Page 79 of Shadows of Stardust

The show. The other contestants. The fact that none of this is real life and I’m not just some woman at some party watching my boyfriend be hit on.

It only takes a few more seconds for the rest of it to click into place.

Of course.

Our big day, our kick in the ass back into the spotlight. Whether or not Ansalla is a willing participant in stirring up drama, I don’t know, but I’d bet my ass some producer put her up to it.

That suspicion is only confirmed when I glance over at Sella.

She nods meaningfully toward Zan and Ansalla, eyes sparkling with encouragement.

It’s not hard to understand what she wants me to do.

I must be getting better at understanding all the mechanics of this game and putting myself into the mind of a producer, because it plays out like a perfect little tableau in my mind. The lights, the cameras, the clear path from me to Zan and a moment of dramatic tension that will air for billions of viewers.

I see it all—the pettiness of it, how contrived it all is.

And the opportunity it presents.

When I meet Sella’s gaze again, she’s grinning, like she can see the choice I’ve made even before I’m fully aware I’ve made it.

Well… fuck. I hope Zan’s up for this.

With a deep, steadying breath, I stalk across the sand to my fake boyfriend and the beautiful Nexxan putting the moves on him.

22

Zandrel

“You’re not stuck with her, you know?” Calculation sparkles in Ansalla’s eyes as she brushes a hand over my bicep. “You could choose someone else. Think about how much screen time that would get you.”

My skin crawls beneath her fingertips.

Unnerving, to know how imperceptive some creatures are. How laughable she would think that’s what I’m after. Screen time. Fame. Drama for drama’s sake.

Even more ludicrous that she’d believe I would leave Roslyn’s side for so insubstantial a reward.

“I would suggest you look elsewhere for a partner,” I say, glancing over the crowd but not seeing my stubborn little human. “I am already spoken for.”

She scoffs. “Come on. Like anyone here believes the two of you aren’t just putting on a—”

Ansalla does not get to finish her sentence before I catch sight of Roslyn from the corner of my eye.

I turn just in time to get a glorious glimpse of her. Focused, determined, giving the Nexxan a shove with her shoulder to repay the elbow from that very first day, but not sparing her a single glance as she reaches me.

Our gazes lock, and I catch her intent in her eyes’ wicked emerald sparkle and the firm grasp she places on my shoulders. My hands find her soft, rounded ass and haul her up against me. I take her lips in a deep, scorching kiss, and tune out the rest of the beach.

The fire still crackles somewhere nearby, and Ansalla lets out a noise of protest, but I barely hear it. The stars keep watch above and the moon casts its white light on the sand, but it all seems to be very, very far away.

All I hear is the gasp of Roslyn’s surprised breath when I reward her boldness with a nip to her bottom lip. All I see is one last flash of emerald before I close my eyes to better savor her.

All I know is the taste and the heat of her. The rest of the world be damned.

She responds in kind, gripping my horns and tugging my head back so she can slant her lips possessively over mine, wrapping her strong thighs around my hips.

An act, all of this, but I can’t stop my cock from growing hard inside its protective slit. I can’t stop myself from tightening my grip on her, letting the whole beach know who she’s claimed, and who has claimed her in return.

It might be seconds or minutes or hours before the whir of hovercams drags me back to the present. I break the kiss, more than satisfied to see Roslyn panting with pleasure, eyes damp and glazed in a way that has nothing to do with sadness.

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