“Because I keep expecting you to be cruel,” I finally say, and my breath catches again. “And then you’re not.”
“No,” he says gently. “I’m not.”
The way he says that reminds me of my conversation with the queen.Empathy doesn’t make you a fool.
“How much of it was real?” I say suddenly.
“How much ofwhatwas real?”
“Us. You and me.” I glance at his hand on my wrist, and I feel heat bloom on my cheeks. “This.”
“All of it.”
He says it boldly, without hesitation, and he hasn’t stopped running his thumb along my skin. The movement is entrancing, stealing my thoughts. A bit of heat flickers in his eyes now, impossible to ignore. It’s sparking warmth in my heart, in my belly.
But he’s tricked me before, and he could trick me again.
So I say, “Prove it.”
“Fine.” He takes hold of my waist and presses his mouth to mine.
When I gasp, he swallows the sound, his tongue brushing my lips. I don’t know if I was expecting an explanation or a story or a line of pretty lies, but his movement is so swift and gentle that I’m melting into him without realizing it. His hands are so secure, holding me against him.
That’s what gets me. Theholding. His hand splays against my back, supporting me, and I’m reminded of the night he came to the bakery, the way he held me then, too. How badly I wanted to be held, cherished, kept safe. And that’s exactly what he did.
It’s exactly what he’s doing now.
Alek draws back a little, his chest rising and falling quickly against mine.
“Enough proof?” he whispers.
Oh, I want it to be. I want it all to be real, because there’s something so comforting about being in the circle of his arms.
But I have to shake my head. “Prove it with words,” I whisper.
He laughs a little ruefully and lets me go. “You really are something, Callyn.”
I don’t know what that means. I do know I’m already missing his warmth, and he looks a bit wounded again. But I force steel into my spine and look at him. “Can you?”
“Actually, yes. So can you. Tell me the point at which I needed toseduceyou to gain your cooperation.”
I inhale—then stop.
Alek folds his arms. “I paid you to hold a message—the same as Jax. I repaired your barn, sent customers your way, had clothes delivered—all without one moment of romantic intrigue between us. You spoke up for me to Lord Jacob of your own accord, and in fact, you jumped between our blades to stop a fight.” He pauses. “Even the night we spent together, I had nothing to gain. If I recall correctly, I putmyselfat risk by sharing quite a bit about my motives.”
All true.
He moves closer, and his voice drops. “Even now. What do I have to gain?”
Alsotrue.
If I were a spy, I could probably use this. I could seducehim, trick him into revealing everything he knows.
But I’m not a spy. The queen even said she didn’t need me to be.
That thought is striking. Is everyone else being earnest, whileI’mthe one who’s all wrapped up in hidden motivations and secret intrigues? Have I been making everything more complicated than it needs to be?
I smooth down the skirts of my robes, but it’s really just an excuse to look away from him. “I didn’t come here for . . . ?this.”
