Page 74 of Vale of Dreams

He gives me a devilish smile. “Did we, you know…?”

“No, nothing like that.” I glance at Talan. A red-haired woman is draped over his chair, laughing hysterically at his joke, just ten feet away. I turn back to his cousin. “It was business. I have eyes for only one man.”

Lumos leans against the side of the alcove. “Is that right? Because you don’t seem particularly interested in the prince.” The contents of his wine glass spill on the floor. “The rumors are he doesn’t even visit you at night. Very strange, considering who he is. And you know, usually the women he’s with throw themselves at him, but you’re over here in the shadows, almost like you wish you were somewhere else.”

Fuck.

CHAPTER 26

Iinhale deeply. “Perhaps I like to give the prince some space. You can’t miss someone who is always clinging to you.”

Talan glances back with a mischievous smile, then raises his eyebrows when he sees Lumos. He rises from his chair, prowling closer. “Is my cousin boring you?”

I shrug. “We were just catching up, although he doesn’t remember me.”

Talan sits on the alcove bench next to me, leaning back against the pillows, a wine glass in his hand. He ignores Lumos, and the look he’s giving me is positively smoldering. “Would you mind fucking off, cousin?” he says with an arrogance bordering on contempt, still holding my gaze.

“Aww,” says Lumos, “was your lover ignoring you? Is the bloom off the rose already? Or did you choose her simply because she’s the one woman in Corbinelle who doesn’t give a fuck about the prince?”

Lumos is obviously drunk, I think, and his voice is too loud. It echoes off the vaulted ceiling, and a hush falls over the room.

Slowly, Talan’s dark gaze slides to Lumos, and the air grows colder around us. “You’re drunk again, Lumos. Time for your nap, I think, before you say something you’ll regret. You don’t want to lose your head.”

Talan takes a sip of his wine and leans against the alcove wall, looking bored. But the threat was delivered like an arrow to the throat. Lumos’s cheeks redden, and he turns away. With a dark smile, Talan watches his cousin skulk off.

A House de Morgan power play in action.

Talan meets my gaze again. Arching an eyebrow, he beckons me closer. Another power play, as he’s not coming to me. But we haven’t been playing the part well enough—we’re on a stage with an audience before us, and we should be playing the roles of two lovers in lust. Rumors have already spread.

I move closer to him and drop into his lap. He smells delicious, musky and tinged with jasmine. His arm slides around my waist, and his body is pure, unyielding muscle against the thin fabric of my dress. His lips are by the side of my face, his breath warming the shell of my ear. “My little farm girl, you’re going to need to fake some interest in me.” His hand slides over my thigh, and I feel the heat of it through the translucent fabric of my dress.

I whisper back. “What do you have in mind, exactly?”

“Nia, love, you’re going to have to kiss me.” The deep sound of his voice in my ear strokes over my skin like a sensual caress.

Warmth creeps over my cheeks, and his hand moves over my hip. Only the thin fabric of my dress separates us, and heat ripples out from his palm.

My gaze dips to his full, sensual lips, and my pulse races.

It’s just a kiss. All part of the spy game, of course. Agents of Avalon Tower must do all kinds of things on our missions. Things we normally wouldn’t dream of, like kissing the enemy.

I feel their eyes on us, watching. Waiting.

I lick my lips, and his gaze flicks down to my mouth. His pupils dilate, the copper blending to black. His thumb strokes languidly up and down on my hip, then circles over the hollow of my thigh, sending hot tingles in the wake of his touch.

I lean forward, my mouth hovering just over his, his breath mingling with mine.

“Nia.” There’s a fierce, ragged edge in the way he whispers my name, his lips so close to mine. “I hear your heart racing. You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. I think you’re interested in me after all.”

Oh, he has my interest. I loathe him and fear him, but I’m also painfully aware of how breathtakingly beautiful he is, this man with the dangerous smile, the seductive eyes, and the muscled body of a Fey warrior.

This close to him, his body warms mine. I lean into his chest, and it feels like pure steel. I brush my thumb over his full lower lip, my heart racing. His breath hitches, and I’m surprised that I have this effect on him. I search his eyes and find an unexpected hunger there instead of his usual detached expression. It’s a strange and powerful feeling to have captured the full force of Prince Talan de Morgan’s attention. He’s enraptured.

My lips move closer to him, and the rest of the room fades, along with the sound of the quartet and the voices echoing in the hall.

Closing my eyes, I brush my lips against his. Tentatively. Questioningly. But already, even with that light touch, heat is blooming in my core. I feel as if sparks are dancing over my skin.

That gentle taste sends warmth plunging through my body. His hand strokes up my back, and his fingers lace into my hair. Slowly, he flicks his tongue over my lower lip. My lips part, and I press my mouth harder against his. I’m not sure whose tongue slides in first—his? Mine? All I know is we kiss—a deep, sensual kiss—and I lose track of the world around me. Kiss? He’s savoring me, exploring me. I shift positions, straddling him, my dress hitching up to my thighs. I kiss him more deeply, and as his tongue brushes against mine, I forget where I am while an exquisite ache builds inside me. His hand slides to the small of my back, pulling me closer to him, my breasts brushing against his hard chest. He groans faintly as he kisses me.

---