Page 64 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

I huffed. “Minimum begging?”

He shrugged. “I’m enjoying our game, and you know that you are too.”

The herbal scent from the tea drifted over, and I picked up the cup, holding it in both hands over my lap. Despite my emotional turmoil, I didn’t regret taking things further with Kieran, even if it probably would have been smarter to wait.

“I am,” I said quietly. “Enjoying this new game of ours.”

“But…” he prompted, and I flicked his forehead at the knowing look he gave me.

I sighed. “But I don’t know that I’m ready to step into another serious relationship just yet. Not that you want that,” I rushed on. “I know this is probably just casual fun for you and doesn’t mean anything. I’m just trying to get everything out there.”

I groaned inwardly at sounding like an idiot. Somehow, I could easily navigate complicated political conversations, but talking to one of my oldest friends about how I felt about him and us had me tripping over my words like some awkward, lovestruck fool.

There was nothing playful in Kieran’s expression, and I swallowed at what I saw there. I was used to people looking at me with lust in their eyes, but the way he was looking at me went far beyond that.

“I promised not to freak you out earlier,” he said seriously. “I’m going to hold to that promise, but don’t mistake me giving you space as a lack of interest on my part, and don’teverpresume that what happens between us doesn’t mean anything.”

I swallowed, carefully weighing my next words. “What if I want to… experiment with other people?”

No one but Kieran had caught my eye since I’d been back, but I’d also only been home for a few weeks. Maybe some tall, dark, and handsome prince would come strolling into my lifesoon. I wanted Kieran, but I wasn’t ready to swear off all others just yet.

“Gonna take Alaric for a spin?” Kieran waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Don’t start,” I scolded him. “You know Alaric has always hated me. I’m trying to make things at least civil between us since we’ll be working together going forward. You baiting him is not helping.”

He laughed and shook his head as if he knew something I didn’t. My scowl deepened, and he held up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop teasing Alaric… a little bit.” I rolled my eyes, knowing that was probably the best I was going to get. Then Kieran gave me a serious look. “I don’t expect you to be with me and no one else, you know?”

“Really?” I asked tentatively. “You won’t get jealous if I take someone else for a ride?”

“If I do, that’s my problem and not yours.” He shrugged. “You just got out of a three-year marriage where you remained loyal to that stupid asshole, and before that… I know what type of training you went through to prepare for that marriage.”

My cheeks heated at the way he saidtraining.“You know?”

“You’re not the only one I know who was destined for an arranged marriage,” he said flatly.

It was expected that when you married, you’d be able to support andpleaseyour partner. I wasn’t a virgin on my wedding night. Far from it, in fact.

A year before I married Demetri when I was twenty, the lessons began. My instructors were kind, and everything was consensual. I wasn’t completely inexperienced thanks to a few casual dalliances at Drudonia, but I’d been excited to learn new things. Turns out my excitement was for naught. The lessons weren’t exactly filled with passion or pleasure, and someof them were downright boring. Everything had been so mechanical.

Do this. Put your hand there. Harder. A little less hard. Pick up the pace. Dear moon in the heavens, why would you twist that?!

I snickered, and Kieran gave me a curious look.

“While I wouldn’t describe the mandatory marriage training as fun, it could be entertaining sometimes.” A mischievous grin played across my lips. “I’d been a little too eager to learn and a little too adventurous for my teachers more often than not.”

Kieran tilted his head back and laughed. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.”

The grin stayed plastered on my face as Kieran tucked in beside me and drifted off to sleep with his hand on my thigh while I got some work done. I waited for the panic of what it meant to have Kieran sleeping in my bed, but it never came.

Chapter Fifteen

Samara

I slippedfrom bed early in the morning, careful to avoid waking Kieran, which wasn’t hard because that man slept like the dead. I wasn’t sure I could have woken him even if I tried.

Sipping the tea I’d grabbed from the kitchen, I read over the letter for Roth one more time. I’d already packed up my update for Carmilla, which was considerably longer, and some information for Rynn. Both the messages for Carmilla and Rynn were enchanted so that the contents could only be read with a drop of their blood.

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