Page 60 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

I ignore the rush of heat in my body as I lean over him and whisper, “Who wouldn’t want to hear the pretty boy story?”

It’s almost comical to watch the incredulous expression flick over his stunning face. My bet is that no one’s ever spoken to him like this.

Dangerous. So dangerous.

He says, “I’m serious,” but I swear his voice is a touch hoarse.

I slip between his long legs. “Oh, so am I. You’re eye candy, and I want to hear the sob story.” I raise my brows at him, smiling at his still slightly shocked expression.

What the hell am I doing? Flirting? But as crazy as it might be, it feels good. For a moment, I’m more than a slave. More than a prisoner. More than athing.

A stupid, stupid idea.

“My volatile, little villain. Now I know that you can lie, I never know when you’re serious.” His voice is troublingly sincere as he looks up at me through his long lashes, searching my face. As if this really bothers him. And in that moment, I know I’m going to paint him like that. His head tilted slightly back, his throat exposed, his eyes half closed with that lazy expression.

“That’s what makes it fun.”

“For you,” he grumbles.

I bite back another smile, sucking in my lower lip. His eyes follow the movement.

“I’ll admit that you surprise me,” he remarks, almost thoughtfully.

“That a good or a bad thing?”

“A dangerous one, I guess.”

At that, he sits up. His movement is so fast and fluid, I take a step back. And just like that, he’s standing in front of me again, and I’m trembling with a feeling I barely understand.

“You’re hurt…” he starts before he cuts himself off. Then he tilts his head, looking at my face more closely. “No. You’re… afraid.”

I look away at that.

But his sudden closeness startles me. Scares me. Even if it’s not in the way I’m so schooled in. He leans down to me, his breath brushing over my suddenly feverish skin.

His voice drops to a whisper—low, soft, and intimate—as he says, “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I will always be careful with you.”

I feel a tug deep down in my belly as his lips touch my neck then, merely a brush, a second before he pulls back, as if he’s caught himself.

As quickly as he came, he withdraws and straightens, casual anddistant. And I wonder whether I just imagined the heat in his words, the brush of his lips.

Of course I did.I look so ordinary next to him, he would never notice me. Would never be here if the Dark Lord hadn’t sent him here to check up on me.

I take another step back, wrapping the towel tighter around myself, suddenly too self-conscious.

He adds, “To answer your last question: there were several reasons I accepted Caryan’s offer. But the most important one is that I would go anywhere Caryan goes. No matter what.” A graveness has snuck into his voice.

Just then, I spot a deep, golden band weaving through his aura.

“You love him,” I whisper.

A smile graces his face, and warms his eyes, heartbreaking in its beauty. “I do.”

“Are you and he—”

“Lovers? No. Not in your sense.” He straightens the fabric of his shirt, and I quickly glance away again. He goes on as if he hadn’t noticed. “I’ve been to your world a few times and I’ve found that humans only have a few, strictly set rules when it comes to their understanding of love. Here, it’s different. We don’t have a human heart, Melody.”

I startle when he lifts his hand to tuck a loose strand behind my ear.

---