Page 63 of Pawns of Salistya

‘Why?’ I was interested to see how he would reply.

‘Because friends invite their friends over to one another’s houses for play dates all the time,’ he said, his dimples pronounced as he smiled.

‘Oh please, we’ve known each other for only a few weeks, I would hardly call us friends at this point. Where are you really going with this?’ I asked.

‘Why are you being so weird about this? Haven’t you heard that if a relationship feels right, you should just flow with it?’ he countered teasingly, looking at me. ‘Fine,’ he conceded, seeing the frustration on my face. ‘You’re right.’

‘Well, yes, I’m usually right about most things but which, in particular, are you referring to right now?’

‘It’s only polite that if I show you mine, you should show me yours.’

I gritted my teeth. I’m going to kill him and his innuendos. But, yes. It ispolite to be transparent. The handsome bastard actually winked at me. And didn’t that just do something to the spot between my thighs. It has a mind of its own.

I rolled my eyes, using my years of training to appear unaffected by his words. From the outside, at least. ‘You’ve already seen my home. You’re in it right now. Not to mention, you’re way too close to my own personal quarters.’

Deciding two could play the game, on those last words, I rolled to face him, my top leg moving slightly forward allowing the slit to fall to the side, revealing more skin. I watched his eyes trail up and down my body, unable to hide his interest.

‘Oh, I’m not referring to Amarald, Minx. I’m talking about your real home,’ Xylan said knowingly.

‘Trust me, the Salistyan Queendom is not worth your time.’ Unless you’re a fiend for oppressively suffocating environments and toxic masculinity, that is.

‘Oh, yes, I only had to engage in a two-minute conversation with your sister to figure out that Salistya is not my idea of a good time,’ he said with a grin. ‘I was referring to your true home. The Solista Isles.’

My head snapped up to his, trying to gauge his intentions. His face gave nothing away. ‘What are you playing at, Marlyst?’ I ground out, rising off my elbows to sit up and face him. He knew visits to the Isles were highly coveted and not open to the rest of the continent. And the fact he pegged my feelings on the Isles unnerved me.

He noted the change in my stance. ‘I’m not playing at anything,Solistan.’ He paused when my eyes flashed at his use of the word. ‘You want to see my home, which is highly desired to outside eyes. I want the courtesy reciprocated. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.’

‘And why should I trust you?’ I said between clenched teeth.

He shrugged, shifting himself to mirror my seated stance. Facing me, our bodies were now less than an arm length away from each other. ‘I’ll show you something of mine, if you show me something of yours.’

My breath hitched as his arm reached forward to grab a loose lock of hair that had fallen across my eye. He twirled it around his finger before tucking it behind my ear. His fingers landed on my mark, setting off the warm, humming pulse. I loved and hated that it calmed me down.

‘Can I check we’re still talking about places, here?’ I breathed out, momentary distrust forgotten.

‘Why should we limit ourselves to one meaning?’ he replied, fingers travelling down to massage the junction between my shoulder and neck.

‘You’re entering dangerous territory, Pretty Boy,’ I warned. This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go down.

‘Don’t act like you aren’t enjoying yourself. I don’t see you pulling away.’

I couldn’t help the fluttering of my eyes as they closed, whimpering as his fingers held the back of my head. The stroking continued, but this time it felt like it was inside my mind, reminding me of the Lull.

‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours,’ he whispered gently, all traces of teasing gone.

I swallowed deeply, letting out a shaky breath as I nodded in agreement, suddenly needing confirmation, to see his eyes. Histrueeyes. He better let me see them, otherwise, I’ll throttle him.

Xylan closed his eyes, breathing deeply in and out for what felt like millennia. Just when I was starting to worry, a shimmering pulse surrounded us for a moment. He opened his eyes.

Where there were once pale eyes, the real, fuchsia eyes of my True Infinite stared back at me.

Chapter 26

Seconds went by, then minutes. The growing silence said more about this moment than any words could express. I felt my mental barrier drop.

A caress in my mind drew my attention back to those fuchsia eyes.

You know, some would think your lack of response quite rude,he smiled tentatively, trying to gauge my reaction.

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