Page 3 of Throne of Dreams
Maeve crossed her arms, and he ignored the way the movement lifted her cleavage into full view. Her chin lifted, just slightly. “I know that.”
He mimicked her stance. “Then prove it.”
Goddess above, her thoughts wereloud. And all over the place. She was trying to call upon her magic like it was a pet, like she was begging it to do her bidding, instead of commanding it. Her mind raced with ideas, with possibilities, but she didn’t know what she wanted. Her focus was lost. She whispered and pleaded, but the magic remained just out of her reach.
Tiernan shook his head and ran a hand through his dark hair. “You’re thinking too much about creating something instead of just calling it to you.”
“I know that, too.” She scowled and her full lips turned downward into a pout. The necklace she wore radiated with vexation.
He rocked back onto his heels in the soft sand and grinned. “Then what are you going to do about it?”
“Practice,” she bit the word off. “It’s not like there’s a book on the magic of creation.”
“You could write one,” he countered.
Her mouth fell open. A look passed over her face, one he’d never seen before. He’d never been witness to an actual smile or her laughter. No, he’d seen her worst. Her tears. Her death glares. Her fear. But this one, this look was one of wonder, and it nearly stole his breath straight from his chest.
She held his gaze for a moment longer, then finally looked away. It was a game they often played.
He always won.
“Maeve.” She looked over at him, cautious. Good. “Catch.”
Purple bolts exploded from the tips of his fingers and headed straight for her. Thunder cracked overhead, and the skies turned a menacing shade of gray. He threw his magic at her, slammed her with his power, and though she stood firm, she didn’t fight back. Maeve ducked under the water to avoid him and surfaced seconds later, sputtering. Again, he struck out at her. Wind collided into both of them, howling through the curved walls of the cavern like a lone wolf. Small waves thrashed around her while another round of violet lightning streaked across the space between them.
This time he met his mark. And though the strength of his magic barely grazed her shoulder, she hissed in pain. Just knowing he hurt her was the rawest form of torture. Maeve, High Princess of the Autumn Court, was quite possibly the most stubborn female he had ever met.
“Attack me,” Tiernan growled.
She shoved her wet hair out of her eyes and glared at him. “If you’d just give me a minute to think, then I could—”
“No.” Tiernan fired again. Harder and faster. “Fight.”
Maeve yelped as another bolt skimmed above her head. “I don’t know what to do!”
Panic.Icy tendrils of dread froze him from the inside out. Except he wasn’t the one on the brink of hysteria. It was Maeve. His gaze dipped to the necklace hanging between her breasts. Her nipples hardened beneath the heat of his gaze, and damn if his cock didn’t jump in response. Fucking gods, she was infuriating.
Thunder shook the ground beneath his feet and violet bolts rained down upon her. “Stop thinking and start doing!”
He attacked once more and this time she blocked with fire. Flaming orbs pulsed through the air as they raced toward him. Glowing streaks of angry orange and fiery red singed his skin, burning past him to the walls beyond. The heat was so intense, his knees almost buckled. Beads of sweat slid from his forehead to his jaw. He blew out a breath and stared the Autumn beauty down. She was far more dangerous than she knew.
“Good,” he called out, ready to bring his storm down upon her.
But Maeve threw her hands up on either side of her and a shimmering, pearlescent bubble-like shield surrounded her.
Tiernan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “Cute.”
She gave him the finger and every tense, tightly wound muscle in his body went on high alert. If she only knew. Goddess above, if she onlyknew. Intent on infuriating her even more, Tiernan yanked off his shirt and tossed it aside. Her gaze devoured him; it stole across his arms, chest, abdomen, and lower still. No doubt she could see the hard line of his cock straining against his pants. He unhooked the Astralstone, the twin to her Aurastone, and gently laid it upon the sand. Its twilight hues sparked with the brilliance of midsummer stars. Then, just because he loved to watch her squirm, he unbuckled his pants and kicked them to the side.
Her gasp was entirely too good for his ego.
“Something bothering you, Your Highness?” he asked and sauntered into the cool water.
A pretty blush stained her cheeks, but she refused to look away. In fact, when her eyes blatantly dropped to his erection, her brow quirked and her chin jutted out defiantly.
“Well, now I know what kind of effect I have onyou.”
Tiernan made a sort of tsking noise. “On the contrary, I find fighting to be extremely arousing.”
