His glacial eyes darkened, and he trailed his fingers up my raised arm until he found my wrist, grasping it. “I sense a serious question coming on?”
“Why do you need a queen, Jack?” I held my breath, afraid of his answer because I wanted so badly for Chelsea to bewrong.
Jack’s lip twitched. “You deserve an honest answer. I don’tneeda queen. This was never about that. I foundyou, Sylvie. My mate. Whether I had been a king or not, that still would’ve been the case.”
My heart fluttered at that, but I forced its hopeless romantic impulses down. “And if I reject this?” The words stung to ask, a boulder weighing heavily on my chest.
Jack didn’t answer straight away, his jaw tensing, and he curled me closer until his pelvis pressed lightly against mystomach. “Then I would go about my business as I had before without ever bothering to look again.”
“I—” The idea of Jack going through an endless lifetime without any hope gutted my insides. But then, agitation scraped my bones. “Are you just saying this to lock me in, Jack?” I tried to pull away from him, but he held me steadfast.
“What?” Jack asked a bit haughtily. “My kind only gets a chance atonemate, faerie. But I’m in no way going to ask you to accept me out of fucking pity either. Idohave some pride.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck and fidgeting with his collar.
“You did. And I have to say I like the fire.” A sensual smile graced Jack’s lips, and his gaze roamed my hair, my ears, and settled on my eyes. “The only variety I ever dare play with.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I couldn’t wait to ask it any longer. “Are you doing this for heirs?”
Jack nearly choked on his spit and pressed a fist to his mouth, coughing into it. “Yeti’s ass, Sylvie. You’re just cutting straight to it, are you?”
“I think a female has the right to know if you intended to rent the use of her womb for breeding purposes.” My wings fanned repeatedly at the mention ofbreeding,and I ground my teeth together in an attempt to calm them.
A deliciously deep chuckle escaped Jack’s throat, and he unabashedly slid a hand to my ass, squeezing it. “Breeding doesn’t have to involve offspring, faerie. It could simply be for—” He trailed his nose up my neck, nuzzled against my jaw, and grazed his lips over my cheek. “—fun.”
My heart rate rivaled that of a speeding dog sled now, and my breathing was doing its best to catch up to it. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“No,” he answered gruffly. “I’m not opposed to the idea of ever having them, but my reign is different. I don’t need heirs tocarry on my bloodline because you see, Sylvaria, winteralwayscomes.”
He could’ve been lying, but every magical, intuitive part of me couldn’t convince me of it. Bursts of confidence, determination, and a raging hopefulness settled over him like dustings of snow.
“I believe you,” I said, my words distant because where did we go from here?
“Good,” Jack responded, cupping the back of my head, his thumb making circles on my cheek. “Now we can move on to thebetterparts of courtship.” He brought his mouth closer to mine.
I closed my eyes.
This was it. Jack was going to kiss me, and there’d be no turning back from it.
A buttery, masculine chuckle floated from Jack, his minty breath puffing against my awaiting lips. When his mouth didn’t press to mine, I fluttered my eyes open. He was grinning at me, his canines larger and sharper now.
“Sylvie, Sylvie,” Jack teased, pressing his cheek to the side of my head. He spun us in circles, his fingers dipping further into the back of my dress and kneading the top of my ass. “You look a bitflustered.”
Tightening my grip on Jack’s hand, I cleared my throat. “Not at all. We’ve just been dancing a while.”
Jack smiled against my ear, whispering. “Do you want me to slow everything down?”
His words, the tone in how he said them, and that chilly breath teasing my skin made memoan. “Then how would we spend our evening?” I peeled back, looking into his eyes at first before lazily letting my gaze drop to his lips.
Still grinning, Jack curled a hand over my hip and hurriedly backed me into a darkened corner. My shoulders delicately met with the wall. Jack’s arm pressed above my head. I beamed athim, my hands clenching his lapels. A shiver washed over me, but not from his chill, fromanticipation.
Dipping his head, he pressed his lips to mine, soft and slow at first, the tip of his tongue sliding over my mouth. Whimpering, I melted against him, moving my arms around his neck to keep me upright. I parted my lips, inviting him in, but to my surprise, he didn’t take me up on it. His teasing smile grazed my skin, and after a final peck, he pulled away.
“Goodnight, Sylvaria.” Jack traced his thumb around my mouth, smoothing out the lipstick we’d smudged.
With a satisfied smile, no doubt in reaction to my stupefied expression, my mouth gaping open, eyes wide, he retreated. I stood numb and motionless, watching as the dancing, twirling bodies swallowed him, and Jack disappeared into the chilly winter night.
Sylvaria is breathtaking.I wanted with every fiber of my soul to tell her those exact words with the same awe and vulnerability I felt, but now was the time to puff my chest and show her how proud a mate I could be to her. The sweet nothings and pillow talk could come later and for the rest of our celestial lives—if she’d have me.
