Page 41 of Lord of Dance and Desire

“Because his mind is narrowly focused,” Constin said. “The question is, why do you always hear the dirt? A sweet, innocent girl wouldn’t. Right Matty?”

“Sweet and innocent would bore you,” I said.

“To death,” he agreed.

Andrei held out a hand. “Come here, my Anah. Give us what we need.”

I walked forward, taking his hand. “So it’s about you tonight?”

He enfolded me in his arms, lowering his head to nuzzle my ear. “Yes,” he breathed. “I need you. Let me have you.”

“Are you sharing?” Con murmured.

“I may be persuaded to be generous.” Andrei turned his head, lips brushing mine, his tongue only a half second behind, licking along my bottom lip and pressing my mouth to open.

“She’s more drained than she appears,” Mathen warned, his voice soft. “The walking dead one. . .” I heard Mathen’s fractured pause “. . .he hurt her. I do not know how, but he did.”

“Yes,” Andrei said, lifting his head, “my Anah is adept at the game of pretend. Do you remember your safe word, darling?”

I swallowed. So it was going to be like that tonight. “Yes.”

His eyes brightened, the color bleeding into the whites. “Good. Use it if you have need. Stop fussing, Mathen. We won’t break her.”

“Maybe I want to break tonight.”

Andrei’s eyes glittered. “Famous last words, faeling.”

Chapter

Ten

Istood under the rays of the full moon, pale stone courtyard cool beneath my feet, an early autumn evening breeze nipping at my bare arms and shoulders.

Warmth at my back broke the breeze, the only warning before hands settled on my shoulders. As usual, he didn't make any noise when he approached.

“Why are you starving yourself?” Andrei asked softly.

“It's only been a day.” A day of not dancing. “The hunger will make me perform better.”

Which was why I hadn't danced for an entire day, strategically depriving that drop of Fae nature in my blood so that when I finally took the stage tonight, and unleashed, the dance would explode out of me.

Andrei’s fingers tightened. “You cannot beguile anyone in the audience, Hasannah.” Concern in my lover’s voice, but also the cool warning of a High Lord. The Heir of the city guarding his people from a threat.

It was kind of cute.

“There will be consequences, and my mother and sister will be present.”

“I'm getting better at separating the need to feed from the dance affinity,” I said. “I think I can control it. I can use the hunger to dance better, but not compel the crowd.”

Or at least that's what I hoped.

He turned me, looking down into my face. “You’re taking a risk. If my mother decides you’re a threat, if the High Lords of the Court decide you're a threat and petition her for your death, she might kill you.”

“She would do that to you?”

“To maintain the stability of the Sahakian-Casakraine rule? Yes.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I'm not that powerful, Andrei. I'm not a threat.”

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