Page 83 of A Bargain with the Fae King

I frown. Possessive much?

“You left me with him. I was just making the best of a bad situation. Besides,” I poke him in the chest with my index finger, “wasn’t I supposed to be the happy, enamored human?”

“With me.” His eyes cloud. “What did he say to you?”

What did he say? So much of it is already a blur. “He said…that I’m not what I pretend to be. He talked about my bargain, which he’d already known about this morning.”

My throat grows thick as I contemplate telling him the rest. He wouldn’t like it. Not at all. Especially the parts about breaking a bargain and whether I love him or not.

I care about Riven, more than I probably should, more than I thought possible only a few days ago, but love?

I can almost see the wheels churning in his head before he says, “Why did you stop dancing before the song ended? Why did he pull you away?”

“Why did you leave him with me at all?” I retort.

He glances away. “A confident king wouldn’t mind if his lady dances with another.”

My eyes roll before I can stop them. This again. Trying to be someone he’s not. But at least he answered my question. “I got a little overwhelmed thinking of May and my family when he brought up the bargain, and I lost the beat of the dance.”

Riven’s lips flatten into a thin line. “He was all over you when I shifted next to you.”

“It was nothing. Really.” Totally uncomfortable and awful, actually, but no doubt that’s what Sigurd planned.

“You’re still wearing his ring.”

Shit. I rip the gift off and toss it on the table behind me without a backward glance. From his point of view…

“Are you jealous?” I blurt.

He opens his mouth. Closes it. A muscle ticks in his jaw as he looks away.

I blink.

Oh my God. He really can’t deny it. Can’t lie.

“I have no interest in Sigurd.” I close the distance between us. My lusty smile is back. Unlike in the throne room and at the party, this one isn’t fake. “In fact, the only male I’m interested in is right here.”

The muscular planes of his chest are hard as granite but smooth as silk. Other than his scars. I trace one down the side of his chest, along his arm…

“Humans can lie.” Heat already simmers under half-drooped lids.

“Yes, I can lie, but I’ve always been bad at it.”

His bicep tenses under my touch.

“You’ve called me out on that before, remember?” At first, I had trouble being honest with him in dreams. It took days, weeks for me to be fully honest, for him to pry out the brokenness I tried so hard to hide. I’m still not sure why he kept trying in those beautiful stolen minutes, but I’m so thankful he did. I’m not sure I could have made it through otherwise. “I think you know I’m not lying.”

He pulls me tight to him as his only response.

“Should I prove it to you?” I arch one careful brow.

A wide, feral grin stretches across his face. “I think I might enjoy that.”

Chapter 27

Riven’slipscrashintomine, demanding their due. I meet him with the same fury, eager to give just as much.

Earlier in the day, I was unable to comfort him when he confronted the memories of his past. I failed after all the times he’d listened to me and convinced me things would be okay.

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