Page 73 of A Game of Love and Betrayal

This date was probably being streamed to the Republic, but Ryker didn’t care. He would do almost anything to have this fantastic, intriguing woman in his arms.

He stood beside the table, but she still hadn’t responded. He squeezed her fingers. “Please?”

Brynleigh hitched a breath, and he sensed she was still unsure. “I have two left feet,” she warned him. “I know most vampires are graceful, but not me. I’m likely to step on your feet.”

“Sweetheart, if you think a little clumsiness is going to turn me away from you, you’re wrong.” He gently tugged on her hand and drew her to her feet. She was taller than most women in his life, and her head rested under his chin. She didn’t fight as he brought her closer to him. “I’m all in.”

She froze. “You mean?—”

“I want you, Brynleigh.” His hand slipped around her hip, settling on the small of her back. “Only you.”

“What about the other women?” she asked breathlessly.

“They don’t haunt my dreams the way you do.” He only wanted her.

“There’s still a week and a half,” she reminded him.

He held Brynleigh to him as he navigated them away from the table. “I don’t need it. I’ve already made up my mind.”

The moment he’d followed Matron Cassandra into the snow, he’d decided. His conversation with Brynleigh about his dad proved he made the right decision.

Brynleigh sucked in a breath. “Does that mean?—”

He bent his head, finding the curve of her ear and brushing his lips over it in the gentlest of kisses. “I want you to marry me, Brynleigh de la Point,” he breathed. “I’ll ask you formally on the night of the Masked Ball, but there’s no point pretending I haven’t decided. If you’ll have me, I’m yours.”

Her heart thundered between them, and he held her close as they danced. Several minutes passed, but he didn’t push her for an answer.

“Yes, I will.” She rested her head on his shoulder and relaxed against him. “After all, you’re what I came here for.”

Ryker’s heart soared at her words. They were exactly what he wanted to hear.

His body was airy, his feet light, his heart worry-free as he held Brynleigh close. Ryker led them around the room in dance after dance, humming tunes he’d heard hundreds of times before.

Ryker didn’t kiss her. Not yet.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to—on the contrary, his mouth yearned to be on hers and taste how—but he wanted to save their first kiss for the moment they saw each other face to face.

He was certain she was worth waiting for.

CHAPTER 19

Losing Was Not an Option

Frigid water poured from the shower head, pelting Brynleigh from above like tiny needles made of ice. She hadn’t even stripped off her tank top and pyjama shorts before getting under the water, having sought refuge in the bathroom after several hours of sleepless tossing and turning.

She had hoped the cold would instill some sense into her, but it didn’t seem to be working. She was freezing, which was a feat in and of itself for a vampire, but her mind was a wiring hub of activity.

This entire situation had become a gods-damned mess. Her date with Ryker had been a week ago, and she had been unable to get the fae out of her mind since then. She kept replaying his touch, the memory driving her mad with want. She had so many suppressed emotions. No matter how many she shoved down, there were still more.

Brynleigh needed to talk to Zanri. None of their contingency plans accounted for something like this.

“Fuck.” She banged her head against the soaked wall.

Regrettably, other than making her head ring, the action was pointless. She couldn’t hide from the truth anymore—she was in a world of trouble.

Brynleigh had feelings for Ryker. Actual, tangible, heart-twisting feelings. She swore again, the curses slipping from her mouth and being swallowed by the water.

The emotions grew stronger every single day. It was getting harder and harder to separate herself from them, and she didn’t know how long she could last.

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