The tension in my stomach eases. I didn’t really think he would take advantage of me like that. Maybe he’s part monster, but notthatkind of monster. And yet, I’ve recently discovered I’ve been very wrong about a lot of things. I didn’t want to be wrong about that too.
He stands, the chair scraping across the floor with a screech.
“We’ve wasted enough time here,” he says. “And you’ve delayed us long enough with your dramatics.”
I’m too exhausted to be afraid of him, but I don’t have the energy to argue either, so I just take the opportunity to glower back at him.
“At least you’re easier to travel with when you’re passed out,” he continues. “Let’s aim for more of that sweet silence in the days ahead.”
I speak before deciding whether it’s a good idea. “Wow, it’s clear that I’ve pissed you off by selfishly nearly dying, so very sorry.” His face shifts to fury at my sarcasm but I don’t care. I finally remember to ask him the question on my mind.
“How long has it been since the trading post?”
He is about to slip his glamour ring on, but pauses, offering me a few more moments of his true face.
“Two days.”
Two days. Two whole days without my potion, and I feel—well, not great, but not dying either. I’m sore, tired, and generally weak, but my headache is gone, and the world sits still at last.
I don’t need it. I don’t need that ghastly potion. I can survive without it.
That fact fills me with joy and horror in equal measure.
I’m not sick. But Iamcursed, and that elixir has been keeping that curse locked inside me all this time.
What does it mean now that I’ve freed it?
“There’s food on the table,” Leon says, pointing to a covered plate. His tone is a touch less irritated than a moment ago. “We leave in the morning.”
As he walks by me, out the door, I catch a waft of his scent again and inhale in spite of myself. Then I turn to my plate, removing the cover.That’sthe only scent I should be focusing on now.
I eat, my stomach only realizing how hungry I am when I take the first bite of bread. When I’ve stuffed myself full, I clamber back into bed and sink down into the pillows. There’s too much to think about. So much that I decide to put off worrying entirely about everyone I cared about lying to me all these years, my power, the bounty on my head, the dark-haired fae downstairs I can’t figure out. None of those problems can be solved today. The best use I can make of my time is getting some rest. For the first time in a long time, I fall easily back asleep.
Those solid hands are on my shoulders again, just like in the forest, comforting—inviting…but this time they’re not staying still.
They’re undressing me, I realize—and Ilikeit, a thrill of excitement dancing through me as those nimble fingers brush the base of my neck. They unfasten my dress, then slowly tug the fabric down so that the cool air kisses my naked skin.
Then they’re skimming down across my breasts, teasing my nipples into peaks, making me gasp with pleasure.
I know those hands, have seen them fight and destroy—even kill—and yet I can’t get enough of their touch. It feels like they’re bringing me to life, stroking across my waist in a way that makes me arch into them. Gods, it’s been so long since my body felt this good. My muscles are loose, and a delicious tightness builds at my core, waiting to be unraveled.
I don’t hold back, letting myself moan.
“Do you like that, princess?”
His voice rolls right through me, and just the sound of it heightens the ache between my thighs. I spread them, offering him access, showing him my wetness, my need.
“Touch me,” I demand—or am I begging? I don’t care, as long as he listens.
He laughs, smooth as honey. “I thought that’s what I was doing,” he says. He kisses the edge of my hip, making that patch of skin hum.
“More,” I gasp, and gods—he gives it to me. A thick heat slides between my legs, making me gasp with pleasure. It stretches and fills me perfectly, and as he presses into the deep recesses of me, I can barely speak, barely think. I can only focus on that point of pressure he’s hitting. I need him tokeephitting, again and again. Forever.
I look up into a pair of fathomless gray eyes and ask for the storm to take me.
I wake with a start. There’s a banging in the hallway as someone stumbles their way downstairs, and I push back my sheets. I’m too hot, my heart’s pounding, and I’ve sweated through my nightgown. I check my forehead, but the fever hasn’t returned.
This isn’t withdrawal. This is my body responding to something else entirely. I remember where my mind was a moment ago, and a fresh flush crawls up my neck.
