Page 62 of A Tale of Treachery

“It’s about time you got here. I’ve been stuck here all by myself, and it’s been absolutely horrible. Where have you been?” My voice came out whinier than intended.

“I had the meeting with the king, followed by a few things that demanded my attention,” he answered, clearly annoyed with my line of questioning.

ButIdemanded his attention. I hiccupped, the wine going to my head.

“Sorry, you’re right. I would hate for someone else to nose into my private matters, too,” I slurred, taking another sip of wine. “That’s how I wound up here, after all.”

He leaned over me, chuckling in my ear, his breath causing a stray curl to tickle my neck. Goosebumps rose along my skin from his proximity, and my skin warmed. He plucked the glass of wine from my hand. “I think you’ve had enough to drink. Did you miss me?” he purred, his wicked smirk catching my peripheral vision.

“Maybe…maybe I just wanted to leave and needed an escort. Who knows?” I teased, knowing that it was a mixture of the two. “Ryken…you asked me to take charge of my situation, and I’m ready. I can’t do this anymore, this relationship with the prince. I will speak with him in the morning and tell him that our relationship is over. I just hope his father will let me go.”

He hummed in my ear. “Then we’ll come up with a plan, just in case.” The smell of sandalwood and moss mixed with something spicy flooded my nostrils as he leaned in close, one hand on my elbow, the other on the nape of my neck. Prickles radiated from his contact with my body. “Come on, little crow,” he said in a husky whisper. “Let me escort you back to your room.”

I rose, placing my hand in the crook of his arm, and smiled gratefully at the rescue. My nerves had gone haywire from his flirtatious mood. His smile turned hungry, and he winked.

My gods, he was going to devour my soul.

And I would let him.

CHAPTER23

We sneaked away while everyone was distracted and made it back to my room. My earlier inebriated state had lessened to a warm buzz, thanks to my high tolerance. I was feeling good, my head floating on a cloud. Since I was used to drinking fairy wine, the red mortal drink in the ballroom had been a fleeting distraction and would wear off quickly.

Ryken was silent when we reached the safety of my room. He took off his cloak and weapons, leaving him dressed in a dark tunic and soft leather pants as he moved about and stoked the fire on the hearth. There had been tension between us since I’d told him I was ready to take control of my situation, because now there was a possibility of an “us.”

I climbed into my bed and watched him move around the room, wary of breaking the silence between us. I needed a way out of my situation, and he’d promised to help. But judging from the tense set of his muscles and the intoxicating scent flowing from him, I didn’t think we would be doing much talking.

Ryken combed his fingers through his silver hair and loosened it, brushing the longer locks along the undercut on the sides of his head. A strand slipped in front of his eyes, and he met my stare, sending a shock through my system.

The messy hair and glow in his eyes made me wonder if that was what he looked like in bed or in a moment of passion.

Heat crawled up my skin, and I cleared my throat. “Were you with Fin tonight?”

He grunted and turned back to tend the fire, the muscles in his back flexing with the movement. I could smell him, even with his back turned. My throat flexed at the scent choking me. “Why are you ignoring me?”

I already knew why. My admission of no longer wanting Aiden had triggered something in him. Ryken knew that it was him I wanted instead, and judging by the slow darkening of his aura, it was clear that only one thing was on his mind.

It had been on my mind, too, since the moment he’d stormed into the ballroom, the essence of chaos and carnality.

He jabbed at the logs with a metal poker as if he hadn’t heard me, the cords of his muscles shifting with barely restrained tension.

The air grew thick when I thought about it—about him—the heat in the room intensifying the more my thoughts spiraled out of control. I pulled at the neck of my gown to ease the hives that crawled along my chest and fanned myself with the book from my nightstand.

My eyes were glued to him and the stone hard exterior of his body. A glimpse of that silver tattoo peeked from his neckline, and I salivated, my breath hitching as heat sparked between my thighs.

Ryken’s body went still, and he dropped his head back to inhale the scent that cascaded off me. He said nothing as he slowly twisted around, his silver irises darkening when he met my gaze. The animalistic intensity in his eyes made my belly flop.

He approached me quietly, the sound of my shallow breathing the only thing that could be heard as he halted in front of the bed. His metallic gaze locked on my lips, and I swallowed, trying to speak over the lump in my throat, but nothing came out.

Suddenly, I was the one who had gone silent.

He reached out, and my eyes locked on his as his hand wound through the roots of my updo and dug into my scalp.

His head tilted close to mine, breath caressing my ear as he whispered, “I can smell you…you should know better than to advertise your need to a fae. We take what is offered, without question.”

A whimper escaped my lips.

“Are you scared, little crow? Because I can hear your heart racing.” His voice turned sultry and low as he rubbed his face against my cheek. Heat spiraled to dark places at his tone, and his hand dragged downward and wrapped around my neck, issuing a light squeeze. “I can feel your pulse pounding against my fingertips.”

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