Yet, when he’d awakened her, he’d seemed distant, even a little angry. It had been obvious to her that he’d regretted what they’d done. She thought it best to move forward as if it had never happened, and he seemed to be thinking the same. Though she could sense his arousal while they traversed toward the portal, she reminded herself that men could get aroused just by the contact. It didn’t necessarily mean it was specifically Liv who was turning him on. He’d made that clear by his brusque manner toward her today.
“Well, which direction do we go now, princess?”
Stop calling me princess!
“You weren’t complaining about my calling you that last night.”
And there it was. The fiery heliskrat in the room.
“So, you do remember last night.”
“How could I forget it? I mean, I guess some people would like to.”
That hurt. “Are you saying you wish you could forget what we did?”
He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face. “Pretty sure, you’re the one who wishes to forget.”
“You think I want to forget last night?”
“Well, you sure ran away the first chance you could. Why wouldn’t I think that? Clearly, you regretted it.”
Liv couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t angry. His feelings were hurt. She’d been protecting herself, but he read it as regret. Her heart clenched at the thought of hurting him.
She slowly stepped toward him. He clenched his jaw tightly but held his ground.
“Rise, I don’t regret last night at all. I wanted it. I wanted you.”
His voice was low and husky as he asked, “But now, in the light of day, you realize it was a mistake?”
She shook her head back and forth slowly. “Not a mistake in the sense you’re thinking. I just…I mean…”
“I’m not good enough for you?” His lips curled and his eyes blazed. “The princess wants nothing to do with the lowly slave-boy.”
She threw her arms around his waist. “You were never lowly. It was always clear to everyone around you that you were a born leader. Grawl couldn’t ever let you discover the truth. You were…you are the true ruler of Umbraland.”
“Then, why did you leave the bed last night?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then, why were you afraid?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I do. I need to know what made you afraid.”
“It’s not important. We need to stay on mission.”
Liv began to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tighter.
“I want to know what scares you about us.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me. Tell me.”
