It won’t be long now. Soon, I will let it out. Soon, they willallburn.
TWELVE
ALLERIA
When the doorcloses behind the guards, I expect him to move straight away, but he doesn’t. He remains braced above me, his breath is warm against my throat. I can feel every place our bodies touch. His chest against mine, his hips between my thighs, and the hard length of him …
He’s aroused. Because of what happened. The sounds I made. The way my body reacted under his hands and mouth.
His golden eyes are fixed on my face. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but I wish he’d stop. I turn my head away, trying to ignore the tears dripping down my face, while the sounds I made echo in my head. The moans and gasps. The way I cried out when he sucked hard on my nipple, and my nails raked down his back. I pulled him closer. I ground my hips against his. I wanted …
I wanted more.
The shame of it crashes over me, so intense I cantasteit.
Then the mattress shifts. His weight lifts off me, and I hear his feet hit the floor.
I need to move, cover myself, and get dressed, but myhands won’t cooperate. They’re lying limp at my sides, trembling and useless.
I opened my mouth for him. When he kissed me, I opened my mouth and let him in. I didn’t even think about it. My lips parted, my tongue met his, and then I was kissing him back. Kissing him back like I’d been waiting my entire life for a fae to pin me to a bed and put his mouth on me.
What kind of person does that make me?
Four days ago … was it four days? … I was going to kill him. I had an arrow aimed at his heart. I was ready to watch him die, take the antlers that the Dell would saw off his skull and mount them to my wall. Now I’m lying here with my breasts bare and my body aching for more of his touch.
I can’t reconcile the two things. I can’t make them fit together into a story that makes sense.
I force my eyes open and turn my head. He’s standing by the window, his back to me, his shirt pulled on but not laced. He’s not moving. As far as I can tell, he’s not even breathing. Just standing there with his palms flat against the windowsill, fingers spread wide, every muscle locked in place.
My cheeks burn. Are there scratches on his back? Red lines where my nails broke the skin? Did Imarkhim?
I sit up slowly. My body feels strange—oversensitive and overwrought. When I reach for my undergarments, the fabric against my skin is too much.Everythingis too much. The cool air on my flushed face. The lingering wetness on my nipples where his mouth was. I feel like I’ve been turned inside out, and have all my nerve endings exposed. The cloth settles against my breasts, and I have to close my eyes and breathe through the rush of sensation.
My shirt is next, and I lace it with shaking hands. It takes four attempts to get the ties right.
“We’re leaving.” His voice breaks the silence—flat and clipped, with an edge beneath it. “The guards will come back once they believe they’ve given you enough time to … finish.” He’s still facing the window, still not looking at me. “We’ve bought a little time, we can’t waste it.”
We? There is no we. There is only him, his demands, and the plans I’m not allowed to know. I’m not getting a choice in any of this.
I stand, and my legs wobble. I grab the bedpost to steady myself. The wood is solid and cool under my palm.
“Where are we going?” My voice comes out hoarse.
“Away from here.”
He turns then, and for a moment, our eyes meet. His expression is shuttered, and there’s a stillness to him that scares me. Maybe his plan is to take me out of town and kill me.
“Can you walk?”
Under normal circumstances, it would be a stupid question, but my legs are shaking, and I honestly don’t know if I will be able to make it out of the room, let alone down the stairs and out of the town.
“Yes.” There’s little point in saying otherwise. He’d toss me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes again and take me wherever he wants to go, even if I said no.
He gives a sharp nod, crosses the room, opens the door and checks the hallway, then gestures for me to follow. The walk through the inn is a test of my control. Thankfully the common room is mostly empty, and only the innkeeper glances up as we pass. I don’t look at her, but I can feel her eyes on us. Onme, with my flushed face and my swollen lips.
Does she know? Can she tell what we were doing? Did the guards tell her what they walked in on?
I don’t look at her, keeping my gaze fixed on the door ahead,and hold my breath until we’re outside.
