Page 34 of Heir to His Court

Numair murmured in his sleep, rousing as soon as I did, and rolled me onto my back, claiming my lips. His arousal pressed against me as he growled deep in his throat, deepening the kiss.

I pushed at his chest,yanking my head away from him.My breath came in wintry puffs.

Damnit. “Numair.”

He groaned, burying his face in my neck. “I thought I could just kiss you and walk away. I can’t. Don’t ask me to.”

“Youdandelionpuff, don’t you feel it?”

The remainder of sleep evaporated from his hazel eyes. They glowed with youthful power, his summery beauty sharpening to something almost predatory. No longer just my friend and guard, he was morphing into a Fae male on the verge of a hunt.

“You aren’t his. Not yet.”

“Renaud will kill you.”

I remained still, not wanting to trigger what I saw in his eyes. Shit. I should have ejected him earlier. That was what I got for trying to be gentle. Gentlealwaysbackfired.

“He will try.”

Numair’s bright gaze traveled up and down my body, hardening with lust as he realized my breasts were unfettered, that nothing covered the juncture between my thighs. I’d worn a loose shirt to bed that covered me to mid-thigh, and nothing else.

“I’m not feeling well. Could you make me some tea? We have to get up soon.” An old tactic, to redirect a male into providing in order to get him out of his head and his lust.

“I was a fool, Aerinne. If I had staked a claim years ago, we wouldn't be having this discussion. You would be mine, and the Prince would have to respect that.”

Numair slid down my body, hands on my knees, the first brush of his lips on the inside of my thigh.

“Tea,Numair.”

“Rinne. You've always been mine. Since we were children you’ve been mine.Renaud can go back to the darkness.”

Time is up, halfling.

The temperature in my room iced. We’d gone from a cool spring morning to an arctic winter night.

Cold, dark dread filled me. Thatdistant gaze, that impression of a blade sliding from its sheath, returned, hovering, arching down. . .

“Numair!” I drew my legs up and kicked at his chest, getting him as far from me as possible without breaking actual ribs. He tumbled off the bed. “You have to go.Now.His reach is long.”

He stood as my skin crawled with fear. We were being watched by someone weighing the consequences of splattering one of my best friends all over my walls. Renaud was deciding how long I would stay angry with him, and if it was worth it.

“I’m not afraid of him.”

“Then you are afuckingfool. The House needs you alive, not splattered all over my bedroom walls. I need you alive. Ineedyou.”

He studied me, anger and something else in his eyes. Disappointment that I wouldn’t fight for him in the way he wanted.

“Go. That is an order, chevalier.”

“All right, Rinne. All right.” He paused, and spoke more firmly, a flash of the formidable warrior he’d grow into with another hundred years. “This doesn’t change anything. My life is sworn to you, whether we’re together or not. Whether he likes it or not. He cannot deprive you of your Housesworn.”

I nodded. The ice in the air had not retreated, but it waited. This, in the Prince’s way, was his show of mercy.

He left, shutting the door behind him as I sank back onto my bed, nauseous because I knew how close he’d come to death. The invisible blade sheathed, but the ice remained as a warning. I shivered.

“It's cold, you bastard.”

Slowly, the temperature returned to normal.

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