Page 39 of Solstice

I zeroed in on the way her tongue curled around the end, imagining the thousands of times she’d done that to various parts of my anatomy. Fucking hell, that got my dick’s attention; it jerked at the mere insinuation of being inside her.

“What?” she said when she caught me staring, wiping a bit of brownie off her lip.

“You always were my favorite show.”

She smiled sheepishly and held it out. “Want some?”

“Hmm.” I stood, sensing an opportunity, and walked closer, stopping next to her so I could crowd her with my height. If she wouldn’t tell us what was bothering her, then maybe I could seduce her into a confession. She’d always been willing to say anything when I had my tongue between her legs.

She held up the spatula, expecting me to taste it from there. Instead, I swiped a finger across it, gathering a big dollop before smearing it across her cheek and over her mouth.

Miri gasped and balked. “Alexei. How dare you?”

The use of my full name urged me on, making me laugh as I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close, taking a long, languid lick across her lips.

“God, you taste good.” I did it again, sucking back chocolate and Miri, capturing her soft giggles on my tongue.

“Learn anything interesting?” She gave me a sexy smile and stepped back, running both spatulas under the water in the sink.

I ignored the forced distance between us, filing it away for later as I lit a cigarette and refocused on what I’d dug up today. “There’s at least three or four other fairies living with Smythe. It could be a trap.”

She smirked. “If they wanted to trap us, darling, they could have found us by now. We live public lives.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. “Are you saying we should go?”

She sighed and shook her head, brushing hair away from her face before pressing down on a ball of bread dough. “Why not? The king’s going to come for us anyway.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Don’t we?” She raised her eyebrows up her forehead, and that concerned me most of all. Miri was my springtime sunshine, the burst of a warm sun on a frigid winter’s day. She saw the best in everything, in everyone, and now she lacked that same optimistic spark. Something had changed her.

“We don’t know he got through.”

“You saw the queen at Solstice.” She cleared her throat and leaned on the dough, kneading it across the counter. “I felt it. We both know it was her. We need answers. We need to stop him.”

“We need to be smart.” I shook my head. “We need to be safe.”

“How can we do that if we don’t know what we’re up against?”

I pressed my hips against the counter, pleased my plan was working. I just had to keep her talking long enough to get to the root of her issue.

“We can’t just sit around—” She stopped and looked up at me, blowing a piece of curly brown hair out of her face. “Never mind. You’re right. We need to play this safe.”

I crossed my arms and assessed her, purposely dragging my gaze down her body and back up again. Her clothes hung off her body and her hair had been blown out but not styled. She wore two different sets of earrings, though they were close enough that I only noticed because I was looking. Everything about her seemed the smallest bit out of place, as if she’dalmostput in the same effort this morning.

“What?” She froze and stared at me, jaw tightening, eyes wide, like she was nervous I might already know whatever it was that bothered her. She thought she’d been so good about keeping it a secret, and here I was, a man who could compel the truth out of anyone and hadn’t used it against her. Yet.

“What?” I shrugged, pretending nonchalance.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Looking at you like what?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that argumentative lawyer nonsense you give Ivy. I’m not your X.”

“Fair enough.” I took a few steps closer to her, circling around behind her, putting my hands on her hips. I bit her ear and dragged, knowing that would send a chill down her spine, and I reveled in the shiver that followed. The fact I could get to her the same way I’d always been able to turned me on, and I wanted to bend her over this counter and give Miri a reason to spill her guts. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you rather than me fighting it out of you?”

“Nothing, darling.” She shook her head and turned away from me. “I’m just tired from the flight.”

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