Page 103 of Bride of the Fae Prince

His eyes darken. “Fine, you confoundedwoman. If you want to play games, I’ll play games with you.”

And with that, he sweeps my hair away, and leans down to press his lips in a scalding kiss against the hollow of my throat. I suck in a sharp breath, and he rasps a low chuckle.

“Ask me to kiss you,” he murmurs, moving his mouth to my jaw. “Ask me, Stella.”

Part of me wants to be stubborn, to resist him past his self-control, until he just breaks and kisses me, anyway. But if I dothat, his control might not snap, and he’ll pull away, and the offer will be past.

Losing this game is still winning.

I smile as he presses a third kiss just below my ear. I tilt my chin up, meeting his gaze. “Ash?”

He stares down at me, his chest heaving with his fast breaths. “Yes, love?”

I give him a little grin. “Will you kiss me?”

His eyes shutter closed as a groan slips from him. “Great Kings,finally.”

Then his mouth is on mine, his arms wrapping around me, pressing me close, kissing me like the world is crumbling around us, and we’re the only ones left. His lips coax mine, moving slowly, then fast, then slow again, as though trying to hold himself back. As though making sure I can keep up. If he wasn’t still kissing me, still tangling his fingers in my hair, I’d smile. Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me, until the world is nothing but warmth and sweetness, and I want for nothing but to drown in it.

When he pulls back, I open my eyes. He stares at me, lips swollen, his expression torn between blistering hope and that sorrowful devastation. He’s thinking about losing me again, isn’t he?

My fingers are strung together at the back of his neck. I use them to pull myself up, just close enough to rub my nose against his. He nuzzles me back, softly, sweetly.

“I think we need to talk,” I whisper.

“I’d rather keep kissing you,” he breathes back, nuzzling me again. But he doesn’t kiss me, and instead we prop ourselves up against the back of the settee. He reaches out, takes one of my hands, and threads his fingers with mine.

When I look up at him, his gaze has hardened.

“The High King demanded I lead his armies into battle,” he begins, jaw flexing. “Tomorrow. Against—”

“Aursailles,” I breathe, my gut hollowing out. An unwelcome memory returns, of what one of those fae women said at the banquet. That Ash has slain thousands. Another memory assaults me of him killing those fae who came for me. He’d ended a dozen lives before I’d barely had a chance to breathe.

My father wouldn’t stand a chance.

Amelia.

Ash nods.

“What did you say to him? I thought the boundary between our worlds was stronger!” I refuse to pull my hand away from his, but I cannot deny that the impulse is there. What if I kissed him right after he’d betrayed my people? After he’d betrayedme? After he guaranteed the death of my beloved sister?

“The treaty only prevents a certainterrorization of humans by individual faeandthe invasion of fae lands by humans. It doesn’t stop the High King from conquest,” he growls. “I refused the order.”

The pensive, dark lines haven’t left his face. “You don’t say that like it’s a good thing.”

“He sent Rahk to do it instead.”

Shock thrums through my body. Ash tightens his grip on my hand, as though afraid I’ll pull away. My voice comes out in a croak. “What? And Rahk—he will do it?”

“He has no choice. If he refused, it would give the High King the grounds he’s wanted for centuries to get rid of my only friend. When Rahk is compliant, and does what he asks, the High King cannot kill him without enraging the Nothril Court. Rahk has gotten by for a long time by avoiding notice, and since the High King cannot directly harm him, I didn’t have to worry. But now he’s figured out a way to use Rahk against me, and in a way that doesn’t anger the Nothril Court.”

My lungs tighten as I listen. Is there anything we can do? Anything Ash can do to stop it?

No.I won’t worry about that yet. Not until I hear the rest of it.

“What else?” I ask, bracing myself.

“For my defiance, he inflicted one of hispunishments.”

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