Page 12 of Cursed Gift

His arms closed in around me. “There. Isn’t that better?”

I tried to relax, but I looked over the seats to the front of the room. “My parents are just over there, you know.”

He narrowed his gaze at me. “So? It’s not like I’m doing anything other than just holding you.” He chuckled. “I think King Nicolai really hates me now. I think he used to like me.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bet on it.” Nicolai didn’t like many people at all.

“What?”

I pressed down on my lips to keep from laughing. “Remember when we were younger, and you accidentally cut me when we were training. He hasn’t liked you since then.”

His eyes widened. “That was an accident.”

I shrugged. “Don’t mess with his princess.”

He needled me in the side and a jolt of electricity shot through my limbs. I rested my head on his shoulder, letting him hold me and feeling more relaxed this time.

His breath came out evenly. The steady raising and lowering of his chest like a comforting lullaby. I made my arms relax and rested my palm on his chest.

He lowered his voice. “I saw you talking with Rafe earlier.”

“Mmm,” I said, letting everything about Alexei lull me.

“Are you going to choose him next?”

My eyes opened wide, and I was suddenly tense again. His hand came up to rub my back, but he’d already done the damage. “I don’t know. God, Alexei.”

He kept his voice low, melodic. “I was just curious. We used to talk about everything, you know?”

“That was before.”

“Before?”

“Before you were a possibility.”

He pulled me close for a moment, then let his hand drop to my thigh. “At least I’m still a possibility.”

I laid my head back on his shoulder, hoping he’d come to his senses and stop talking about this stuff with me.

It didn’t happen. “I approve of your choices so far, by the way.”

“Good to know,” I grumbled.

But his words weren’t affecting me as much anymore. It was his touch on my thigh and the way it kept working upward, slowly, yet steadily. I tensed. Not because I wanted him to stop, but because it felt too good.

He seemed to know the difference, or maybe he didn’t care. His hand kept traveling up, his thumb brushing inches away from my panty line.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Testing my boundaries.”

His hand inched higher. “Why would you do that?” My heart sounded off like a bass drum in my ears. Thought had left in an instant, and all I felt was his hand and all I heard was the mad beat in my chest.

“I want to know my limits with you, Izzy. Now that I’ve come out and told you how I really feel, I don’t want to stop. I want more.”

I squeezed my knees together as he went impossibly higher. “More?” I asked, my voice squeaking. “How much more?”

He answered by pulling my knees apart and sliding his hand between again. He stopped midway down my thigh, but I got the gist, anyway.

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