Page 28 of Fae King's Secret Baby

“What’s wrong, Maren?” he asked gently. “Are you all right? You seem uncomfortable.”

I shifted in my seat, avoiding his eyes.

“I thought we got along so well,” he sighed, sounding disappointed.

My head jerked up, and I realized he had misunderstood me. “Oh! Oh, no, you’re not making me uncomfortable,” I told him quickly, lowering my voice. “It’s…”

I bit on my lower lip and darted my eyes around the room.

“This place?” he pressed. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, feeling ungrateful. “I’m sorry. It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

His fingers tightened around mine. “You can tell me. I want you to be honest with me.”

“I’m not used to places like this,” I blurted out. “It’s a bit much.”

To my surprise, his face relaxed, and he laughed. “Yes. It is a bit much, isn’t it? Bluefin tuna and caviar. Who needs it, right?”

Abruptly, he jumped up from the booth, his hand still firmly in mine. A server approached the table at the same time, a bottle of champagne on her tray.

“We’re going to take that with us,” Nyx informed her, taking my hand. “But we’re not staying.” He turned to one of the nearby guards. “Get her coat, please.”

With all eyes on us, Nyx sailed us out of the restaurant, one hand in mine, the other wrapped around the corked bottle of champagne.

And all I could do was follow him and blush crimson.

It was surreal watching him,the King of Steelshire, legs dangling over the edge of the lookout, a dab of ketchup on the edge of his mouth as he polished off the remainder of his hamburger.

It didn’t matter that his guards were standing in position twenty feet away, looking outward for any sense of perceived threat as we continued our date privately with takeout from a fast-food restaurant.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he laughed. “Do I have something on my face?”

“As a matter of fact…” I leaned in closer and started to wipe the corner of his mouth, but he caught my wrist and drew me in for a kiss instead.

I tensed, sensing the guards watching us, and he felt it.

“You’re right,” he agreed, standing and helping me up along the way.

I grabbed the half-finished bottle to my right, and we ambled back toward the car, where the driver immediately jumped to attention. Disappointment flooded me to think that a nearly perfect night was coming to a close already.

“Back to the castle,” Nyx instructed his driver when we climbed inside the warm vehicle.

It was a relief to have the heat on me, but I tensed at the directions.

“Oh, I think I’m on the way,” I offered weakly, thinking of how I would get home.

He eyed me through his side vision as he poured the rest of the champagne into two glasses resting on the sidebar.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked, his voice dropping.

Confused, I stared at him straight. “You are,” I answered bluntly.

Handing me a glass, he smiled. “Yes. I was hoping you’d come with me.”

A fusion of emotions rushed through me: excitement, worry, elation.

I wanted to be with Nyx again, but the thought of running into the enchantress dampened the mood.

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