Page 25 of A Bargain with the Fae King

“We do,” I snap. “And I’ll keep my word.” Anything for May. “It’s just…” I squirm under his gaze. “I can’t… How can I dothatwith my sister missing? Even if she’s asleep or whatever, she’s missing, and I can’t, not with her in danger.”

It’s not like I hadn’t fantasized about him, but he can’t be serious. No way. I’m not a first-date hook-up kind of girl. Not my style. Not even for May. And this is sure one heck of a terrible date.

His fingers drum against his crossed arms. “You’re asking—”

“I’m asking you to be a gentleman, a proper king worthy of respect.”

He flinches. Riven’s mouth works in his jaw before he drops his arms with a sigh.

“We’ll take it slowly, get to know each other…in person. Here,” I say, anything to fill the silence.

“As you request.” A stiff nod accompanies his answer. “Though I must say, it will be difficult. Do you know how much I’ve longed for you to be here with me?”

The heat in my chest slides lower.

“You have?” I say, like the dumbstruck idiot I am.

I don’t retreat as he closes the distance between us. Instead, I stare at him in return, even as he rakes me with a gaze that could strip the clothes right off me. The warmth of his body spreads through the space between us.

“For months I wished to touch you again.” The back of his hand grazes my cheek, sending a shiver up my spine. “To see you here. To have more than fleeting moments in your dreams.” A smile creeps to his lips. “You’re so much feistier in person, even that first night when you called me… What was it?”

“The devil?” I swallow the tightness in my throat.

“Ah, yes, the devil.”

I could have sworn he was then, come to claim me for almost killing my sister. It should have been me who was hurt. I’d prayed to switch places with her, and in that moment, I thought someone had answered them.

“A kiss then. Can you give me that?” he asks.

My tongue flicks out to lick my lips. “Yes.”

I want this too. I have wanted it for months.

Without a word, he pulls me tight against him, honeysuckle and crisp leaves in my nose, his warm breath on my face, the press of his fine silken shirt against my arms where they remain trapped between us.

“Riv—” I start.

His mouth crashes down on mine, hot, hungry, and devouring. Every nerve ending springs to life, filling me with a delicious buzz that isn’t just the wine. I dig my fingers into his shirt, leaning into the hot press of his lips and the arms that hold me like a treasure.

His tongue urges my lips open and sweeps inside, tasting, savoring. A fae king demanding his due and taking all that I give to him. One deft hand tugs up the back of my shirt while the other caresses my skin.

The slow slide of his fingers up my spine has me groaning against his lips.

All too soon, he breaks away. The touch of his skin against my own and half-mast eyes threatening to eat me up do things I’m not prepared for. I breathe heavily, head still swimming, when he tugs at my shirt.

Without thinking, I lift my arms. The fabric is gone, lost somewhere within the room.

Riven goes motionless as I stare back at him in just my sports bra and yoga tights. They leave little to the imagination. If he’s breathing, I can’t tell, but every bit of his focus is glued to the figure he’s revealed.

A smug smile tugs at my lips. Point for me.

Finally, he speaks, the words almost a growl, “Will you be removing the rest?”

“Just a kiss, remember?” I wag a finger at him. “We agreed.” Though my words are airy, flimsy at best.

His eyes flicker, glowing unnaturally bright before returning to normal. “Did we?”

I nod, unable to hold back the grin spreading across my face.

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