Page 68 of Of Rime and Ruin
He glances up. His eyes darken suddenly. Hungry. His tongue darts out, swiping over his lips.
Deirdre’s eyes widen, and she sucks in a breath. “My apologies, Sire. I’ve come all undone. I don’t know why I suggested that.” On cue, her mouth parts and stretches in a yawn. Poor thing.
“Go to bed, Deirdre,” the king says, rising from his chair. “Please. I’ll show her the room myself.”
When he turns his smolder on me, his eyes—for a moment—are soft.
Chapter twenty-nine
Aethan
Thetwofemalesexchangea weary glance. Deirdre hesitates, seeming to pull strength from the look in the princess’s eyes. “I won’t leave Her Highness alone,” she says, swaying on her feet.
The princess shrugs. “I’ll be alright, Deirdre. I think I can handle him.” Her gaze swivels to me, daring.
Handle?My cock twitches.
“But, Sire—”
“Please, Deirdre. You’re exhausted. Let me take care of it.”
Deirdre doesn’t fight me for long. After one final protest, she dips her head and submits to my offer, leaving us to fend for ourselves.
Me and the princess.
Alone.
Everything about her screamstrouble.
What could go wrong?
“Come on, then,” I say, before she tries to fill the silence with something frivolous or irrelevant. The quicker I get this done, the better. It’s a favor for Deirdre. And nothing more.
I may not like guests, but I can still be an excellent host, dammit.
I retrieve my cloak from the rack and head for the East Wing, swallowing the anxiety that prickles my throat.
She follows me, feet quiet on the wooden floor. Sconces flicker in the wind of our passing. In a few hours, dawn will break, and daylight will stream through the windows as the aethersky fades. Until then, we move in a cocoon of near darkness.
“I have a few requests for my room,” she says.
“You assume you have a say.”
“Somewhere with a window, if possible,” she continues, ignoring my comment. What’s she planning, another escape mission? My fists clench at my sides.
“Fireplace, like I said before. An attached bathroom would be nice. And a bookshelf…”
“So you can read your romance novels?” I snap.
“You assume because I’m female, I must like romance novels?”
“What? No. I just meant…” My jaw grinds, and I trail off. I’m not sure why I said it.
Something tickles my mind. Something about a sweetnut tree. Sunset rays. A guppy with curly hair. Guilt trails a cold claw down my spine. This young male in the Beast’s memory, is it her lover she left at home?
“You strike me as the type to crave a happily ever after,” I mutter. There. That should be enough flattery to shut her up.
She inhales, readying to speak again.
