I could blame him for not keeping me up to speed, but I never asked either. Was I a hypocrite? ‘Never took you for a hiking type. Where did you learn to set up tents?’
River’s lips curved into a soft smile. ‘I’m a treasure trove of secrets and surprises.’
The humblest of kings. ‘Why am I not surprised you consider yourself to be treasure?’
Standing beside me, his energy exuded excitement, while the sleeping conditions made my head spin.
No space. Cramped. One tent.
‘I don’t tend to sell myself short,’ he snorted.
Leaving him by the entrance, I sat on my makeshift bed and petted the snake, who hovered just above my collarbones. ‘Are you sure I will even fit in this tent with you and your ego?’
His head tilted as he cracked his neck. ‘Not to mention the amount of pheromones you’re secreting. You just might make me dizzy.’
Dickhead. ‘Oh, shut up, I am not!’
Though maybe I was… I enjoyed the show a little too much.
A smug smirk made him even more insufferable and irresistible until he opened his mouth. ‘Relax. It’s not like it’s new; you’ve had the hots for me a while now, little witch.’
‘What the– No. No, I have not.’
He tapped his nose. ‘Fae senses, remember?’
Wind howled like a wild beast outside and shook the fabric walls, making me cringe. This whole situation was insane. What the hell was I thinking agreeing to work with him? ‘The little lapse of judgement when I was ovulating doesn’t count, River. I wasn’t myself.’
‘Oh, are you sure of that?’ he challenged, too convinced of his charm. ‘What’s the excuse now?’
Shit. ‘Now? Um…’
‘Exactly! You can ogle me all you want. I’m literally your dream man so you might as well.’ He chuckled, lying on his mattress and crossing his muscled arms behind his head.
I gasped at his audacity and covered my eyes in the nook of my elbow. It was all I could do, hoping for a moment of reprieve since looking at him sent my mind to places I couldn’t entertain. ‘Gods give me strength.’
The asshole found my internal battle entertaining. The witch part of me wanted to murder him. I wouldn’t even consider what the fae half craved.
The thin blanket covering my limbs seemed insufficient against the harsh chill of the pine forest night, while the tent walls swayed under the wind’s pressure. Even so, I was warm. The fire that River kept burning in the middle of our dwelling banished the cold. The stray sparks never ignited anything else; his control was truly admirable. The second I allowed mine to come out, it was game over. They would be all over him, drawn to the forbidden fruit.
But could he keep it up when he fell asleep? Could he keep it away from me? And what if I couldn't keep mine away?
‘Are you asleep?’ he whispered, pulling me out from a tangent of never-ending pondering.
Cracking one eye open, I sent him a mean glare. ‘Do I look asleep?’
‘You breathe like something is bothering you.' He sounded too worried.
A humourless chuckle bubbled in my throat. ‘It would be difficult to pinpoint one thing at the moment.’
‘Start with the biggest one,’ he offered, his voice surprisingly tender. ‘Or if you want to sleep, we can talk tomorrow.’
It seemed that he really meant it when he claimed he missed our chats. Deep down I longed for a genuine conversation like we used to have too.
Against better judgement, I allowed it. ‘The massacre in the Ortensian court… Why would she attack her own people? I understand her attacks on your people—I mean, I don’t—but you two had been at war for ages, and your father before you. But her court?’
My breath caught, before I continued, ‘I just don’t know what motivated her, and it’s the scariest part of it all because she always has ulterior motives.’
River lay on his back with his head perpetually turned to me when I only glanced at him sporadically. He was too intense; he needed to dial it down before I had to remind him of our earlier agreement.
