39
LORANT
Before it was time, I took the stairs to the top of the tower and paced there instead of inside my room.
I waited.
Would she again refuse to come? Just the thought of her remaining in her room while I stalked to the window and climbed onto the roof, where I’d sit until the moon started to kiss the horizon, was enough to make my rage boil again.
If she—
“You don’t need to follow me to the top of the tower, Surren.” Her voice echoed up to me. “I’ll make my own way back to my suite.”
My lungs . . . froze.
Surren gasped. “My queen. No. This is not done. It’s my job to—”
“I’ll make sure she makes it safely back to hersuite,” I barked.
“Lord Lorant?” Surren called out.
“See?” Reyla said. “I told you I’m meeting him here for training. I’ll be perfectly safe with him.”
That was a matter of perspective.
“Very well, my queen,” he said. “We’ll wait at your suite for you, then.”
A door banged on the lower level.
“They’re with me all the freaking time,” she hissed. “Can I never be alone?”
Her light footsteps shivered their way up the narrow, coiled stairway to stroke across my ears and my skin that twitched in anticipation.
My soul.
Be kind.Merrick’s admonition echoed in my mind.
I would try.
She reached the top of the stairs, puffing, but when she stepped onto my level, she didn’t complain. I could feel the wariness in her, the way she was already slamming up the walls she’d need to keep me out.
And that only made my frustration burn brighter.
“Welcome, Wildfire,” I drawled.
Pausing, she smacked her palm over her heart. An admission or was she still feeling short of breath?
“You’vefinallyarrived,” I snarled. There went my attempt at being kind. Although, I hadn’t injected much of the irritation storming around inside me into my voice. I even curved my lips up in what I hoped was a decent enough smile.
“Fuck, Lore, what did I do to deserve that grimace?” she saidwith a roll of her eyes. Her hand flopped to her side as she walked over to stand in front of me.
“It was a smile. Not a grimace.”
She propped her hands on her hips, calling my attention to their gentle slopes and the way the movement lifted her breasts, showing off a hint of their peaks. I’d tasted that flesh. Dragged my tongue across it before moving lower.
Her leathers not only cupped her ass sweetly, but they also seemed to stroke her curves, pressing themselves against her skin like a doting lover.
“I think you should keep snarling,” she said lightly. “It suits you more than that smile.”
