Page 34 of The Lord of Whispers

I contemplated taking off my heels and walking barefoot, a thought I knew would have horrified the prim and proper ladies of the Court.

Suddenly, Luke swept me off my feet. His strong arms under my legs, he continued walking.

“Luke, what the hell!” I cried out in surprise.

“I can’t dance by myself all night,” Luke explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I giggled. I wasn’t the giggling type, but I giggled anyway.

“You’re just going to carry me all the way back to the Court?” I asked.

“Easily,” Luke grinned, looking down at me.

I smiled. And it wasn’t one of the fake smiles that I’d gotten so good at giving the lords I flirted with at the Court. He had earned a genuine smile. I considered it for a moment. It beat walking back barefoot, I decided. Luke continued walking with me in his arms like I was as light as a feather.

“Ok, yeah,” I relented. “But this position’s awkward, Luke. It’s like I’m your bride and you’re carrying me over the threshold, but for a half a mile. Let’s switch it up,” I suggested.

He threw me over his bulging, muscled shoulders like a sack of flour. I lay bent over his shoulder, Luke securing me with a single hand around both of my ankles.

“How’s this?” he asked as I started laughing again.

Slung over his shoulder, I slapped his ass.

“Luke,” I admonished.

In retaliation, Luke brought his other hand up and spanked my ass, his large hand grazing against the underside of my ass cheeks.

“Luke!” I yelped. “Just give me a piggyback ride.”

Luke wrapped a hand around each of my ankles and pulled me off his shoulder, sliding me down the front of his body until I straddled him, our faces inches apart. Luke stopped walking.

“Is this what you had in mind?” he asked, the timbre of his voice warming my insides.

I swallowed down the cool night air then gave him my best “you know damn well this is not what I had in mind,” stare.

“A piggybackride,” I emphasized, squeezing my legs around Luke’s torso to hold myself up, which wasn’t necessary because his strong hands were already gripping my thighs and easily supporting my weight.

“You’re so light,” Luke said, tightening his hands on my thighs. “I could just throw you around all day,” he said, hefting my weight up and down against his body for emphasis.

My legs wrapped around him, and his hands wrapped around me. We looked into each other’s grinning faces until our smiles were replaced with the recognition of the closeness of our bodies.

“Get on my back then,” he said, finally breaking the tension.

I hurriedly scurried onto his back in an undignified manner. I wrapped my legs around his back, and he wrapped his arms around my legs, then hiked up my weight. I flew up, then bounced back down on his back. I placed my face near his neck so that I could speak to him.

“I’m not a sack of potatoes, you know,” I said, resuming our usual joking demeanor.

“I know,” he agreed. “A sack of potatoes would be heavier than you,” he japed.

When we arrived at the High Court, Luke ran his hands down the length of my legs, gently placing me on the ground.

“Thanks for the ride, pack mule,” I said.

“You can ride me any time you like, Al,” Luke joked unashamedly but with a heat in his voice that brought me back to the feeling of my legs wrapped around his muscular torso, his fingers digging into my thighs.

“Luke,” I warned.

“Come over for a drink before the party?” he suggested, unapologetic.

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