Page 11 of Fae King's Secret Baby

My insides were quivering like jelly as a driver opened the magic-armored car for me, allowing me inside the backseat first. I snuck a furtive look at the king, who nodded encouragingly, his hazel eyes melding into my soul to send yet another round of shivers through my body.

I’d never had the chance to see King Nyx in real life. Sure, I’d seen videos or online interviews with him, photographs or the like. But nothing had prepared me for the impact of his sexiness face-to-face.

The smooth sepia of his skin offered a shocking contrast to the brilliant white of his easy smile. The ripple of his muscles under his too-expensive button-down shirt made me wonder what else he was hiding beneath his clothes.

Every time he’d touched me on the balcony, I was sure he was going to comment on the sweat of my hands, the tremor in my palms, the pitch of my voice.

I had no idea how I was keeping it together. Any second, I was sure I was going to fully crumble into a puddle of hysterical sweat and tears.

And yet, I knew I had to keep my wits about me. This was the Alpha King of Steelshire, not some adoring fan in the audience.I had no business feeling attracted to him, even if everything on his face told me that he felt the same way about me.

He told me himself that he sees lots of dancers. I would just be another in a long line of them. What would he do if I refused him? He made it a point to tell me that he owns the club.

Was that because he wanted me to know that he could have me fired?

I didn’t believe that, not from the way he was acting, but at the same time, I was having a difficult time discerning which way was up at the moment.

“You seem very quiet now,” he commented as the vehicle pulled away from the rear of the building. “Are you having regrets?”

“No!” I answered without hesitation. I wasn’t regretting anything… not yet, anyway. “But Tristiana is waiting for me at the after-party. I should text her at least to let her know I’m not coming.”

I tensed, expecting backlash for the ask, but to my utter shock, he nodded. “Of course. I didn’t realize you already had plans.”

“Oh… I didn’t. Not really. They made plans and told me about them.”

I pulled my phone out of my purse, immediately noting the five texts from Tristiana on my screen. I swallowed a smile and replied to the last one, letting her know that I wouldn’t be meeting her out.

I turned off the phone to ensure that my friend didn’t blow up my phone with messages before turning my attention toward the night sky out the window.

Despite South Havenmire being a fully blossoming metropolis, it was still possible to see the star-spangled night above, the half-moon glowing with an eerie arura to cast a haze over the blackness. The vehicle seemed to be floating, notdriving, and I wondered if he was responsible for the sense of headiness that overcame me in that moment.

“You’re a night owl?” Nyx asked me.

I chuckled aloud.

“Did I say something funny?” he asked, perplexed by my response.

“Yes,” I replied. “I’m a night owl.”

In more ways than one.

“Up here,” Nyx said suddenly, and I realized he was talking to the driver.

I lifted my head to look through the windshield, my breath stolen as we approached an overlook that I’d never seen before.

“Whoa!” I choked when the SUV came to a complete stop. “What is this place?”

“One of my favorite places in the city,” Nyx informed me, climbing out of the car.

He extended his hand as his guards pulled up in the vehicle behind us, but he waved them back, and they remained in position as we moved toward the edge of the clearing.

“How have I never been here before?” I demanded more of myself than of him. “This is beautiful!”

All of South Havenmire sprawled out before us in a sporadic sprinkling of lights, glowing from well above the city, behind the hidden boulders at the top of the clearing.

I had been here before, in passing, but never to this precise spot, and I understood why Nyx liked it so much.

“It’s peaceful, right?” he offered. “I come here to clear my head sometimes.”

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