Vok, I cursed silently, before releasing her. A part of me wanted nothing more than to test her words and make a liar out of her. Perhaps I would.
As I walked over to the weapons rack, I tossed over my shoulder, “For your first shot, if you fail, I want a kiss.”
Silence.
The request was innocent enough, yet I held my breath as I waited for a reply.
After I collected her bow and a sheath of arrows, I turned back to her. She was watching me. Unlike the bewilderment I’d expected, she looked pensive. Her watchful eyes tracked me carefully, as if I were the intended prey for the head of her arrow.
I felt my cock thicken in a dizzying rush and my hand squeezed around the bow. Sometimes I did not understand my own reactions to her, as if she controlled my body and played with it as she pleased.
“How is that for a starting negotiation, thissie?” I rasped down to her, my voice husky from my thoughts, before handing her the bow.
“Very well,” she said.
I stilled. “Neffar?”
“You did not expect me to accept?” she asked.Nowher expression veered towards bewilderment even as she plucked an arrow from the sheath in my hands. “A kiss is a very small thing, isn’t it? And this is a very large bow. I would be foolish not to accept so I can practice at least once.”
She explained it so matter-of-factly that I could only stare as she nocked her arrow.
“The same target as last time?” she asked, her eyes already tracking to the post on the far end of the training grounds. She’d nearly hit it before with a bow twice the size of her old one, made of heavy Dakkari steel. I was certain that if she didn’t make the first, she would surely connect with her target on her second attempt.
“Lysi,” I said, though my voice came out more like a growl.
Her eyes flicked to me, connecting. Her lips parted even as her gaze narrowed. I could practically read her thoughts.
Demon king, her eyes said.
Demonthissie,mine said back.
She jerked her attention back to the target. Her hand was exposed to the icy air and looked pink, her veins a mixture of green and blue. I didn’t want her outside for long, given what happened last night, but at least the rains and the winds had ceased…for now.
I heard her soft inhale, saw the way her lips pursed, how her features relaxed.
On her release, the arrow flew, whizzing past me, and I heard it connect with the fence.
When I turned, a sizzle of victory burned down my spine.
“When do you want it?” she asked, staring at her arrow, which had gone only a finger’s width too wide.
“After,” I rasped. “If you do not make this next shot, what will you give me,rei thissie?”
Her lips settled into a hard line. She plucked her second arrow from the sheath and had it nocked before I could blink.
“Nownegotiation will not be necessary. I won’t miss this time. I’m certain,” she informed me. A second later, her arrow flew and I couldn’t stop my grin from forming when I heard itthud.
I didn’t even need to turn to know she’d finally hit her target. Her expression was pleased, her accomplishment settling over her shoulders as surely as her fur pelt.
“Myvoliki?” she asked, her breath fogging silver in front of her, her cheeks pink, and her eyes wide.
“It will be ready in the afternoon,” I assured her, taking a step closer until she was within arm’s reach. “This will be your last night in my bed.”
Her eyes darted between my own. When I looked down, I spied the chain of the necklace I’d given her earlier underneath her pelt and the thick sweater. Reaching out, I touched the chain. It was warm from her skin. Her skin was soft underneath it.
Nelle’s breath hitched, but she didn’t look away.
“And your name, demon king?” she whispered.
