A single heartbeat passed before I realized the armor was not armor at all…it was bronze paint.
My mouth suddenly watered and I looked away. How was he that muscular?
“Did you forget your shirt, Ragnar?” Duke Hyton sneered.
“Did you forget your age, Anders?” General Hyton shot back with a crooked smile—Riyan’s smile. “You are old enough to be the girl’s father.”
Duke Hyton gave his brother a sly grin. “Like you would know anything about being a real father. Now back off, theyoungmen had already formed a line for the girl.”
Out of the corner of my eye, a woman in a viper mask broke through the crowd and appeared at the Duke’s side.
Duke Hyton glared at his brother for a moment more, but the woman tugged him by the arm and he retreated through the crowd.
General Hyton grabbed me by the forearm and dragged me away from the men who shouted their protests.
My feet struggled to keep up with his pace. “Why are you pulling me around?”
“No one here gets to lay a hand on you.” His shoulder bumped into the back of a delirious man’s head, making him fall over. “I need to get you out of here.”
My heart raced even faster than my footsteps as General Hyton yanked me to the closed ballroom doors. He jerked on the handle, but the door was locked.
“Damn you, Anders!” General Hyton hissed. He looked around the ballroom. “Where are my guards?”
I pulled my glove out of his grip. Bronze paint stained the dark fabric. “I will be fine.” I had to be. Ihadto be. “Why would it matter anyway?”
His brows knitted and the corner of his mouth flicked up. “You have no idea how many people are eager to bed a Hyton. The noble men will harm nothing but your pride, but a few of these opportunistic servants could take advantage of your newly available womb now that you have no blood bond. Just stay with me and—”
Ragnar’s words melted before they reached my ears as I focused on his full lips.
A low burn bloomed beneath my stomach. The burn spread through my limbs like lavender honey. The hair on my arms stood on end.
How had I never noticed how handsome he was?
My lips were flush and heavy. “You look just like him. How has no one ever guessed your big secret?”
Ragnar’s eyes widened. “Serafina, keep your voice down.”
The command made my knees weak. The small growl in his words sent a shiver down my spine. “But Riy—”
He clamped his hand over my mouth and my heart leaped. Suddenly my back was against the wall. A tower of bronze was all I could see. The metallic tang of the paint on his skin filled my nose.
“I have not forgotten that you owe me.” His heartbeat pulsed in his palm as he lowered his eyes.
My breasts pushed against my bodice as my chest heaved. I was ready to tell him to take whatever he wanted when hiswarm breath caressed my forehead. “An answer for an answer, remember? You owe me two.”
I nodded as he removed his hand from my flushed lips. My heart was pounding. My bodice was too tight.
Candlelight glinted in his eyes. “You survived the deadly faerie dust and your blood bond has disappeared with no logical explanation.”
My thighs shifted together, the insides were slick and Ineededfriction between them.
“If I asked you a direct question, you could not refuse me, right?”
My vision was blurring, but I answered, “Yes.”
Anything to please him. Anything to get him to touch me.
His hand parted the slit in my skirt. The instant his fingertips caressed my skin, I threw my head back and gasped. Pleasure hit me like lightning, sending heat straight to my core. His strong hand massaged my thigh as white light flared behind my eyes.
