Page 73 of The Curse of a Kingdom
“What would your kingdom say, seeing you dancing with a human? Isn’t that scandalous?”
He lifted a brow. “I would like to see them come and tell me to not do it.”
Oh, he was long gone. She had a six-foot-three problem on her hands. Literally.
She didn’t want anyone to interrupt them, aware of what was going on between them after her talk with Devon. Nava needed to get out of here, fast, if the tremble of her knees and the throbbing in her center was anything to go by. “I’d rather avoid anything that would upset your father if possible. I don’t need him getting any ideas to make me disappear.”
“No one is making you disappear,” he breathed, and his fingers dug into the skin of her back as he lowered his head to her ear. “I’m afraid my head is not in its right place, especially after last night.”
“What happened last night?” she asked in a thin voice, remembering the way she had touched herself when she’d known he was watching.
“You tell me.” His lips touched her ear, then moved to her neck, breathing her in.
Oh, god. It was too much. Nava was going to ignite into flames on the spot if he continued on.
“It seemed like you were tempting me to come to you and finish what you’d started.”
“I was.”
“I’m here now.” His tongue slipped over her neck, and her toes curled in her shoes at the sensation that spread through her.
She had to battle to keep the moan inside her mouth, but her eyes rolled back when his teeth nipped at her skin and his wide hands brought her closer to his body. Nava’s dress was too tight over her skin.
What if his father was watching them now? It would be hard to explain why Arkimedes was kissing her neck at the moment.
Devon’s plan to get too close to her to get a rise out of her mate had worked. Now she had to do her job to get them out of here somehow, away from prying eyes. Maybe gather some courage and confess.
She lifted her gaze toward the table. An ebony-skinned concubine sat on the king’s lap, caressing his face as her curves and narrow wings hid most of him from view. They were kissing, and the image was too intimate to linger on.
Alertness descended over her fogged mind. “We should try to not call for attention.” She pushed away from him, but desire burned hotter within her as she touched him, grasping the lapels of his coat.
Why should I care? Everyone else seems to be doing it.
“No one cares.” His lips traced the side of her cheek, so close to her lips that her body shook with anticipation. But she cared; they weren’t a cheap one-night stand. If there was something she’d learned last year, it was that destiny didn’t mess around. If soulmates became this heated and uncontrolled during the solstice night, it meant something.
She was scared—maybe a bit paranoid. But she didn’t want to regret whatever happened here. “Did you drink some of the wine? I heard it clouds your judgment.”
He pulled back a few inches, meeting her gaze, and for the first time, his expression cleared. His gloved finger caressed the side of her jaw, where his lips had just been. “Everyone knows not to drink the wine at these parties.”
Nava had his attention; it was go time. “It’s hot in here . . . I need some air.” No one paid any attention to them.
“Right now?” He glanced around, appearing more lucid. “It is getting a bit . . . intense here.”
“Let's leave,” she whispered. “Maybe you can show me parts of the garden I haven’t been allowed to see. I would love to be close to nature, but maybe somewhere where there aren’t any creepy flowers?”
Arkimedes’s grin slowly spread, and he nodded, stepping away from her. “There is a place I would like to show you.” His hand still held hers as he pulled her through the sea of people on the dance floor, toward the large doors that led them to one of the many halls of the castle.
She caught Devon’s eyes on their way out. He was leaning against a far wall and nodded as they walked past. Straightening in his place, he walked behind them.
Last Nava saw him, he was going up the wide staircase Fael and she had descended. She assumed he was returning to his room, but one never knew with Devon Black. She was too far gone to care.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
NAVA
The sky had turned into marbled shades of apricot and purple by the time they made it out of the castle. Fae filled the wide corridors, dressed in elegant attire. So caught up in their conversations, drinking and laughing, they missed even Arkimedes’s imposing shape.
Arkimedes and Nava soon walked out to the garden, and when his hand grasped hers, she had almost forgotten this man walking next to her was notherArkimedes. His burning touch was disorienting. She would have to focus on ice buckets or festering wounds. Anything to bring herself to a more level head.
