Page 17 of Courting the King of Cliffs

He clenched his jaw, and gritted out, "No."

Something inside me flushed at the thought of walking in on a naked, sleeping Granite.

I tried to suppress it.

“Then you can’t seriously hold it against me that I don’t either.” I slipped my hands into the pockets of my dress, expecting them to be trembling a little. Whenever people got angry with me, they usually did. Intense emotions could be overwhelming.

For some reason, Granite’s anger hadn’t triggered my sensitivities—it had just made me angry too.

My mind went back to the conversation I’d had with the men in the restaurant. They said that Granite slept with women all the time. My anger increased exponentially with that thought, even though I had no real justification for the emotion.

I added coolly, “I’m sorry my breasts didn’t measure up to the standard of your typical naked female visitors. Thanks for letting me stay here, but it’s clear that I need to leave.”

I gathered my magic and transported away. Since I hadn’t brought anything with me, there was nothing to retrieve.

A pair of huge hands grabbed me by the waist as I transported. The pull on my magic intensified slightly as Granite held onto me, coming along for the ride without using his own power.

I stumbled as we appeared in my room, in Storm’s castle. My back hit the wall, and Granite’s grip on my waist tightened, though there was still space between his chest and mine.

My head tilted backward slightly so I could look him in the eyes, and I tried to ignore the intense desire that swelled within me at the smell and closeness of him.

“We had this conversation a few hours ago, Dissiri,” he growled at me, his hands sliding down from my waist to my hips. The pressure of his hold was delicious, and I fought an intense urge to grab him by the pants and pull him closer. “I have no female visitors, naked or otherwise.”

A decade earlier, most fae had waited to have sex until they chose a mate, but that standard had mostly vanished. Some still did, but the majority didn’t wait.

I’d waited… but only because I literally couldn’t find anyone to consider me. They were all too afraid of Storm.

My mind went back over the conversation Granite had mentioned. Everything was a bit fuzzy, thanks to the alcohol, but when I focused…

My lips parted and hurt curled in my chest for absolutely no reason at all. “You have a mate.”

“A fated mate.”

“She’s going to kill me for sleeping in your bed,” I whispered.

“No.” His voice was still low.

I was fighting hard to stop myself from being turned on by the sound of it and the way he was touching me, but holy shit, I was failing.

“And for touching me like this—you shouldn’t be anywhere near this close to me,” I added, pushing at his chest. He didn’t budge. “You’ll hurt her feelings and ignite her possessiveness.”

“No, I won’t.” He squeezed my hips, digging his fingers into my skin just gently enough not to cause me pain.

“Of course you will.” Emotions swelled inside me—jealousy, and anger, and fear, none of which I understood.

His grip only tightened. “What do I smell like, Dissiri?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I—”

He pulled me closer, and my face tilted upward, my nose finding his throat. I inhaled deeply, and nearly whimpered at the intense hit of his spicy, stony smell. “What do I smell like?” he asked again.

Like peace and quiet.

Like bliss and pleasure.

Like everything I’d never realized I wanted.

“Good,” I whispered. “Really, really good. But—”

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