Page 73 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

“Wasn’t really planning on sleeping,” Draven muttered before ushering me forward so he could stand as well.

When he followed me over to the bed and stood there expectantly, I crawled into it and arched an eyebrow at him. “Something you need?”

“For you to move over.”

“What?” I dropped my gaze to a sleeping Vail before looking back at Draven. Did he really mean to sleep with me when I was in bed with Vail? The chair wasn’t big enough to sleep in, but I’d assumed he’d just sleep on the floor.

Draven leaned down until his lips were almost touching mine, and my breath caught in my throat at the intensity in his eyes. “Fucking you tonight isn’t an option, because when I do, I want you to be able to scream until the walls shake.” Then he kissed the corners of my mouth as I trembled slightly. “You should know that Kieran and I are a bit . . . competitive. If he makes you scream, I’ll make you scream louder. If I make you come”—his hand slid down my body until he cupped me between the thighs—“then Kieran will make you come harder.”

I clamped my legs around his hand as heat pooled between them. “Now who’s not helping?” I growled.

His mouth crashed against mine as his fingers rubbed against the seam of my pants, creating a friction I’d been desperately craving.

Just as suddenly as he kissed me, he broke it off and shoved me further across the bed before sliding in behind me. Then his arm wrapped around my waist to tug me back against his chest. “I can’t fuck you tonight, but I can ensure that you dream of me,” he whispered into my ear, “while sleeping in a bed withhim.”

“Jealous?” I rasped, glancing at Vail to find him still asleep, but there was a crease between his brows now.

“He’s not good for you,” Draven said smoothly as his grip on me tightened.

“And you are?”

“No.” The arm around me pulled back a little. “I suppose I’m not.”

A gap formed between my back and his chest, and fear shot through me at him leaving. My hand clamped down on his arm, and Draven went still. “Stay.”

Time stretched as the word hung between us. Finally, Draven settled back down beside me, and the knot that had been forming inside my chest loosened. He let out a long,shuddering breath and nestled his face into the back of my neck.

We lay like that until we both fell asleep. At some point in the night, I woke to find that Vail had rolled over and I was plastered against his chest, his arm wrapped around me. Draven was still tight against my back, his arm draped along my hip.

Nestled between two people who could very well be the death of me, I should have felt at least a hint of alarm. Instead, I just drifted off to sleep and dreamed of starry skies.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Roth

“You’re absolutelycertain he called you the forgotten queen?” I asked again from where I was sitting in one of the comfy chairs in Samara’s living room. Alaric had claimed the chair across from me while Samara and Kieran were sprawled out on the settee.

Well, Kieran was sprawled out. Samara was hunched over the low table, translating the last of Rosalyn’s journals.

“Yes, Roth,” Samara said tiredly. She’d only returned an hour ago and had announced that there would be no group dinner this evening since everyone was tired from the journey.

I kept glancing at the door to her bedroom, expecting them to knock any second, but apparently, both the prince and Vail had made themselves scarce as soon as they'd stepped foot inside House Harker.

Alaric, Kieran, and I had gathered in her rooms, and she’d told us everything that had happened—although the details of them staying the night at the outpost had been a little sparse. I didn’t think Samara was intentionally hiding anything from us. If anything, she seemed a little . . . confused?

I’d have to talk to Kieran about it when I could get himalone. Alaric wasn’t much better than me at reading people, but Kieran seemed to always know what was going on in Samara’s head.

Was it bad that Alaric and I were likely going to have to depend on Kieran for relationship advice? I frowned and then shook my head. Kieran was pretty and had a praise kink. He’d appreciate being told he was useful, which meant he wouldn’t give me too much shit about having no idea how relationships worked.

“He definitely called me that,” Samara confirmed without looking up from the page. “And he wanted me to come with him.”

“In Seelie?” Alaric asked. “You’re absolutely sure he spoke in Seelie and not Unseelie?”

Samara finally looked up from the journal to arch a dark eyebrow at Alaric. “I realize you think I’m nothing more than a pretty face with air between my ears, but between all of us, Iamthe person most adept at Fae languages. So yes, I’m sure it was Seelie.”

“I said that one time.” Alaric rolled his eyes. “And it was almost a decade ago.”

Samara sniffed. “It was on my sixteenth birthday, you ass. Ruined the whole party.”

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