Page 14 of Courting the King of Cliffs

He grabbed one of their glasses, sniffing the liquid. They only had water, though.

He dropped it on the table, growling, “Why are you drinking in the middle of the day, Dissiri?”

The men’s eyes widened, and they looked at each other.

“Surprise!” I exclaimed, tossing my hair back.

“You didn’t ask her name?” Granite nearly snarled at them.

“She said it was Della,” one of them protested.

“You should be able to feel her magic,” he said, teeth gritted and voice even grittier. “Get out of here before I kill you.”

The men hurried out.

Guess they were all scared of the king.

I shivered at his words. “I love your voice.”

“You’re going home,” he grumbled, grabbing me by the armpits and lifting me out of my chair. When my shirt rode up, he swore, let go of me, and yanked he fabric back down.

“No!” I cried out, stepping away from him.

I staggered a little, but caught myself.

It was fine.

I was fine.

“I’m on vacation. You said I could stay,” I protested.

“Not so you could get drunk and flirt with my people.” He was glaring at my pointy nipples like they’d done something to personally offend him.

“I was not flirting.” I lifted a finger, and then smiled at a thought that crossed my mind. “I think they liked me. Do you think they liked me? I wanted them to like me.”

He swore again, grabbed me by the waist, and then hauled me out of the restaurant. One of his hands was gripping the edge of my shirt, holding it down so it covered me while he carried me.

The man’s scent was so nice that I didn’t even fight against his hold, just leaning my face to his neck while he walked. “You smell really good, like your house. I slept so well in there. It made me feel calm again.”

“I didn’t know they were going to put you in my place,” he said, through gritted teeth.

“Me neither,” I agreed, inhaling deeply. “I want a mate who smells like you. Do you think Long-hair smells like you?”

“No,” he snarled again. “No one smells like me to you.”

“Oh.” Sadness enveloped me, and I got quiet.

“Dammit, Dissiri.” He carried me down some stairs. “Why are you wearing my shirt? And you need to stay the hell away from those bastards.”

“They thought we were sleeping together,” I whispered to him. “Are you sleeping with random women? They thought I was a random woman.”

“No, I’m not sleeping with random women,” he hissed. “I have a mate, for fuck’s sake.”

“You do?” I tilted my head back so I could stare up at him with wide eyes. “Is she pretty?”

“The most beautiful creature on the planet.”

I sighed. “You’re so lucky. I want a beautiful mate.”

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