Instead, I’ve been forced to wait until the house is asleep to see Everett.
Any male would be lucky to have your attention.
Those words play on repeat in my mind.
We’re only friends but hearing him say things like that makes me wonder if perhaps we could be…more.
Not that it matters since I cannot possibly marry an Unseelie fae.
That doesn’t stop my mind from imagining the two of us together. Especially since I know I make Everett…stir.
My body ignites and no amount of fanning can cool me down.
Tomorrow, I need to get back out into the city and find a mate who doesn’t disappoint me at every turn. But tonight…
Tonight, I find Everett waiting on my side of the bridge, wearing the same solemn expression that seems to live on his handsome face.
It’s a good thing I like him even when he scowls. “Are all the planks there tonight?” I ask, only half teasing.
“They will always be there.”
For some reason, the slight edge to his tone makes my stomach flutter. “Afraid I’ll fall, Everett?”
He shifts his weight, and his hands flex, as if bracing for a fight. “I will not let any harm come to you.”
“I know you won’t.” Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.
While I grip the rope railing, Everett strolls straight down the middle of the bridge, as if unbothered by the way the planks sway. He doesn’t seem the least bit concerned by the silence that has descended between us either.
There are so many questions on the tip of my tongue, but I’m not quite sure how to start. I want to know everything about Everett and the Unseelie. What makes them different from us and what makes us the same.
Don’t ask me why.
Perhaps one day I will write a book of true facts that will put that grossly misleading one Trevor gave me out of print.
Although, I’m not sure my drawings could do Everett justice.
Since I will never see himdisrobed, they wouldn’t be wholly accurate either. Imagine me, asking this man to remove his trousers. The very thought makes it almost impossible to swallow.
Everett comes to an abrupt halt. “Are you all right? You sound as if you are choking.”
Someone push me off this bridge right now before I die of mortification. “I’m just…um…” Justwhat?Picturing him naked, that’s what.
Sod it. I might leap off this bloomin’ bridge myself.
He waits patiently for me to compose myself, and when I finally do, all I can think to say is, “I’m having trouble breathing.”
He steps closer, his brow crushed with concern. The heat of his skin and the smells of leather and warm spring rain that seem to cling to him isn’t helping the breathing situation.
“Am I walking too fast? Do you need me to go slower?”
“No. No. You’re perfect.” Tell me I did not just blurt out that I think this man is perfect.Get it together, Kerris. “What I mean is, everything is fine. Please, proceed.”
He studies me from head to toe. He mustn’t find anything amiss, because he starts walking again, only this time his pace is considerably slower.
When we reach the other side, I hear the distinct sound of laughter drifting from the mist.
My heart shouldn’t sink. After all, if I want to know all about the Unseelie, I need to meet more than just one of them. But part of me is gutted that Everett and I won’t be spending the evening by ourselves.
