Our magic did appear to be different in many ways. Why, I didn’t know; this was just how it was.
“I'll teach you, and you can try,” I said, grimacing. “I've found that kind of magic to be an inconsistent bitch. She doesn't want to behave for me like she should.”
“Sounds like a beautiful woman I know.”
I pouted. “Are you calling me a bitch?”
“Never,” he vowed, though his eyes sparkled. I loved that I could lighten his mood if only for a few moments. He wallowed too much in duty and dismay, though I understood why.
“It's not only my role here as queen of Evergorne Court to help my people with their needs but to make sure the king has a good reason to smile.”
“I'm not sure flitting will do that for me, though I'm eager to find out if it involves kisses.” He nuzzled his nose against my neck. “You smell good.” And he licked, his tongue tickling my skin. “Taste good too.”
“You're an incredible distraction.” Was that my voice coming out breathy?
A guarantee when Merrick was touching me.
His fingers slid up to bite into my thighs, holding me in place. No, slightly spreading them wide. “I could keep distracting you if you'd like.”
The heat this man drew from my core…
What a dilemma. I could lay back on the table and let him do whatever he pleased because I knew it would please me as much, or I could insist on teaching him how to flit. While taking pleasure from him might help him shed his burdens for a short time, I wanted to give him more than that.
“I'll teach you to flit and then you can teach me to…” Oh how delicious the possibilities between us were. “Something. You figure that part out.”
“Alright.” He sent me a boyish smile, telling me I'd made the right decision. If teaching him gave him a small reprieve from the heaviness surrounding him, I’d count it a victory.
“Ready to learn, King Merrick?”
“Here?” At my nod, he released my thighs and settled back on the sofa, his gaze gliding down my body. His finger flicked out to encase the room in a ward. “You're in control, Wildfire.”
“Don't tease me with such a tantalizing notion.”
His sly smile rose. “Do you like to take charge sometimes?”
The sexual innuendo in his voice made me want to command this man to strip everything off so I could discover how he tasted. Soon. That time could no longer be denied.
Because he was too distracting, and I really did want to teach him the spell, I slipped off the table, and eased to the side, savoring how he reached out to trail his fingers across my ass as I passed.
I paced a few steps away and turned back to face him, forcing myself to focus. “The spell itself is pretty straightforward. It’s the mechanics that can trip you.”
He tilted his head, watching me like he was eager to gobble me up. “I’m listening.”
“Where I come from, we're taught to picture a well full of power in our mind,” I said. “I told that to… Well, to you. Lorant. Did he share that with you?”
He nodded, his gaze locked on me and with a sly smile on his face.
“Alright, then. When we want to perform magic, we cast a spell.”
“You've already learned it's different here. No well. We pull in power from the world around us and send it back with a wish. A command, if you'd like to call it that. We persuade the magic to do what we need. What are the specific words for the flitting spell?”
I stepped over to stand in front of him again, braced my palms on his shoulders and whispered it in his ear, though this wasn't a secret. I couldn't resist touching him, getting close to him. I leaned back in his embrace. “The words are old.”
“Ancient fae, actually. I studied the language when I was small.”
“Truly?”
He flashed me a smile. “Truly. They mean to flow through the crest of power.”
