Page 28 of Enchanted Heir
“May I borrow you?”Krew whispered. His breath hit the bare skin of my shoulder and made me fight off a shiver.
“Of course,” I said with a bow and smile at Renna, Molly, and Nara, who I had been talking with.
He walked us over to the same window as before, and stood there a minute, neither of us saying a word.
“We will go to Nerede in two days’ time,” he told me.
That at least gave me something to look forward to. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“We are far enough from the others now that you don’t have to play nice with me, you know.” He took a step closer, his eyes staying on mine. “If you’d like to continue to scold me, Ms. Feisty-Pants, go right on ahead.”
“No thanks,” I stated with a fake smile. “I think I’ve said all I need to say...” My words trailed off with the step he took closer yet. He was truly selling this tonight. He looked as if he were ready to kiss me right here and now, in front of everyone. “Mr....” And he was tall, but the thing which stuck out the most to me was that the few inches he lacked in Keir’s height seemed to go directly to his chest. Was this much muscle truly necessary for merely sitting upon a throne? Seemed a bit wasteful if you asked me.
“Mr....” I tried again. And how much had these two princes grown from birth anyway? It seemed impossible they were once small babies, just like the rest of us when we came into existence. And now they towered over us all, in both their stature and one of their eventual reigns. “Mr. Growing-Pants,” I finally finished.
His eyebrows shot up.
I leaned back to pinch the bridge of my nose, realizing the string of words that had just come out of my mouth did not at all sound like how I had meant them in my head. “Dammit.”
He looked down at his feet. Or dear gods, his pants? Well, I’d rather not know what it was he was looking at, I just knew it was in the general vicinity of his pant region.
“Not presently,” he offered, completely unfazed.
I slammed my eyes shut. “Dammit, Krew. If you wouldn’t have me emotionally exhausted from your mood swings, I wouldn’t say absurd things. I’d been thinking how tall you and Keir both are. Not about your actual pants.”
But then he was squeezing my hand, causing my eyes to open.
“I am sorry,” he offered.
Miraculously, instead of mockery in his eyes, I found only sincerity. Perhaps sincerity with a touch of amusement.
He continued holding my hand and speaking softly to me. “I didn’t know you’d assume I was mad at you for being there. I am not. I promise.”
I sighed. “Only mildly annoyed then?”
He interlocked our fingers, leaving mine on top, just to bring them to his lips for a kiss. “I am mildly annoyed with my father’s men coming to check on us all the time. I am not mildly annoyed with you.”
“Are you sure?”
He gave me a nod as his eyes darted for the dancefloor. “Yes. Are you ready for another dance with me?”
“Not really.”
He gave me a rare grin. “I’ll make it worth your time.”
“That’s not helping at all with the level of readiness.”
He chuckled. “You do not look infatuated with me right now, Jorah.”
I gave him a squint and took a step forward, until my dress was brushing up against his tailcoat. I grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and smiled at him. “I want to shake you right now, do you know that?”
He laughed. “Much better, though erring a tad on the aggressive side, don’t you think?” He leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek. As he pulled back, he kept his eyes on mine.
“You go too far,” I offered.
He popped his shoulders in a shrug. “It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”
I rolled my eyes. “It could be worse, I suppose.”
