Page 30 of Courting the King of Cliffs

He grinned. “If only that worked.”

“I know. Would it be horrible if I just told them I needed some time to process everything? It’s the truth. And I’m really not going to let you out of here for a while, because we need to get to know each other before we admit to the world that we went and did the deed.”

“No, that wouldn’t be horrible. The real horror is that I’m not going to be able to talk you into a mating ceremony until you’ve gotten to know me.”

“Mm. Definitely not,” I murmured, leaning into his grip.

A fierce knock pounded on the door. “Granite!” Storm snarled. “Where’s my daughter?”

My eyes flew open.

Storm never yelled.

My worried gaze met Tremaine’s amused one. “Think we should tell him?” he asked.

My eyes widened. “About the sex? Do you want to die?”

“I’m crucial to your health at this point, which means he can’t kill me.” He squeezed my ass. “Not even for this.” His cock throbbed inside me.

“Ohhh, you’re terrible,” I breathed.

“The worst,” he agreed.

Storm pounded again, and I knew we were about to have a problem.

“Let me take care of this,” I said, sliding myself off him. He groaned quietly as I pulled away, but leaned back and tucked an arm behind his head afterward.

I didn’t think he was getting up—and kind of loved that.

“Just a second!” I called back, when Storm pounded a third time.

“Dove?” he called out.

“Yeah. Just a second!” I repeated, grabbing my dress and tugging it back into place.

My hair was kind of a wreck, but I smoothed it the best I could while I strode toward the door, feeling a few inches taller and a hell of a lot more confident.

I pulled the door open and slipped outside, closing it behind me so Storm didn’t see Tremaine on the floor.

“Hey.” I gave him a quick, small smile. “What’s up?”

He was looking at me strangely.

Very, very strangely.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, his forehead wrinkling.

“Yeah. I talked to Granite, and we worked things out. Our magic actually sort of balances each other. Mine soothes his pain, and his calms my mind.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes. “That’s why you look different.”

Well, that and the sex.

I gave him another ghost of a smile. “Yep.”

He let out a long, slow breath, relief relaxing his shoulders. “Harper said…” he trailed off.

“That I was upset? I was. I still am.” The urge to wrap my arms around my abdomen was an instinct. One I chose to ignore, for once. “You and the other kings made a decision you had no business making. I understand that you were looking out for me in what you thought was the best way, but that should’ve been my choice. If not when I was seven, then when I was twelve, or fifteen, or eighteen.”

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