Page 132 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

What in the underworlds had she gotten him?

The string band was annoying. And the food came in parcels small enough to feed a forest mouse. She was hungry and bored.

That never boded well.

She swiped another drink from a passing waiter carrying his tray atop his shoulder. It was a fizzy wine and not a straight shot of hard liquor, but that didn’t matter. It would do the trick.

Breighly scanned the room for any signs of trouble that she could get herself involved in, anything that would at least give her a little thrill. Her brothers were mingling with a pack of wolves from Tolsah Bay, and her father was probably somewhere bored too, listening to a stuffy elite shithead talk about his wealth and power.

“You look like you need some company.” The scent of baked orange and summer rain hit her instantly.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have an empress to be guarding?” She sipped her drink, not taking her eyes from the mingling crowd.

“I am off duty,” he said, his arm now brushing her shoulder. He stood beside her, much taller than she was, his gaze burning into the side of her cheek.

She didn’t remember him being that tall. “I am ecstatic for you.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Breighly didn’t meet his gaze, making sure she maintained a bored expression on her face. “You should be on your way now. Have fun.”

He chuckled. “I must admit, I have never met anyone quite like you.”

“What can I say?” She smiled, showing all of her wolfy teeth. “I am a treat.”

He laughed out loud, and a few seconds later, a small smile pulled his lips together. “Yes, you are.”

Finally, she turned to face him.

That was a mistake. She knew it the minute his big brown eyes met hers. They were like pools of liquid chocolate. Why were they so fucking powerful?

She had to look away.

His voice was low and seductive, and she sipped her drink again, pushing away any lust that lingered in her core. “Are you really going to pretend that we didn’t spend seven glorious hours making love?”

She whirled to him again.

Seven hours? Had it really been seven hours?

“First of all…” She pushed out her glass towards his chest, so far it almost touched him. He was already smiling so infuriatingly. She could have cracked the stem of her glass. “We did not make love. We fucked! Once.”

“It was four times, but continue.” He drew his tongue over his lips. His enormous weight shifted, and he leaned his head to one side.

“It was once. All the different times in the same night don’t count, Adam.”

“It’s Artem, and, well, I am counting them.”

Breighly actually had to stop her hand from ramming her glass into his chest. It was incredibly worrying how many violent thoughts she had in one day. Maybe when she got back to Ashdale, she could summon a healer. She would put that one on the long list of all the other things she needed to see her about.

“If that makes you feel better about yourself”—she raised her voice a little higher in tone—“then be my guest. But I absolutely will not be. The night was average at best.” She sipped her wine again, not really able to appreciate the bubbles on her tongue.

The sex hadn’t been average, it had been very good. Very fucking good. It had been the only thing to make her feel anything in a long time.

He let out a shockingly loud laugh, and then his eyes found hers again. “That’s a real shame.” He shook his head. “I even brought that knife you like to roleplay with in case you were up for round five. Or two. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.”

She dragged her eyes from his face. It was a handsome face, probably one of the most handsome here, but she didn’t want to look at it for too long.

“Poor Emara. I would hate to have you as my guard.” She turned to the crowd again. “You are so incredibly annoying.”

“I have a feeling, wolfy”—he pressed his rock-hard torso against her arm—“you wouldn’t need a guard at all.”

“I also have a feeling that I could tear that chest of yours apart if you press it any further against my arm.” She looked him up and down once and then looked away. “In case you have forgotten, I have very sharp claws and even sharper fangs.”

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