Page 40 of Bound to the Elvin Prince

“Nay, let’s have none of that.” He gently pulled her hand away and held it lightly between his own.

When she tried to tug her hand from his grasp, he tightened his grip. He made sure it wasn’t uncomfortable, though. Apparently forcing herself to look up from where she’d found an interesting spot on the ground, she met his gaze. Immediately, her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. While he remained outwardly calm, excitement and anticipation pounded in his chest. He hadn’t felt like this for several thousands of years. It was a dizzying sensation he never wanted to lose again.

He leaned in, his breath whispering against her lips. All willpower to hold himself away from her had deserted him. He slid his hands underneath the sleeves of her gown and made sure to leave a trailing wake of sparks.

She gasped. “Is there some jacked-up faerie dust glowing on my skin? There has to be for me to tingle as I am.”

He chuckled. “No faerie dust. Just a touch of my magic.”

Her gaze zeroed in on his mouth, and she licked her lips. He stifled a moan. By Eria, he’d never wanted a female more. He had to get her to bond so he could bed her. By the mist’s damnation, the bond. An ice-cold chill crept over him as he remembered his falsehoods to her. He could rectify that now, tell her the full truth.

No, he’d merely scare her away, make her hate him. He wasn’t even handling the complete truth well, and he’d been raised in this world where such magic was possible. She was so young...

He blinked and stepped back. As suddenly as the moment had come, the intense moment between them faded. The loss of it was stifling. He tamped down on his conflicting emotions and let his gaze skim over the archery range. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the hazy expression on her face dissipate, and an odd disappointment settled in his gut. He should be rejoicing they hadn’t kissed. It was too soon. He shouldn’t push her harder than he already was. It was asking for too much when they were already asking for far too much.

“Shall we finish our tour?”

Before she could offer up a response, he released her hands and placed one of them on his forearm. Holding hands with her was too intimate right now and broke his concentration shamefully. He led her away in silence. When they finally did talk, their conversation was stilted. He gave an inner sigh, knowing he was mostly to blame. Likely, he had confused her. Seeing little else for it, he did most of the speaking as they toured the rest of the grounds before heading to the village.

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