This close to Emrys, an untamed energy pulled me toward him. I worried about my morals for half a heartbeat before my hands lost the fight and moved, gently exploring the hard planes of his shoulders. I’d never been so bold in my life, but something about him pushed me to try for what I wanted.
His body was unyielding beneath my touch, all firm muscle and barely coiled tension. Against my better judgement, I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him.
His gaze darted between my face and my hands on his shoulders, as if he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Neither could I.
“WhywasI sent, Prince Emrys? You come in here and accuse me of something for the second time but offer no explanation. Tell me.”
The moment my eyes met his, the air sparked and our magics swirled and explored one another just like they had in the market.
Emrys felt it too. His fingers on the wall flexed as if he were fighting himself to stay in place. His breathing became ragged.
He dropped his arms, elbows sliding down the wall on either side of my head, making the space between us all but disappear until his body blocked out the firelight. My head tilted up toward his face before my reason caught up.
His throat emitted a deep, rumbling sound that was so quiet I could easily have imagined it. Before my next breath, Emrys was nuzzled into my hair, face held in the space between my neck and ear. I could feel his hot breath on my skin, and I swore he was breathing in my scent.
Then his lips followed my hands’ lead. Not in a kiss—just a brush of mouth against skin. His teeth scraped against the nape of my neck, and a soft gasp escaped me. I arched toward him, trying but failing to stifle my low moan.
Releasing one hand from the wall, he gently brushed aside my hair. His lips found my neck again and dragged featherlight along the length of it, burning fire across my skin the entire distance.
He groaned, a deep sound that vibrated on my skin, “I bet you taste sweet everywhere."
That same hand fell to his side for a fraction of a second before coming up to grasp my hip and pull me in even closer to him. He massaged up and down from waist to thigh like he was trying to memorize my shape through my gown.
“I want you on my tongue, Isca. Need to know if you’ll make those little sounds or if you’ll scream.”
No one had ever talked to me like this. But, gods, Ilikedit.
This was nothing like kissing Nisien, nothing like anything I’d experienced before. I was being pulled under by the tide ofhim.
Stop this, Isca. Stop it now. This is exactly what your mother warned you about. Swat his hand away.
My mind protested, but it had already lost the battle. I’d surrendered to discovering what desire truly felt like.
Then he moved his hips into mine. His hard, undeniable length pressed into my belly, stealing my breath. The clean, wild smell in the air around him intensified this close, and my skin tingled with the feeling of his magic testing it lightly with its claws.
My stomach flip-flopped all over again, but this time, from overwhelming need.
I grew flushed, and my pulse quickened, a frantic rhythm that reverberated down to my core in throbbing pulses. The diverging sensations in my stomach and most private places were a physical manifestation of my own damned confusion. I wanted to kiss him as much as the logical part of myself wanted to smack him. Undecided on which I wanted more, I remained still, waiting and hoping, to see what would come next.
His touch was…possessive and exhilarating in a way I didn’t yet know how to name. A tremor ran through my body when he pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes.
And for a moment, I thought two separate consciences were looking at me through one set of eyes.
“If you’re amenable,” he whispered, his voice warping slightly, as if his throat didn’t want to carry the words, “we could stop pretending about what you’re here for. You could bemine. Nisien can’t give you what you need. He can’t make that pretty little sound you made turn to moans like I can. We can skip the dissembling and go straight to the rutting.”
He pressed himself into me again, sending shivers of delight down my spine. I knew he was right. Nisien couldn’t make me feel likethis.
But warning bells too loud to ignore went off in my mind.
This isn’t Emrys.
I knew it like I knew the sun would rise tomorrow—even as my body fought to betray my mind, to keep me as close to him as possible, begging for more.
For a moment, I couldn’t move as the blood froze in my veins. Whatever heat had been curling inside me vanished as my mind won the battle over my body, leaving ice in its place.
This wasn’t the man who ran away every time he got flustered. Not the one who clung to silence like it was armor. This was someone, somethingelse. The curse was using cruelty to mask just how afraid of me it was.
My pulse roared again, but this time in my ears. I didn’t think. I acted.
