Page 38 of Lord of Dance and Desire

I started to tell him that Cora was indirectly connected to Lord Ashlyun, but then remembered. She was also the creator of my little exit plan. An exit plan I was in no way convinced I didn’t still need.

I kissed his chin. “Where are the boys? They probably need cuddles after today.”

“You meanyouneed cuddles, and?—”

“The more the merrier,” I said cheerfully. “Summon my cavaliers, Lord Andreien.”

Chapter

Nine

Constin leaned against the threshold, arms folded over his bare chest. “What part of my duties include coming at your beck and call, Lady Hasannah?”

His voice was cool, his eyes not at all. They promised a particular sort of retribution.

“It depends on how you define the word coming, Lord Constin.”

A pale brow rose. He stared at me. “If I’d had any idea you’d be this insatiable, I’d have?—”

“Done what?” I angled my head to the side.

Constin pushed away from the door and stalked forward, leaning down and resting his hands on the bed. “Changed nothing.” He took my mouth in a deep, drugging kiss, then straightened. “Andreien is upset, cygnet. What happened in that room?”

I tensed, my smile fading, and looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

His eyes sharpened with impatience. “You never want to talk about what you should talk about. He’s just as close-mouthed. Anah?—”

“I’m fine. Dartanyon. . .I don’t know what he was trying to do, but I’m not hurt.” I shuddered, wrapping my arms around myself. “I want to move on.”

“I’ve heard that before.” His voice darkened with anger. A dangerous kind of anger because it didn't have an immediate outlet.

Well, except one, which I was trying to offer us all if Constin would only stop worrying about my feelings.

And wasn't that ironic? Going from complaining that none of the lovers in my past life had cared about my feelings, to now complaining they cared too much.

Chúa oi, all a girl wanted was a little balance.

Constin grimaced and grabbed my upper arm, tugging me off the bed. “Let’s get you in the bath.”

“Are you trying to say I stink?”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to join you.”

I slapped my hands on the threshold, trying to halt Con’s momentum. “I don’t think so. The way you and Andrei play in the kitchen, there's no way I'm getting in a slippery bath with you. I’ll break an ankle.”

“I'll be on my best behavior, I promise.”

“A promise isn’t worth the breath it takes to offer it.”

He chuckled, disentangled me from the door, and yanked me onto the cool tiles.

“You're so rough,” I complained. “Did you forget I’m just a fragile girl?”

He slapped my bottom. “Please, Hasannah. Play another card. You’re about as fragile as a brick wall, no matter how you have Mathen fooled.”

I scowled at him, turning my bottom lip down in a pout.

“Adorable,” he said as he busied himself with the tub, “and you’ve clearly been practicing in the mirror, but I'm not changing my mind. You summoned me, you get to deal with the consequences.”

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