I feared I’d regret my next question, but I asked it anyway. “How many women has it been? And how long did that love usually last?”
“There have been many,” he admitted. “And it lasted for about a night or two with each of them.” I laughed again, and he assured me, “But every time it was as passionate as ever. I put my whole heart and body into each and every one of those relationships.”
“Your body? Maybe. But your heart? I doubt it,” I teased. “I hate to break it to you, Your Majesty, but I don’t think what you felt for all those women was love. Infatuation, maybe? Flitting attraction? Lust, most likely. All are fun things to feel, but they aren’t love.”
“Oh, my darling Maren, if only I could take you to bed with me, I’d show you how strong my love could be. With my cock inside you and my hands on you, you’d have no choice but to fall in love with me too.”
His words were utterly ridiculous, of course.
But his voice...
His voice was inescapable. And now, Kye was the tempting, flirty siren once again, luring me into the tantalizing depths of what could never be.
Thrill zapped through me, and I didn’t even try to resist the feeling. I loved the sultry smile in his voice, the way his mood shifted from despair to seduction, the way the air felt lighter around me, sparkling with his magic that I could almost touch and taste.
“Tell me, Kye, what would you do to me if you could touch me?” I asked softly.
He sucked in a breath. Did I surprise him? If so, his shock didn’t leave him speechless for long.
“Oh, my pretty little temptress,” he crooned in a voice that flowed through me in a warm wave of effervescence. “You have no idea what you’re asking of me.”
But I did. I really hoped that I did.
And I wanted it.
If Kye was an ordinary human whom I met in a hotel or at a convention somewhere back in my world, I had no doubt we would’ve spent a night together. I’d never been so intrigued by a man before, or so drawn to one. I wouldn’t have passed on the chance to be with him if only out of a curiosity about this attraction.
“If I could touch you,” he said, his voice dropping low, “I would knock down that fucking screen that separates you from me. Then I’d tear away your covers. Then... That reminds me, what are you wearing, sweetheart?”
“Oh...” I exhaled, suddenly breathless. “Um...nothing.”
Nights were warm in the glass palace. After wearing a long nightgown on my first night here, I got tired of untangling my legs from its long skirt and never wore it again.
He groaned, “Oh, Maren. I’ve been memorizing every single part of your body for days now. I know exactly how your skin glows in the sunshine, how the water droplets glisten in your hair, and how your nipples pebble in the ocean. And now, I know you’re lying naked under your covers too.”
My nipples were pretty much pebbled right now too. The light sheet I used for a cover suddenly seemed too hot, and I subtly kicked it down the bed. Now I was lying completely naked in his bedroom, even if completely invisible to him behind the screen.
The siren call continued from behind the screen. Kye’s deep, velvety voice flowed through the room like a dark undercurrent, beautiful but likely filled with hidden danger.
“The image of every part of you is imprinted in my mind, darling. I may not be able to touch you, but in my imagination, I have caressed, licked, and kissed all of you.”
“You have?” I breathed out, lifting a hand to my chest.
My heart fluttered behind my ribs, just like the butterfly that he kept calling me.
“If I could touch you,” he murmured, “I wouldn’t climb under the covers with you. I’d rip them off, then I’d kneel at your bed. Do you know why?”
“Why?” I bit my lip, running a finger along my collarbone, then down between my naked breasts.
“Because no matter how much I look at you, I need more,” he said. “I’d spread you on the bed for me and feast my eyes on you.”
It wasn’t hard to imagine his “feasting” stare on me. I’d caught him looking at me many times during the day. The usual calm indifference of his shimmering gaze always changed whenever it landed on my body. His glances had been hot but often flitting. Now I imagined him looking at me naked while taking in every part of my body, devouring me with his eyes.
Desire rolled through me in a tingling swell, bringing to life every nerve in my body. I craved to be touched.
“I’d kiss your lips first,” the siren’s voice floated gently over me, its rumble tuning into purr. “You have no idea, sweetheart, how much I wish to kiss you. It really hurts at times how much I long for you. Your smart, petulant mouth was made to be kissed deeply and often. I’d take my time savoring you, finding your tongue with mine and feasting on your moans.”
I’d never heard a man talk like that. The yearning in his voice seeped into my chest. I needed his touch or I feared I’d die.
