Lord Varon blinked. “No, no, Your Highness. We are glad she wasn’t hurt by the rebels or from yesterday’s nasty river incident.”
“Yes, of course,” Kez nodded, white as a sheet.
“And the matter of the betrothal Eregen approached me about? It never existed.” Might as well take care of that shit, too. He didn’t want any loose ends to come back and bite him in the ass. When Kez didn’t respond, he said coldly, “If that is all, good day.” He walked inside as Haroth saw the lords off.
In the living room, Aerén stopped and exhaled a long breath. Now, to find Leya. Just thinking about her, and some of his tension eased.
He scanned his quarters. She wasn’t there, but his feet and instincts were already taking him toward the other end of the castle. In the direction of the indoor gardens.
A smile started. He should have known the place would appeal to her.
Instead of traipsing the many hallways, he flashed to the garden built into the granite rocks used for the castle, and he found her seated on a boulder, feet dangling in the water. She wore a deep pink gown she’d bunched up to her thighs, the color a perfect contrast to her beautiful tan skin. He wanted to lick every inch of her.
“I could live here forever.” Her soft words reached him.
He nodded to Mihr, who hovered next to her. She gave a quick curtsy and departed.
Quietly, he crossed the distance to Leya, the rushing water masking his arrival. He hunkered down behind her. “Just say the word, and we will.”
“Eeek!” she squealed, nearly toppling into the pool, but he grasped her arm. She scowled. “You scared the heck out of me!” She scooped water and tossed it at him.
He glanced at his wet shirt, then back at her. “Again?”
She scrambled to her feet, water sluicing down her calves to the boulder she stood on. “What are you going to do, huh? Toss me in the dungeon for ruining His Highness’s shirt?”
Slowly, he uncoiled to his full height. “What do you think?
“You wouldn’t dare.” She leaped off the rock and edged backward.
He stalked her, closing the distance between them. “Oh, I dare all too well.”
Her jaw dropped. He feinted left. With a yelp, she took off on bare feet, down the paved path toward the taller trees. No doubt to hide. He went after her with preternatural speed, snagging her around her waist.
Her half-laughter and half-groan wrapped around his heart as she tried to push him away.
“Did you think there wouldn’t be any consequences after what you did,caeli mea?”
“I didn’t realize royalty was so feeble, taken down by a few drops of water,” she shot back, her chest heaving from her mad dash.
He bolted down his amusement and narrowed his eyes. “Apologize, and I’ll forget the dungeon.”
She snorted. “Maybeyoushould be locked in there, you crazy man!”
He didn’t bother to correct her that he wasn’t a man. He simply cuffed her wrists behind her back. She tipped her stubborn little chin up, an adorable battle light in her amber-flecked brown eyes.
Keeping his expression neutral, Aerén walked her backward until her back hit the stone wall curving into a nook behind the falls and covered with creeping blue vines.
The challenge in her eyes changed to something more sensual, even if her expression didn’t. “What are you gonna do, toss me into the pool?”
“You are my captive, and you still taunt me?” He nipped her lower lip, then languidly licked away the sting. Her chest heaved, and her breaths came faster.
“It was just water, not a dagger in your heart,” she grumbled, the scent of her arousal fisting him like a vise. The stars knew he wanted her just as badly, but he enjoyed having her at his mercy far too much.
With one hand, he trapped both her wrists above her head. Her eyes narrowed.
Stifling a smile, he lifted the hem of her dress and slid his palm up her thigh. Her breath hitched as he slipped a finger beneath her underwear and stroked her wet cleft.
The array of emotions crossing her face stole his breath, and his cock protested being trapped behind his zipper. Desire for this female gripped him hard. They had to leave soon for Dregarus and make the crossing through the midnight portal, but unable to resist her, his mouth covered hers in an intensely sensual kiss. He eased a finger into her, then added another while sucking harder on her tongue. And she moaned.
