“What do you want to talk about?”
His smile is dangerous. “Do you believe in fate now?”
A kiss that was written in the stars….
Despite myself, I shiver. “Maybe I would believe in fate if it wasn’t currently trying to slow this down.”
He laughs.
And then he nuzzles against my throat, holding me as if we’re dancing slowly together to some music neither of us can hear. “I think I want to keep kissing you. Forever.” A shudder runs through him. “But… that can wait. It can all wait. Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything.”
Tension dissolves like acid in my chest. The second I mention my mother’s name, his smile will slide off his face as if it never existed. “I’m not very interesting.”
“Am I not to be the judge of that?”
“Maybe I want to remain a woman of mystery.”
Thoughtful, smoldering eyes examine every inch of my face as he draws back. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. But he can sense my withdrawal.
“We could be enemies,” I point out swiftly as I tug free of his hands. “There are five courts here and I know I’ve never seen you before.”
Which means he’s not from Aska. If he’d been stalking the hallways of the castle there, then I would never have even looked at Etan.
He’s not Asturian. He’s not Askan. My heart skips a beat. There are only three kingdoms remaining: Ravenal, Stormlight… and Evernight.
The first two leave me breathless with hope, but it’s the last one that steals my breath.
The Prince of Evernight is a monster and I daresay his violent tendencies would rub off on his court. That’s what princes like him do—they gather those around them who thrive on their cruelty, and turn a blind eye to their monstrosities.
He can’t be from Evernight. I’m sure of that.
And even if he is from Stormlight, that’s not so… unpalatable. Is it?
“Are you sure about that?” There’s a teasing lilt to his voice.
“I’d remember.”
There’s a strange freedom in this moment. He doesn’t know who I am. I could be anyone. I could be anything I wanted to be. I don’t have to be Iskvien, the daughter of a vicious queen.
“It doesn’t matter who we are, or which court we belong to,” he finally says. “Not tonight.”
“Good.” I grab his hand and press it to my heart. “I want you to…. I want it to be you.” I swiftly correct my words. “I want you to lie with me. Tonight.”
There’s a heated look in his eyes and seconds trip out, until I can barely stomach the tension. Say yes. Please say yes….
“I shouldn’t,” he whispers, reaching up and running the back of his fingers through my hair. “I should wait. I should woo you.”
I don’t have time for any of that.
I nip at his fingers, and the doubt that’s in his eyes is replaced with heat.
“But you present a convincing argument.” He kisses my throat. His voice roughens. “I want you. I want you under me. I want my mouth all over you. Give me a command, my love. Tell me what you want of me.”
“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
He takes in a slow breath. “Believe me, my love. You couldn’t—”
I press a finger to his lips. “Promise or no promise, if I ask of you something you don’t wish to do, you must tell me no.”
Those eyes become dark pools. “I promise.”
Good. It takes away any doubts I own. I’ve been trapped in a cage for so long that I want to revel in every moment of this. I want to take this moment and claim it for my own. I crave it. Crave his touch, crave the experience of this moment.
It’s no longer just about denying Etan.
It’s no longer about defying my mother.
This is for me.
It’s the gift I want for myself. It’s the choice I make.
I want to know what it feels like to be touched. I want to know what it feels like to come under his hands and mouth. I want him to fuck me into this heather, until I’m screaming.
I want it all.
“Lie down.” There’s a strength to the words that I barely even recognize.
A challenge lights in his eyes, but he obeys.
Silvery light falls over us as he reclines on his elbows in the heather, his enormous chest rising and falling with each desperate breath he takes. “I feel a little like a blushing virgin. Should I disrobe? Are you planning on seducing me, my love?”
He keeps calling me that.
“Always,” I whisper. My heart trips all over itself as I reach behind my neck and draw the ribbons on my dress loose. Instantly, the fabric of my bodice loosens, my nipples furling into tight buds behind the silk. His eyes darken, his breath catching in his chest as if he didn’t expect this. Maybe that’s what gives me the strength of will to do this. The dress slides down my skin, pooling around my feet.
There’s nothing beneath the dress.
Nothing but my heart slamming against my ribs as I stand bare before him.
“Maia’s breath,” he whispers in awe. “What are you doing to me?”
“Aren’t we playing at blushing virgin and reckless rogue?” It’s easier to tease him and pretend I’m not so vulnerable.
“We are.” He bites his bottom lip. “I’m just not sure if I should let you have my innocence. I barely know you. You might be planning to ruin me.”
“Oh, I plan on ruining you.” I can’t help laughing.
He shakes his head. “This is not what I intended when I first saw you.”
“You’re such a liar,” I say, pulling pins from my hair and letting my hair fall in silken tangles over my shoulders. “Show me what you would do to a woman on a night like this. Show me what happens when you steal her away from the bonfires.”
My handsome stranger stares up at me, every inch of
