I can’t help the small smirk that tugs at the corner of my mouth. That’s my Eirabella, always ready for a fight, always ready to push back.
Rylan. Stop.
She’s notyouranything but a disciple. That thought should be like a bucket of cold water over me, but instead, it’s taking all my willpower not to close the gap between us, not to give in to the need that’s been simmering under the surface.
Once the street has cleared, I reluctantly pull back, dropping my hand from her leg. “Tell me what’s been going on,” I say, trying to steer the conversation back to something I can control.
She hesitates, her eyes searching mine as if deciding whether to trust me. Then the words spill out of her, fast and angry. “You want to know? Everything’s been a mess. The training is going badly. The only water I’ve conjured is sweat and tears from everyone else laughing so hard. I got in troublefor fighting with Selene, even if she deserved it, and almost passed out from doing laps around the training room. Master Kaelen likes to make me the whole class’s punching bag. I have no freedom whatsoever, only being allowed to go for a walk if I have a guard. Your sister thinks I’m about to stage a rebellion all because I sat in your seat at dinner. Selene has tried to drown me only four or five times. Oh, not to mention, Julietta has been taunting me, saying ridiculous things about you two, as if I would care.”
Her words cut through me, but it’s that last one, the way she says it—the way she tries to brush it off, like it doesn’t matter—that gets to me. “So you would care?” I ask, my voice calm, but my heart pounding in my chest. “About the things that Lady Julietta said?”
She glares at me and thumps her fist against my chest, her frustration boiling over. “Seriously? That’s what you choose to focus on? AftereverythingI just told you?”
“What would you like me to focus on?”
“The fact that all these things happened while you were off gallivanting through the kingdom doing gods know whatever and whomever while I was left here without you.”
I can’t help it; a smile curls my lips. “Oh. I see. You missed me.”
“The hell I did! You left me here, you fucking bastard!” she snaps, lunging at me, trying to push me away, but I’m ready for her this time. I grab her arms, pulling her close, my body pressing against hers as I pin her back against the wall. She’s breathing hard, her eyes wide and wild, and there’s something intoxicating about it, something that makes it hard to think straight.
“Oh, Eira,” I say, her sweet, shortened name rolling off my tongue like liquid silk, “I think you missed me so much you don’t know what to do with yourself.” I lean in, so close nowthat I can feel the warmth of her breath on my lips. “Would you like me to suggest something you could’ve done with that missing? The things you could’ve done while alone in your room and thinking of me?” I say, the suggestiveness in my voice making her eyes widen. The urge to close that last inch, to finally taste her, is almost overwhelming. After a week of being on the road, the hold on my restraint is tenuous at best. “Gods, you always smell so fucking good,” I murmur, my voice rough, almost hoarse. My nose traces the column of her throat, her pulse palpable under my touch. What I would do to press my lips against her skin right now. “Like raspberries and honey. Soft and sweet and delectable.” The words slip out before I can stop them, and I watch as confusion flickers in her eyes, followed by something that makes my heart skip a beat. Reciprocation. She wants me, too. And she’s just as angry at herself for it as I am at myself.
Why couldn’t… shouldn’t I take just one… little… taste of her?
Eirabella’s breath hitches, the only noise in the silence.
I squeeze my eyes shut and force myself to step back, to put some distance between us, running a shaky hand through my hair. “Let’s go,” I say, my voice firmer now. “It’s time to go back.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head, her voice trembling with defiance. “I’m not going back there.”
“Why not?” I ask, genuinely confused by her resistance.
“I just told you why!” she snaps, exasperated.
I take a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “Well, I’m back now, and none of that is going to happen again.” I breathe truth into the words I’m aboutto say. “I promise.”
Her eyes narrow, scepticism clear in her gaze. “Oh, so you’re going to magically make my powers come back?”
I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips. “Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things while I’ve been away. And I have a few ideas.”
She eyes me warily, and I can tell she’s not convinced. “Are you going to watch me soaking in a tub too?” she asks.
White-hot jealousy streaks through me. “Who the fuck watched you bathing?”
This time it’s her turn to smirk. “Look who actually missed whom?”
Her taunt tugs at the last of my restraints. My hand slides to cup the nape of her neck as I pull her close and lean in so that barely a whisper of a breeze separates our lips. “Do you hear me denying it, Eira?"
The words hang in the air between us, sparking like embers catching light. I feel the tension shift, every nerve in my body on edge, screaming at me to close the distance, to take what I so desperately crave, but I hold back.
Barely.
“Fine,” she says finally, her voice steady but her eyes still wary. “I’ll come back. But I want to make a deal. I can’t feel trapped there. I need to have some freedom. I think feeling like I’m a prisoner there is stifling my magic.” She grimaces, as if the admission hurt her.
Taking a step back, I nod, considering her words. “Fine. Whenever you want to go out, let me know, and we’ll go out.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s not what I mean.”
