Frisk chittered with delight.
“This isn’t funny!” I snapped, trying to ignore the way Eira’s breasts were pushing up against me. Gods, this was driving memad.
“It’s a bit funny,” Frisk argued. At the sight of my glare, he rolled his eyes. “She’ll be fine, hunter. It wears off eventually.”
“Whisper some naughty things in my ear,” Eira breathed, grinding against me.
I bit back a loud curse as Frisk laughed. Grabbing Eira’s hand again, I steered her back toward the cave where I’d woken up.
Mauro was fast asleep right outside the entrance. “Useless fae beast,” I muttered before practically shoving Eira inside.
She took one look around the messy cave, then proceeded to undo her corset strings.
“Shit!” I snatched her hands. My face was on fire. “What the hell are you doing?”
She blinked at me, her eyes wide and innocent. “Isn’t this what you wanted? Why else would you want me alone?” She worked one hand free and slid it under my tunic, her fingertips exploring the planes of my chest. Her touch was feather-light, and a jolt of electricity shot through me.
I took a step back and groaned. “Eira. This isn’t you. You need to wake up before you do something you’ll regret.” I could only imagine her horror and disgust. She would beappalledat what she was doing right now.
“Blood and ice, you’re sohandsomewhen you’re angry.” She was shifting her tunic down her shoulders. Her corset slid, revealing a generous amount of cleavage.
I fixed my gaze just above her hairline, determined not to stare. “Eira. You have a bargain to uphold, remember? We need to get to the Winter Palace.”
“Surely we have a few minutes, don’t we?” She was drawing closer to me. I tried pulling away from her, but a wall of hard rock met my back. “Look at me, Theron.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the command or the usage of my name, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from meeting hers. My breath caught at the spark of energy dancing around her irises. She stood on her toes, pressing her breasts against me. Her full lips parted slightly.
“Tell me you don’t want me,” she murmured.
“I—” My mouth clamped shut, because damn, Ididwant her. She looked positively radiant right now, her hair wild, her tunic partially undone. She was gorgeous; I couldn’t deny it.
But this was a mistake. Regardless of how attractive I found her, she was still loathsome.
“I don’t want to do this,” I said, my voice ragged. “Not right now. Not like this.”
All truth. If, in some bizarre, parallel universe, Eira and I were ever to tangle romantically, I would want her to be completely lucid. Dallying with women who weren’t of sound mind wasn’t something that appealed to me.
“Eira…” I broke off with a sigh as she angled her face up to meet mine. Just one more inch, and I would be able to taste her soft lips. My eyes closed as I tried to focus on speaking, instead of the straining hardness in my trousers. Eira could feel it, too. She began rubbing herself against it, and I suppressed a moan.
“I want you to pin me against this cave wall,” she whispered, her breath tickling my face. “I want you pounding into me so hard I forget my own name.”
A strangled sound escaped me, and I had to close my eyes. “You don’t want that,” I said in a strained voice.
“Why not?” Eira asked, tilting her head at me in curiosity.
I put my hands on her bare shoulders and backed her up a step, my lungs straining to get enough air. “Because,” I forced out, “if I were to take you against this cave wall, you wouldn’t remember it at all.”
Her brows knitted together in confusion.
“If we were to do this, I’d want to make sure you remember every blissful second of it,” I said softly. “I’d want you torememberthat it was the brutal assassin who made you cry out and beg for more. Not some stranger you happen to find attractive.”
Eira’s breath hitched, and her cheeks turned pink. “There’s that gloriously husky voice of yours again.” She leaned in, and I turned my face away just before her lips made contact. She ended up kissing my cheek, but I was still utterly consumed by the gentle touch of that mouth on my skin.
Shivering bones, this woman would be the death of me.
“Promise me,” she whispered against my cheek.
“Promise… what?” I grunted.
