Page 90 of Fae Champion

His hands dropped from where they’d trailed his tender touch. Stormy, moonlit eyes seared into mine. “So you don’t believe I can change things, find a way to make you safe with me? That it’s important enough for me to try, to fight for you … for us. And you don’t believe … I love you?”

I stared back athim.

When his chest only heaved, I added, “Seriously, Rush, how could you love me? We’ve only known each other for a few weeks. You don’t know what I’m like inside.”

I hadn’t meant to imply the sexual context that I suspected was the cause of his eyes flaring. I snorted because he didn’t know my fears, my desperation, how I wanted to run and not look back, how easy it would be to leave behind all the people and creatures the queen had threatened and just save myself. How tempted I was by that, and how very determined I was not to be.

“I know you more than you think I do,” Rush grunted.

I shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“No, nomaybes. I’m telling you.”

“Look, Rush, no offense, but?—”

“How can I not take offense when I tell you I love you and all you say back is that I must be mistaken? Like you know how I feel better than I do?”

Slowly, I blinked at him before blowing some of the wispy loose strands of hair from my face, where they tickled. “Even if you do … love me … it doesn’t change anything, not really.”

“Of course it does,” he snapped. “It changes everything. Especially since…”

When he didn’t finish, “Especially since what?”

“Since … you know.”

I almost growled at him, remembering at the last instant that he was here professing his love for me, andthat it wasn’t really his fault that I’d nearly died more times than I cared to keep track of over the last several weeks,andthat I was still the evil bitch’s prisoner, with no easy end in sight.

After a steadying inhale: “Rush, I clearly don’t know whatever it is you think I do. So spare me right now,please, because I’m majorly on edge here. Just speak plainly and be done with it.”

“Be done with it?” he echoed, disappointment riding every syllable. “I’ve waited eighty fucking years to tell a woman that I love her, and when I finally do, she won’t even believe me. She’s a second away from slamming the door in my face.”

“I was not,” I protested, even though I very much had been.

He snorted. “What there is between us doesn’t just come along every damned day. You know that, right?” His tattoos beneath his leathers must have brightened substantially; a faint glow seeped out from beneath his neckline, around the cuffs of his sleeves. “Our connection, ourbond?—”

“Will have to wait,” Pru said from the far end of my bedchamber.

I turned to face her as she padded from next to the armoire to stand behind me, peering up at us both.

“The queen has sent word. She’ll be leaving the festivities early to award you both your trophies.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, I’ll just bet that’s what she wantswith us.”

In silent agreement, Rush moved closer, a hand possessively to my lower back.

Pru’s attention trailed over where he touched me but didn’t linger. “The queen’s none too happy that you two left before she gave her permission.”

“Well, she can suck it,” I snarled. “She can take her petty commands and shove them so far up her ass she’ll never find them again.”

Pru and Rush, neither of whom could detect the queen’s bloody little spies like I could, instantly scanned the room for signs we were being overheard.

“There’s nothing here now,” I said. “She’s not listening.”

Rush shifted on his feet. “Why didn’t you say so before?”

I shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”

He frowned.

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