Page 82 of Claimed By the Fae Lord

I leaned over the map, my white-blonde hair falling forward, creating a temporary curtain between us. “True.”

I could feel Liam's presence, a solid heat at my side, and it sent a ripple of awareness through me that I struggled to suppress.

"Double patrols, heightened alerts," Liam added, marking the map with swift, sure strokes. The casual grace of his movements were sexy as hell.

“What about the wards? Who …” My sentence trailed off as I realized how close our hands were, almost touching over the parchment.

"Raina?" Liam's voice, a soft prompt laced with concern.

"Ah, the wards. Whoever created them, they didn’t work." I forced the answer out, pushing past the sudden dryness in my throat.

“I have to assume the witch undid them. So where does that leave us with their usefulness?”

“Where indeed,” he said softly, looking up from the map.

I drew in a deep breath, trying to steady my pulse. What was wrong with me?

This wasn’t the first time we’d had to be in close proximity, so why was I so rattled?

Because he’d opened the door to the possibility of more. Hell, he’d busted through it and told me exactly what he wanted.

This wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

"Let's start with the basics," I suggested, my mind shifting gears as I pointed to a section of the map. "We can't keep reacting. I'm sick of always having to react, having to play defense."

“On that I can agree.”

Liam's hand brushed over mine as he traced a path along the etched hills and valleys. "Let's figure out how to go on the offensive instead. Try to get the upperhand in some fashion.”

"Offensive," I repeated, a newfound determination settling in my chest. "Yes, absolutely. We should be going after them, not sitting and waiting for something to happen."

A sly grin flickered across Liam's face.

And just like that, the seed of hope he’d planted took root inside my chest. It kindled a warmth that even the chill of my nature couldn't suppress.

I just hoped I didn’t end up choking on it if it bloomed.

Eighteen

Raina

Later that night, muscles aching and mind weary, Liam led me back to the guest house. The wandering thought of what Blómhaus might look like, where it might be located, was shot down as soon as it took flight.

We stopped by his room to grab some of his things, then went up the stairs. The corridor was quiet as we entered. The only sound was our synchronized footsteps.

I wondered if Brahm realized the tizzy his orders would put me in. Liam didn’t seem fazed in the least.

"Go ahead," Liam said, nodding toward the bathroom. "I'll wait right outside the door."

I almost made a joke about it being too far away but then I realized he didn’t intend to close the door.

“I have to pee.”

“I’m not stopping you.”

Though we’d been intimate, we’d never reachedthatlevel of intimacy. Was it even a level of closeness or just some part of the fae condition you either were okay with or weirded out by?

“Raina?”

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