Page 70 of Hidden Kingdoms

“I thought I told you to wait.” I felt his arm brush against my shoulder as he fell into step beside me, my body tingling at the contact.

“I’m not really one for doing as I’m told,” I said, peeking up at him from the corner of my lashes and being rewarded by a lazy smirk that made my core tighten.

“So I’ve noticed. Heading anywhere nice?” A rush of laughter escaped my lips, and I felt some of the remaining tension drain away.

“Not really.” I stopped walking to face him. There was no point continuing my aimless walk through the corridors now he was here. “Got any ideas?”

He slowly licked his bottom lip as he looked down at me, and my eyes followed the movement.

“A few.” His voice was husky as he crowded me, walking me backwards until my back bumped against the wall. Placing a hand on the wall beside my head, he leaned in closer. The scent of cedar and something faintly herbal enclosed me, reminding me of the trees surrounding my home.

What had happened between him and Bastian?

I couldn’t help myself as I reached out a hand to trace a finger down the side of his face. His eyes fluttered closed, shoulders relaxing slightly as I continued. I tipped my head up, greedily studying him, gaze trailing across the long lashes feathered against his cheeks. His full lips slightly parted as my fingers whispered across them, and he inhaled sharply. Energy skipped over the places our skin touched, that dark, heady pull I felt around him threatening to consume me.

His hand captured mine, holding it against his face, beard soft under my palm and the golden bangles that wrapped around my wrist clinking together. The proximity of his hard body only inches from mine was intoxicating and heat gathered between my legs. My breath hitched as his eyes opened, grey storms swirling within them as he swallowed hard. When I pulled my hand back, our eyes stayed connected for a moment before he slowly moved away.

“I’ll take you back,” Kaius breathed before we started down the corridor, my body now cold from his absence. “You were going the wrong way anyway, Goldie.”

“What’s this way then?”

“The dungeon.”

Laughter burst from me, and I looked up as his eyes lit up, a wry smile pulling at his mouth.

“Of course it fucking is. Good job you found me then, wouldn’t want to end up tied up down there.”

Maybe if he was there, I wouldn’t mind too much?

Actually, I wouldn’t mind it at all.

His silver eyes were alight with mischief. “No. We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Heat flared through me to settle low in my stomach, and I forced myself to look away before I did something stupid.

Like ask him to drag me down there and tie me up.

As we walked together, side by side—close but not touching—his shoulders carried the tension he had only a moment ago lost. I wondered what he would do if I reached for his hand. The memory of his hands wrapped around mine came to me as I remembered our first real conversation out in the gardens.

“Did you find those answers you promised me?” I asked lightly.

“Not yet, Goldie.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t really expecting anything different.

“Believe me, I’ve been trying, it’s just hard to know where to start.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are Fae. On that I’m almost one hundred percent certain.” I scoffed and he grinned at me, his perfect white teeth looked sharp enough to bite.

“A tiny thing like you with that much power, there’s no chance you’re not Fae. Not even half Fae.” I elbowed his side, earning me another laugh that I was quickly becoming addicted to.

“You can be half? Half Fae, half human?” I asked, my mind spinning.

“‘Course, it’s not so common, but it’s not unheard of. Humans find their way over here often, and some of them choose to stay. Some of them even find their Amorem and well, there’s no leaving once that happens.”

“Amorem?” The word ignited something in me I didn’t understand.

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