Page 80 of The Curse of a Kingdom
Nava wrapped her legs around him like she knew how this would go, and without another word of warning, he dropped her onto the bed.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
NAVA
The room was still dark when Nava blinked her eyes open. Soft rays of sunshine extended over the dark stone floors, hinting at an early summer morning.
She couldn’t have slept for longer than a couple of hours, judging by the coolness in the air and how late it had been since their last heated exchange. She ached in the best possible way—a delicious burn inside her thighs, her body still tired from a night of a magical-induced frenzy. The warmth of his body was familiar behind her and still sent her heartbeat galloping in a rush.
She snuggled closer to him, her head on his chest. His fingers caressed the planes of her back.
“I didn’t know you were up.” His rough voice broke the silence of the morning.
“Hard to sleep with you next to me.”
“Last I checked, you fell asleep on me before I was done with you.”
Her cheeks warmed, because she had, in fact, fallen asleep on him. “I only have so much energy. Some of us are full-blooded humans.”
“What happened yesterday . . . I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
“Me neither.” Though she didn’t know if he was referring to the weird solstice heat or being with her. Intimate contact always meant the deepening of their bond.
The heat that had burned through their bodies while on the dance floor, it was hard to put what she felt into words when so much had happened in a matter of hours. Her normal thoughts had been fogged, but not gone. She’d been present and able to make decisions, though maybe freer to lean on what she’d wanted.
A prickle of concern trailed her thoughts. The outcome of the sex, the longing—those had been something she’d half expected after all the warnings. For Arkimedes, it had been all new. Their craving for one another came with who they were to each other, but . . . he should have known of their connection before it had gotten to this.
She should have pushed harder to tell him the truth, past her own selfishness.
Turning her face toward the balcony, Nava evaded his gaze. “I should get to my room before Leela comes looking for me.” Her stomach revolted at her action, or the lack of.
“They are very punctual in their morning rounds, her and Callie.”
His words made her pause, and she shifted back to meet his gaze. “Callie—is that Callisto?”
His bright green eyes focused on her, his expression sharpening to focus. Nava hadn’t even given a thought to whether a female fae would be the one tending to her mate while no one else knew of their bond, and the new information sat in her stomach like a bag of rocks.
“Has she come into your bedroom before?” She focused on the door, frowning. “Is she the one coming to wake you every morning?” Weren’t there societal rules about this? Nava was sure there should be something like that.
Arkimedes’s slow grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “What’s happening inside that fiery head of yours?”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “Has she?”
“Are you jealous?”
She huffed, bringing the sheet over her chest to make sure her mark was covered from sight. Now that the morning sun made it more visible, she was glad their heated frenzy had hit them in the middle of the night and not during daylight. She moved her body away from his. “I don’t get jealous. I don’t have a reason to be.”
But the what-ifs came rushing back to her. What if the king had been pressuring Arkimedes to find a suitor? That was something they did in court, right? Laurie had never pushed her to learn much about this. It wasn’t like Nava was ever supposed to be exposed to a situation that would make the study worth their time. Little had they known . . .
The burning embers of something angry lit in her stomach. Nava had no reason to be annoyed with him, not when he didn’t remember her and was a victim here. But whatever possessive nature their bond brought upon them was hard to battle.
“Good.” Arkimedes angled toward her as his hands chased after her hips. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to my room to allow you time to get yourself dressed before she shows up.”
His rolling laughter almost thawed the ice in her veins. “I don’t want you to go. Stay with me.”
“No.” But her body was already sinking back into the mattress. Damn the tone of honey and sex in his voice; she had no defense against it.
