Page 37 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

My smile widened. “Perfect. Thank you so much.” I started to release his arm, and then paused. Next was the risky part of my plan. Ravv might not be as possessive as he had seemed… but maybe he was. “You know, I’ve never hugged a fae before. Or kissed one. Would you be willing to kiss me?”

The man looked taken aback.

I fought a snort at his expression.

“I have a life partner,” he said.

“Not a mate?” I asked innocently.

“No. She and I can’t create a bond without making ourselves a target for the cultists.”

Cultists?

Well, everything just got better and better.

Ravv was doing an incredible job at keeping secrets from me.

“Sorry I grabbed you, then.” I released the man’s arm and patted it lightly in apology.

“I’ll kiss you,” the other guy offered. “I have no partner or mate. I’d be interested in spending a night with you, too, to see how humans differ from fae.”

Oh, dear.

He’d just propositioned me.

I should’ve seen that coming.

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m still trying to adjust to all this. Maybe tomorrow?”

The man only looked slightly disappointed, and nodded. “Can I see your ears, then?”

I shrugged, pulling my hair up away from one and turning so he could see it.

His eyes lit with fascination. “Can I touch it?”

“Sure.” It was just an ear.

He ran a finger over the curve of it, and I literally felt nothing.

Still just an ear.

“Fascinating,” the man said.

His hands landed on my hips, and he turned me. I dropped my hair as my chest met his, and my hands landed awkwardly on his large pectorals.

I’d never actually kissed someone before, so I was glad he was taking initiative.

And it made me feel like I was making a point to Ravv to choose the man I was having my first kiss with, even if I didn’t actually know him.

The king probably wouldn’t even care, but it still mattered to me.

He tilted my chin up with one hand and lowered his lips to mine. The sensation was foreign and strange as his soft mouth brushed against mine, and then his tongue slipped between my lips.

He didn’t taste very good, but I supposed that was to be expected, since he was both male and fae.

His hands held me close as we kissed, and my lower belly tensed when I felt him grow hard against me.

The other fae finally cleared his throat, and I pulled away. Both of our chests were rising and falling a bit quickly.

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