The two princes nod.
Before anyone can argue, I stand and they stand too. I hurry from the room to change swiftly. For another plan has just occurred to me.
I dismiss the servant and make certain not to be seen as I slip from my rooms and hurry down the corridor to the guest suite. I only need a moment alone with Kaelun—if it truly is him—to ask him what he’s doing here and why he lied to me before.
If only he had told me the truth right away, I would not be saddled with Aurelion’s odious presence. As it is I will have to balance the two of them until I find a way to gently let the dragon prince down. I have to hope I do not cause an international incident.
There’s the sound of low, masculine whispering as I approach Prince Noreth’s door. I push it open boldly, hoping I am right and am not about to embarrass myself in front of a stranger.
As I enter he whips around, and though I glance around the room, I cannot see anyone else here.
How strange. I was certain he was talking to someone.
“Yalina! I mean, Light of the Sun.”
I step inside the room and close the door behind me. My heart is pounding in my chest as I move forward eagerly. “Prince Noreth, I hoped I would find you alone. I wanted a private word with you. ”
Something passes across his expression, but as quick as it appeared, it vanishes again. “Of course.”
I search his face, trying to find some recognition there now we are alone and he can see me properly. “You do not recognize me?”
He blinks. “Of course, Solha Yalina, we were just introduced.”
Frustrated, I step closer. This is the man I remember. Why won’t he acknowledge me? “But you do not know me, Kaelun?”
There’s a tic in his jaw, but his expression remains neutral. “I do not know who you think I am, but I’m afraid I must disappoint you. My name is Noreth. The prince of Emrakai.”
I shake my head. “No. I know you.”
“I promise you I—”
I cut him off, stepping closer still. My hands tremble, but I’m not wrong. I know I’m not. “Then tell me you do not remember how it felt to lie under me while I… rode your face.” I flush to say the crude words, but I must. I’ve dreamed of this moment. Of seeing him again.
He swallows. But he says nothing.
Desperately, I grasp his silken shirt and tug it from his belt. “Tell me I do not know exactly how to touch you like you touch yourself.”
My blood is heated now; it swirls in restless circuits flaring desire to life within me. A desire I haven’t felt since I was withhim. The desire to touch and explore and take exactly what I want from him.
He steps back, but I follow, still pulling at his clothes, undressing him, pursuing. When his legs hit the mattress of the generous bed, He sinks into a seated position. I yank off his shirt and run my hands over the warm skin of his chest and shoulders.
Then I climb into his lap and kiss him, and our bodies seem to fuse together. He groans into my kiss, and I devour him, nipping at his lips, tasting him, teasing at his mouth with my tongue until his hands wrap around my body. It’s desperate. The passion I leashed when I thought I’d never see him again comes bursting forth, and I can’t contain it. I thread my fingers through his hair. I grind in his lap until I feel the satisfying bulge of his cock through the thin fabric of his trousers.
When I lift my lips from his for air, he kisses along my neck, licking and sucking on my skin, making me gasp with delight. “It is you! Tell me the truth. You’re not a prince, are you?”
He stiffens under me. His lips pause their teasing play over my collarbone.
He lifts his head. “I am Prince Noreth of Emrakai,” he says woodenly, but he cannot quite meet my eye.
With a huff of frustration, I clamber off him, brushing down my skirts. “Then I must be mistaken. The man I want lives in a forgotten chamber above the temple.”
“Yalina, wait—” He reaches for me, but I step back.
“Perhaps I will accept Prince Aurelion after all. At least he is always honest with me about who he is and what he wants.”
Before he can call me back or tempt me to stay, I hurry from the room, shutting the door so quickly it slams. I may not like Aurelion’s domineering attitude, but even that is better than lies. It is Kaelun; I know it. How could his kiss feel the same if it was not? Yet he’s determined to lie to me. What game is he playing?
Jah’ruud
