Page 87 of Reckless
A muscle feathers in his jaw. “Good work, Gray.”
I sit up slightly at his tone, at the reminder that this was all strictly to blend in. “Have you almost lost yet?” I say stiffly.
He’s distracted. “Your faith in me is inspiring.”
“Can you hurry this up?” I say quietly.
He places a card onto the table. “What, you have somewhere better to be?”
“Yes,” I say dryly. “Not on your lap.”
He ducks his head, chuckling against my neck. “Is that so?” I shiver when his hand slowly encircles my waist again, calloused fingers brushing the bare skin where my shirt is riding up.
I nod slowly. “I’m bored.”
His lips graze my jaw. “No, you’re not.”
I fight the urge to turn and face him fully. “And what makes you think I’m not?”
“Call it a hunch,” he murmurs against my ear before laying a card that has the men around the table groaning. The game ends with angry mutters and the pile of glinting shillings being pushed in our direction.
Kai quickly tosses the coins into my pack with an insufferable look of satisfaction. “Looks like you won’t be needing to rob anyone today, darling.”
“Too bad,” I mutter. “I was so looking forward to it.”
With a chuckle, Kai all but lifts me off his lap and onto my feet. He stands close behind, placing a firm hand on the small of my back. We make our way to the door at a casual pace, as though we aren’t worthan outrageous amount more than what we just earned.
I throw one last glance over my shoulder to the men in search of us, finding them talking to a table on the other side of the room. And then I’m stepping through the door to blink in the blinding sunlight. We turn cautiously around the corner, scanning each street before we stride down it.
It takes nearly an hour of walking before we feel safe enough to slow our pace and lower our guard, but we keep our heads down when we pass the occasional straggler so far from the heart of the city. My feet drag with exhaustion, my eyelids threatening to flutter closed. Kai notices this, of course, and has taken to yanking on the chain when my steps grow sluggish.
“You did a good job back there,” Kai says quietly, breaking our long stretch of silence.
I hum dismissively. “It’s not very hard to sit on a lap.”
“Oh, sitting is easy,” he argues. “It’s the looking pretty part that can be difficult. Well,” he adds sincerely, “not in my experience. But I’m sure others may struggle with that.”
I laugh despite myself. “You think so highly of yourself.”
“Someone has to.” His following accusation has my head whipping toward him. “Since you’re still denying that you think I’m pretty.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re pretty.”
“You know, I almost believe you.” He throws me a bemused look. “You are rather convincing. Especially so during your performance on my lap.”
I turn my face away before he can catch the blush blooming across my cheeks. “Well, I’ve had plenty of practicepretending. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
At the mention of the sham that is my life, my Psychic ability, I’m only reminded of the many people who were dragged into it.The ones who were unassuming accomplices, collateral damage in my performance. Soft green eyes and an easy grin flash in my mind. The new king was the latest victim of my charade, my betrayal.
I shrug the pack from my shoulders to pull out a half-eaten loaf I’d snatched from a merchant’s cart—just like I have all our food. “Do you think he’s worried about you?” I ask between bites of bread. When Kai raises his brows in question, I add, “Kitt?”
I swallow. That’s the first time I’ve referred to the king by his name and not his new title. It feels foreign in my mouth, as though it belongs to the memory of someone I used to know. And in a way, it does.
“If he is worried,” Kai sighs, “it’s because I’m with you.”
I snort. “What, he thinks I’m out to murder all the royals?”
He looks at me fully then, eyes roaming over my face. “He has no idea what you’re out to do.”
