He’s already slipped into his trousers, though they remain unlaced, hanging low and loose on his hips. The blond trail of hair from his navel to his… pretty bits… draws my attention, but I force my stare to remain on his face.
“I lied earlier,” he confesses. “I haven’t failed to notice anything when it comes to you.”
My heart trips over itself, and my blush grows even hotter as I smile, this time genuinely.
“I’m glad,” I tell him.
Then I slip out into the hall.
I cannot stop laughing.
By the time Colden and I make it to the top of the stairs leading to his chambers, I have to pause to catch my breath.
I grip my side, tears in my eyes, my cheeks aching. “Gods’ death. It hurts.”
Colden slings his jacket over his bare shoulder and wipes at his eyes. He’s still laughing, too, even as he leans against the balustrade, his muscled torso shadowed by the dim light. His tunic was discarded and left behind at the festival, with good reason.
“Payback is going to be brutal,” he warns. “Alexus Thibault will undoubtedly make us pay for that.”
“Hisfacewhen you rubbed your nipples. He was half-livid and half-horrified.”
“You’d think he’s never had a lap dance before, and I know better, believe me. I was there.”
“Just never one from you!” I try to walk down the hall, but I can’t see because my eyes are squeezed tight from laughing so hard. I bump into the wall next to Colden’s door, and then he’s there, too, pressing his hand above me, his face flush with humor, his black eyes bright in the candlelight illuminating the darkened corridor.
“Shhh.”He presses his finger to my lips, making me shiver when he pulls away. “Someone might be sleeping.”
Though I doubt that’s the case since most everyone is still at the festival, I take a deep breath, press my lips together, and try to calm myself.
As our hysterics quiet and our breathing returns to semi-normal, I become aware of Colden’s nakedness again, his crushing nearness, the delicious scent of him, wild winter laced with summer’s musk and blackberry wine. I suppose, in the end, that’s what’s to blame for what I do next—the wine. Because I did have a few glasses at the festival, making me a little more relaxed than usual, a little braver. Certainly bolder.
I arch off the wall. Just enough that Colden’s knee slips between my legs.
His smile falls into a more serious mask, his gaze locked with mine as he tilts his head. “Careful, love. That’s a dangerous look you’ve got in your eyes.”
His voice always sounds rich and wonderful, but tonight, it’s dark and smooth, sex on velvet.
Taking a chance, I press my hands to his bare chest, feeling, for the first time, the curve of muscle there, the smooth, cool-to-the-touch skin, despite the summer night we just abandoned. He doesn’t stop me.
Daring to take even more liberty in the moment, I slip my hands up to his shoulders and thread my fingers into his blond hair. “Dangerous, how?”
He leans closer, licks his pretty lips, and presses his knee against me, making me gasp. “Oh, I think you know.”
I don’t give myself a second of deliberation to do anything in that moment except kiss him.
He flinches when my lips collide with his. Shocked, I’m sure. But then his mouth begins working in tandem with mine, our lips and tongues learning a new dance that sets my blood on fire. It doesn’t matter that we’re in a hallway with more bedchambers nearby, including Alexus’s. Nothing matters in those minutes, save for the need to get closer to one another, a need to feel skin on skin.
I rub against his leg, the sweet friction causing a deep ache to stir and build. In response, Colden runs his hands up my arms and over my shoulders, drags them across my breasts and up to my throat, and cups my face.
He pulls back from our kiss, leaving me breathless all over again. “Birthbane?”
“Yes. Always.”
“Me, too.” He runs his thumb over the shape of my lips. “Tell me what you want from me tonight, Nephele. Tell me, and I’ll do my best to give it to you.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask with a small smile, stroking myself once against his strong thigh. “I’ve never truly been with a man. I want my first time to be you.”
Colden shakes his head as if to clear it. He then drops his knee and looks at me as though I’ve sprouted a horn from my chin. “What did you just say?”
