Page 98 of Crowned By the Fae King

The realization made tears sting my eyes and my throat go tight. I had to blink fast to hold them at bay, and even then, one slipped out from between my lashes to splash into the water.

Anxiety tightened my chest, Cass' breathing going shallow. "Did I do something wrong—" he started.

"No—god, no," I said, a heavy breath escaping, wanting to be a sob and a laugh at the same time. I scrubbed the heel of my hand against my cheek, wiping away the tear. "No. It's just… you're touching me on your own. I didn't have to ask."

He relaxed, the tension going out of our shoulders. "You invited me," he said, aching happiness in the words. "You cleared my schedule so you could take me on a date. You cleared your schedule. You surely know Vaddy's going to call that favor in, sooner or later."

"Of course I did." I dropped my hand down to his thigh and ran the backs of my fingers along his skin, melting into his happiness. "Everything's been awful, except for you. You're kind, and thoughtful, and you keep giving me flowers, and I thought…" I blushed, embarrassed without knowing why, feeling far more exposed from the way Cass was looking at me with his heart in his eyes than from the nudity. "I thought maybe you'd like a break?" I said shyly. "I just… I wanted to see you smile again."

His smile broadened, his dimple showing and eyes shining. "I can't seem to stop," Cass said. His thigh leaned a little harder against my leg. "Am I forgiven?"

"Oh, Cassie." I kept running my fingers along his thigh. "There's nothing to forgive, sweetheart."

"'Sweetheart,'" he murmured. "I like that." Cass ducked his chin, looking down at his champagne. "Do you maybe have any others?" he asked hopefully.

"I could come up with some," I said, giving him a playful little drum of my fingers. "I tend to pick one and stick with it, though. You're lucky you get 'Cass' and 'Cassie.'"

Cass laughed, shifting so he was closer to me. "So I got stuck with 'splendor,' is it? I suppose it could be worse."

"I really do think you're splendid," I said. All my skin was hyperaware of his nearness, my focus on him and the Court helpfully supplying me with exact measurements of how close he was to me. I could feel him on the rocks and in the caress of the water. Even the steam that curled around him told me about him, every hair it clung to and every breath that stirred it.

I can be a splendor for you, he whispered into my mind.

My eyes flew open in surprise. I hadn't even realized I'd closed them. "You…" I started, unsure of what to say.

"Thank you for this, Quyen," he said softly. He pushed himself closer, his heart beating too hard and his breathing going shallow. "Dani and Vad spent months thinking the other didn't want to love them, because he was too scared and she was too shy to be the one to reach out—but you did. I'm terrified of fucking this up, but after all my teasing for what a dumbass he was about love, perhaps I should learn from his suffering and keep from making the same mistakes."

Cass set his glass down, then reached over and took my hand. He brushed his callused thumb across my knuckles in a tender caress.

I sat there, heart pounding, staring at him.

"I've spent most of my life barred from the kinds of relationships I crave by the same magic that makes me need them," Cass said, touching me; letting me feel his tangled fear and longing in the way his heartbeat picked up and chest ached. "You know how much I've struggled to keep my emotions under my skin. I channel so much power that it's easy for me to become unmoored from this world, losing time and risking madness, and it's far worse now than it ever was before I was bound to the Court. I need anchors. Reasons to come back—to stay."

"Vad and Dani," I whispered.

He smiled, soft and slow. With his dark lashes lowered across his black-and-gold eyes, Cass leaned down and pressed his lips to the back of my hand. "You," he said, with the same quiet fervor of a knight swearing fealty.

My heart all but stopped. It hurt to breathe, my ribs locking in place. Cass let out a panting sound, our stress amplifying each other's, and didn't pull away.

"You're the one, Quyen." He rested his nose and mouth against my hand for a heartbeat before sitting back again, his leg still touching mine. "It doesn't matter how it came about. In all of Mercy, you're the only one I'm meant for. I shouldn't be scared of that. You stayed for me, and you demanded I give up my distance and come to meet you. You made a place for me, and invited me to come be with you." Cass bit his lip and gave me a nervous smile. "I'm here, lioness. I'd like to court you. Will you let me?"

Flirtation

I'd like to court you. It sounded so old-fashioned, the sort of thing someone would say in a Jane Austen novel, where handsome lords took notice of impoverished ladies. But this was that kind of world, wasn't it? The fae King looking up at me with soft eyes didn't give a shit that I'd grown up poor. He'd grown up poor, too, and now he could give me the world.

"I've never been courted before," I said, sounding way too shy. I cleared my throat, looking away, my teeth worrying my lower lip for a moment in an anxious gesture. "I don't…" I glanced back at him, at his hopeful expression and gentle focus. "What does that look like?"

He reached over and clinked his glass against mine, like a toast. "Me taking you beautiful places, and feeding you excellent food, or perhaps being taken there in return," he said. The corners of his eyes crinkled. "Star-clad evenings that end in kisses and the longing for more. Invitations. Dances. Gifts, flowers, yearning…" Cass settled a little closer to me and brushed the backs of his fingers along my shin.

I made a tiny sound of protest, and took a swig of champagne to settle myself.

He flashed me an impish smile, his dimple showing. "I know you'd be willing to forego the courtly dance, but I've never truly gotten the chance to court, or to be courted." Cass shrugged, looking rueful. "I want to move slowly enough that when I step closer to you I won't be afraid it's a step too far, and I'd like to give you chances when you're not caught up with me to decide that you really do want us to take another step closer." His ears dropped and he blushed. "I'd like to decide that, too," he said shyly, looking up at me with his naked heart on display.

"You want wooing," I said, starting to smile. "Rose-petal romance."

Cass blushed harder, his embarrassment warming my cheeks, and nodded.

"Well, okay." I sprawled back against the side of the natural pool and grinned back at him. "Most of my relationships have been pretty utilitarian, but that wasn't really on purpose. If you like candlelit dinners and long walks at sunset, let's do that. I'm happy to plan more dates. I really like spending time with you like this."

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