Page 72 of Shardless

“After a night of suchenthusiastic—”

Taly shook her head. “No… just no…” They both still had clothes on, for Shards’ sake! Who did he think he was kidding?

“And then I even got dressed and went downstairs to get you food when you said you were hungry. Because let’s face it—you’re always hungry now.” Skye’s head lolled to the side. Those emerald eyes almost seemed to glow in the dim light, unabashedly raking over her form. A slow smile emerged, and he licked his lips. “Although to be fair, I did help you work up an appetite last night.”

The pack dropped from her hands, and she covered her reddening face. “Uh-uh. No. No, no, no…”

“The kitchens were closed, by the way. I hopeyou know that you’re the only woman I’d ever break into a kitchen for. Can you imagine the kind of things they would’ve said about me at the Dawn Court if I’d been caught? Me? The heir to Ghislain robbing a kitchen at some rundown tavern…”

Peeking through her fingers, Taly spied a small stack of dishes as well as the empty bottle of brandy sitting on the bedside table.

Shit!Her stomach turned, and her knees started to wobble.

“I mean... really!” Skye exclaimed. “After a night of suchfervent—”When Taly let out an embarrassed whine and sunk to the floor, Skye’s shoulders started to shake. “—drinking, I thought I’d get a little more consideration. Geez, Tink. Is nothing sacred anymore?”

“What?” Taly snapped, her head popping up.

“Yes, Taly.” Skye ran a thoughtful hand along the stubble on his chin. “Drinking. A long night of drinking. What wereyouthinking?”

“Shards,” Taly sighed, relief washing over her like a wave. “Fuck you.”

Skye pretended to gasp. “Wait… did you think that we…” That slow, irritatingly sensual smirk resurfaced. “Tinker,” he practically purred, “did you think that I let you have your way with me last night?”

Despite her flushed face, Taly gave him a dirty look.

“Try not to look so horrified,” he said, his smile slipping. “You would be so lucky.”

“Please stop talking.” Reaching for her pack, Taly stood and attempted to retreat to the washroom.

Skye stretched, his head tilting back, and Taly couldn’t stop her eyes from following themovement as his shirt rode up higher. The taut muscles of his stomach shifted beneath his skin. “You know,” he said lazily, “all the ladies at court used to say that I put thelayinGhislain.”

Taly felt a tremor pass through her, and she visibly winced. Turning to face him, she gave him her best deadpan expression. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. No one said that. No one haseversaid that.”

Skye had long since given up trying to hold in his laughter. “Okay, if you don’t like that one, how about this?Once you try a piece of the Skye, you’ll never want to say goodbye.Yes? No?” When Taly just rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, he added, “Your face saysno, but just give it a minute to really sink in.”

Though Taly tried to ignore him, his voice followed her into the washroom. “Okay. I’ve got one more. I just came up with this last night, so it’s still a little rough.When you need a little bliss—"

“That’s it,” Taly barked. She bounded back across the room, jumped on the bed, and pulled the pillow out from underneath him. Feathers floated in the air, catching the morning light in their downy tendrils, as she began her assault.

Skye was howling with laughter as he half-heartedly attempted to fend her off. “Temper, temper! What would Sarina say if she saw you right now?”

“She would say ‘beat him harder!’ That’s what she always said because you’d always done something to deserve it,” Taly huffed.

Without warning, one of Skye’s hands shot out, and his fingers curled around her calf. Taly let out a shriek when she suddenly found herselfflipped over onto her back. In one graceful movement, he easily plucked the pillow out of her grasp and seized her fists. She tried to kick at him, but he swung a leg over hers, effectively trapping her.

Pressed against him the way she was, she could still feel the laughter rumbling through his chest when he whispered in her ear, “Three hits or a pin, right? You only got one good hit in, so I win.” Taly bucked, trying to free herself, but he tightened his grip. “Calm yourself, Tink. I don’t think passing out beside me warrants the amount of shame required to try to sneak out the next morning. After all, it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”

“Sure, but we were kids.” Taly wriggled, somehow managing to elbow him in the ribs. She smiled when she heard a low “oof.” “I haven’t dreamt about the fire in years.”

“Now there’s a lie if I ever heard one.” Skye was still uncomfortably close, and even though his lips barely grazed the skin of her ear, it sent a violent shiver down her spine. “All that time, you have to know that I could still hear you crying when you woke up at night. A closed door and a few wards weren’t going to stop me from hearing. Why did you start locking your door at night? Why wouldn’t you let me help you?”

“Well…” Taly began, her thoughts drifting to that pervasive nighttime terror that continued to haunt her, even into adulthood. The memory of a particularly violent episode flashed through her mind, and she shuddered. It had taken Skye almost an hour to calm her down—to convince her that she was no longer in that cottage back in Vale and that the heat she could feel burning her skin was only an illusion. He’d stayed with her the rest of that night as well as the one after. Her throat bobbed, and she said, “I started closing my door because the nightmares weren’t all that bad anymore—certainly not worth waking you up in the middle of the night.”

Skye huffed out a laugh as he released her fists and stretched out beside her. The bed was barely able to hold both of them comfortably, and Taly was all-too-aware of the places where their bodies still touched. “That’s not a real answer. If you want me to back off, then say so. Otherwise, stop dodging the question,” he grumbled into the pillow. “Something changed that summer. What was it?”

Taly chewed on her lip, unsure. Although they had both shared far more personal information than this only the night before, she almost felt shy now that she no longer had the alcohol burning through her veins, giving her courage. Nevertheless, when he turned his head, his eyes finding hers, she found herself saying, “That was the year your mother decided to introduce you at the Dawn Court, and I realized for the first time that one day when you left to go visit your family on the mainland, you wouldn’t be coming back. You’re the heir to Ghislain, and it was foolish of me to assume that you were always going to be right across the hall, always within reach when I needed you. That summer, I decided it was time I learned how to deal with the nightmares on my own. I couldn’t keep leaning on you.”

Skye gave her a lazy smile. “Shards… you really do come up with some of the craziest nonsense when left to your own devices.”

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