Page 19 of The Lord of Whispers

“Hey!” Luke protested. “I could have brought someone if I wanted. There were some real solid contenders. But, you know, after the way the last one went, I decided it’s more fun for Alarie, here, to be my date.”

According to Luke, he’d recently gone on a string of unsuccessful dates. He claimed his dates never seemed to care for the amount of schmoozing he had to do at these kinds of Court events.

“Contenders, huh?” I asked skeptically. Truthfully, I had no doubt that many ladies were very much enamored by Luke, but I liked to give him a hard time.

“Yeah, but I don’t really need a date for these things anymore now that I have you,” Luke said, lifting both his eyebrows suggestively.

I noticed that the high lord’s eyes were trained on us from across the ballroom. I can’t say what made me do it. I knew he didn’t care about me, not like that. But, feeling his icy gray eyes bore into me, I playfully slapped Luke on the arm.

“Oh, you’ll just have to settle for me, will you?” I quipped, letting my hand rest around Luke’s sizable bicep.

I could still feel the high lord’s searing gaze on me. But I didn’t look back at him, not wanting to let him know I knew he was watching.

“What about me?” Rhett teased.

I sauntered toward Rhett with more sway to my hips than I normally would.

“What about you?” I retorted, sultrily.

Rhett was far too good at making women weak in the knees to react to my attempt at seduction. Plus, flirting with someone at the High Court was as common as discussing the weather back home. Everyone at the High Court flirted if they thought it would help them get some advantage. Rhett probably figured I was playing a High Court game, angling for something, and he was more than willing to be a participant. I moved in close to him.

“What if I wanted Al to be my date for once?” Rhett joked, his eyes penetrating me.

I licked my lips, holding his gaze a moment longer and then lost my nerve. I broke character, taking a step back from my devilishly handsome friend.

“Rhett, your date’s right over there,” I said, elbowing him at the same time I gestured toward an unbelievably tall, beautiful high fae blonde with sparkling blue eyes.

“Oh. Yeah,” Rhett replied jokingly, like he could have forgotten.

“And we all know there’s more where she came from,” I teased, referring to the queue of ladies who seemed to be on standby, waiting for Rhett to grace them with his presence.

Rhett had said that his powers were fading, but they still seemed to be pretty damn effective to me.

“You got me there, Al,” Rhett said with a laugh.

Half an hour later, again scanning the room and deciding what further mingling I could accomplish before heading back to the Vitruvian manor for the night, I caught the gaze of the high lord as he walked out of the main hall. He ever so slightly inclined his head toward the doorway, indicating for me to follow. I didn’t know all of his looks just yet, but I thought he looked pissed. Intrigued, I cut through the crowd, making my way to where Lord Vitruvian had disappeared.

Turning a corner, I felt his rough hand wrap around my wrist before I saw him. A hot flame shot up my arm where he touched me. The silence between us simmered as he pulled me toward a dim, abandoned alcove. He stopped his march and dropped my hand. Like a predator with his prey cornered, he took a menacing step toward me. And then another until I felt the brick of the wall behind me scrape against my skin. I jumped in surprise, realizing I was out of real estate to retreat. There was a coolness to his gray eyes that pinned me to the wall.

“I attended this Ball with Lady Vitruvian on my arm because she’s the lady of my House and that’s my duty,” he began sternly.

My heart thudded in my chest, but I didn’t interrupt him. He leaned over me, his palm resting firmly against the brick over my head. My eyes darted momentarily up and then down the length of his arm that caged me against the wall before I returned my gaze back to his stony, rugged face. Before I could think of a single word to say, the high lord continued.

“Butyou,” he said, sharply gripping my face with his other hand and turning it to him, “you’re the liaison tomyHouse, tome, and you, my dear, aremine,” he growled so low and deep it felt like the rumble of his words penetrated me to my core.

The heartbeat pounding in my ears gave way to butterflies fluttering in my stomach. And my nervousness shifted to satisfaction.

He was jealous.

Noting the satisfaction on my face, the high lord raised his right eyebrow in warning. A devious smile I’d never seen before settled onto his face, as if to say I had no idea what I’d gotten myself into.

Indeed, I did not. His free hand, the one not caging me against the wall, moved to the small of my back, pressing our bodies together until I felt the front of him pressed against me. The feel of his body against mine ignited a pulsating flame of need within me. He moved into me, pushing a leg between mine, and taking advantage of the high slit in my dress. He pressed his thigh against the outside of my white satin panties.

I was already traitorously wet. He moved the top of his thigh slowly but firmly back and forth, my wetness helping the fabric glide against me. Jay nuzzled his face into my hair, pushing it aside so he could breathe onto my neck. Instinctively, my hips rolled toward his leg between my thighs at the same time I moved my head away from him, allowing him access to the length of my neck. A rumble of approval emanated from his chest.

“You think I’m just some boy from back home who you can tease and bend and keep me right where you want me?” he asked darkly, grazing his teeth over the side of my throat.

An exhilarating chill shot through my entire body as heat continued to gather between my thighs.

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