Page 21 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

I wormed one arm and then the other out of the sleeves of the robe and then tugged the silky article free from the front of my dress.

“I will bring her different clothes,” Helena muttered. “You should tell Riordan that—”

“Let usnottell our king that I was inside the room at this particular moment,” Ares suggested. “Agreed?”

“Why not? It might be entertaining,” Helena said with a devious tone in her voice.

“And I thought you liked me well enough not to wish that kind of danger upon me,mitéra,” Ares chastised her. The warrior sounded hurt, but I was pretty confident they were just teasing one another.

“Of course—”

Helena cut herself off when the door opened and drew the sword at her side with lethal speed. Ares gripped my shoulders, ready to move me, but they both relaxed instantly when we saw that it was only Riordan stepping into my room.

Until he drew up short, eyes landing on me in my sad excuse for a dress with Ares standing right behind me.

Orion stalked into the room around Riordan to glance around quickly before his attention was also drawn to me. And there were suddenlyfartoo many men in my room when both of their eyes began to sweep over me in my near-transparent gown. Before both of their gazes landed on my left shoulder where Ares was touching me.

Riordan made a sound, a rough growl in the back of his throat, and Orion instantly grabbed his arm.

“Step back,” Orion commanded Ares who did readily with his hands raised away from me.

“I was only helping her,” Ares tried to explain himself, but Orion merely jerked his chin toward the balcony in a firm dismissal. It was an opportunity that both Ares and Helena gladly took to escape the room.

Leaving me alone with Riordan and Orion.

Chapter seven

THE NATURE OF THIS DISTASTE

Amira

My whole body felt like it was burning up as Riordan began to move toward me with measured steps. His gold eyes focused on me with an intensity that made me shiver with anticipation. It wasn’t until he was almost in front of me that I even noticed he had brought food.

“You didn’t knock,” I said quietly, my voice sounding breathless even to my own ears.

“We heard voices and did not think there was a need,” Orion replied irritably. I had a feeling that annoyance was always going to be his default setting with me.

“There is always a need to knock on a woman’s door,” I objected, pinning him with a glare around Riordan.

“You are right. I am sorry,” Riordan acknowledged me quickly before Orion could interject again. The king cast a brief warning glance over his shoulder at hisskiáwho reluctantly let it go.

“What was Ares doing in here?” Orion asked instead.

“This dress is clearly made for someone with wings. Which you may have noticed I do not possess,” I said.

“And you were unable to work out a few extra strings on your own?” Orion asked drolly as his eyes swept over me again as if to assess the difficulty of the task.

It should not have made my heart give a jolt to have him looking at me, but it did. And it was not the itch of self-consciousness that Helena and Ares made me feel when they were looking at me. This was closer to the shy excitement that Riordan made me feel. I didn’t know why, I certainly didn’tlikeOrion, but I could hardly stop my cheeks from flushing under his attention. Especially when his question also drew Riordan’s gaze back down to my thinly clad body. And their combined focus on me was so strangely and wonderfully overwhelming.

“Allow me,” Riordan offered, and I managed to nod.

He walked around me to deposit the plates of food on the bed before he turned to look down at the straps that crisscrossed on my back. I tried not to look across the room at Orion who leaned up against the wall near my bathtub, but I could feel his eyes still drilling into me.

After a moment examining our work, Riordan began to make some adjustments. I had to lower my head when my cheeks flushed even harder as he slipped several straps off my shoulders and moved them around on my back. I had never had a man help me get dressed in any way before Ares tried to help me, and it had been a bit uncomfortable. Having Riordan do it was exhilarating. Trusting him with my body and my modesty was very intimate, and it made me feel somehow vulnerable and safe at the same time. Such an incredibly heady sensation.

“I didn’t think you’d be familiar with female attire,” Orion teased my mate who merely snorted in dismissal of the ridiculous insinuation.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely once I could feel that the dress was sitting correctly. There was no more bunching or pulling in places where there shouldn’t be.

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