Page 20 of The King's Maiden
His lips curved into a smile, but it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Like an illusion, I blinked and wondered if I’d really seen it at all.
“But do you have all the items, love?”
The hint of an accent in the lilt of his voice hypnotized me, and I lifted my heel, revealing the red polish I’d painted on the soles.
His eyes brightened, giving away how my artistic flair pleased him. “Clever girl…”
He trailed his gaze up my leg.
If someone asked me about it later, I wouldn’t have been able to answer why—at his simple response—I slid my hand to the hem of my black dress.
The mischievous gleam in his eyes? The way his fingers twitched like he wanted to do it himself? Heavy doses of aphrodisiac being filtered through the air system?
Or maybe after my hot-and-cold run-in with Max Dread, I liked the steady current of electricitythisstranger stirred up inside me.
Either way, I teased the black chiffon up my thigh to expose the garter hiding beneath it.
Soft gray turned to steel, his pupils dilating at the sight of my bare skin. His hand reached toward me, hovering an inch from the black silk as he lifted his eyes to mine.
I read the question there and answered it with a nod.
At my go ahead, his fingers edged along the band, stroking my outer thigh before sliding under the elastic. Following its path, I gasped when he grazed the back of my thigh and came dangerously close to slipping between my legs.
But before he could fully wrap his way around, he flexed his fingers and pulled his hand away.
The band snapped lightly, a sharp inhale hissing from my lips at the unexpected sting.
Eyes still locked on each other, tension pulsed between us. Electricity crackled in the air, desire sizzling like a live wire. And this sudden, pent up need thrummed through my body—so strong, it shocked me.
We’d only just met, and it felt like I’d been waiting for him to touch me forever.
“Do I know you?”
“Not yet.” His hooded gaze dropped to my lips. “But I was right about you.”
I arched my brow.
Before I voiced the question in my mind, he flashed another quick smile. “You’ll see.”
And then, he walked away, too.
“Damn. What the hell are they putting in the water here?” I muttered under my breath.
At this point, I worried raising my voice would spawn another ridiculously hot guy from the shadows. And while that didn’t sound like the worst thing, so far both my strangers had left me cold and dry.
Well…not exactly dry. Definitely not.
But seriously. A girl deserved to be ridden hard if she was going to be put away wet. For fuck’s sake.
Fortunately for my panties, no one else came out of the woodwork.
I stepped into the room, finally joining the party and going straight to the bar to order a glass of wine.
Then, I remembered where I was.
Switching the wine to an unopened can of hard seltzer, I watched the bartender pop the top and place it in front of me.
“Thanks.” I took a sip to settle my nerves. “What do I owe you?”
