who told me. Is it true?”Am I just a whim, this trip to Italy an excuse to move on from me?
His brow furrowed—he wasn’t happy about this line of conversation. He ran a hand down his face, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly, unable to pace in the tight coatroom. At last, he dropped his hand away from his chin. “In the decades I’ve lived in New York, using my glamour to reinvent myself time and time again so that no one questions why I don’t age, I have never publicly confirmed a relationship.Never. It isn’t the fae way to evenhaverelationships. We flirt, we fuck, that’s it.”
The overhead light cast heavy shadows over his face. I found myself pressed back against the coats, intimidated by his presence even though I told myself not to be.
He continued. “Declaring a relationship with a human is a demonstration of vulnerability to my enemies. It opens me up to ridicule among my own people. It goes against my own personal vow to never become close with another human after what happened with Marco. Do you truly believe I would make those sacrifices for a caprice?”
An air of tension rolled off him. Each of his muscles was set hard. I couldn’t tell if he was agitated or aroused, maybe somewhere in between. For the fae, strong emotions had a way of getting tangled up, usually ending in lust.
I waved a hand in front of my chest to fan myself.Too warm in here.“I guess when I heard you’d dated a human actress, I got a little—”
“Jealous,” he accused again.
“Worried. That you’d lose interest in me, too. I’m not even some beautiful actress. I’m just a nanny who hopes to be an artist one day.”
He moved toward me, pressing me back against the soft wall of coats. “You most definitelyaren’tan actress.” I felt slightly offended until his gaze dropped to my lips and he continued. “There’s no acting with you. That’s what attracts me. No artifice. You’re an open book.”
A velvet cuff from one of the jackets brushed my arm, made me shiver.
He towered over me, his face eclipsed by the overhead light, plunging his expression in shadows. “Do I need toprovemy attraction?”
My throat bobbed as I swallowed down a sudden wave of desire.I guess my emotions can shift quickly, too.I reminded myself that tomorrow I’d be on a plane to Italy and wouldn’t see Severn for a week, if not longer. Ever since we’d had sex on the rooftop, my body had felt a burning desire for him every day. Something had happened that first time together, like taking a sip of some addictive drink that I couldn’t stop craving.
A low growl came from his throat as his broad palm found my hip. My gown’s fabric was strong but thin, letting me feel every line of his hand against me. He moved closer until the coats at my back boxed me in and then crushed his lips against mine.
The sudden contact sent tingles running to the center of my belly. My hands slid up his biceps to circle the back of his neck. Even in my heels, I needed to push up to tiptoes to deepen the kiss.
His grip on my waist grew more demanding. Fingers tightening, he jerked my hips flush to his, sending bolts of desire through my lower half. Everything about Severn was rigid and intense; sometimes, I wanted to shake him until he relaxed, but not now. Now, I relished his intensity.
I parted my lips to allow him to slide his tongue inside my mouth. His other hand cradled my skull as his fingers intertwined with my loose curls. The air smelled like an intoxicating mix of the various colognes lingering on the hanging coats and Severn’s own savory musk. My head tipped back into his palm as I surrendered to my desire.
