Page 23 of Straw and Gold
“I do not have the time to?—”
“Find time,” I snapped. “And,”—I rose onto the tips of my toes to meet his face with mine—“You will kiss me goodnight every night as if we are actually married.”
“That’s two amendments.”
“You added two.”
“One was just for pushing me.”
“My second is for that Goddess-awful kiss you gave me at our wedding.”
“You didn’t enjoy my lips pressed to yours, Goldling?”
“One of the many disappointments of the day.”
His hand at my back pulled me closer, his lips so near to mine, I felt the warmth of his breath. His eyes darted to my mouth and my lips parted. I knew if he kissed me now, I’d melt in his arms because I wanted him. My whole body wanted all of him and didn’t seem to care how much my mind wanted nothing more than to push him down the stairs and toss his precious golden thread behind him.
He met my gaze again, a grin blooming across his mouth. “Deal,” he whispered between us.
I closed my mouth and swallowed hard, straightening my spine in his hands. “Deal.”
His lips met mine in a searing kiss, sharp and wild as he opened his mouth, pulling my bottom lip into his. He let go, his hand holding up my chin with an utterly wicked smile across his face and a challenge in his eyes.
“That didn’t count,” I said quickly.
“That one was free.”
He let go of me entirely, turning his back. “The sun sets. I suggest you get to work before the day is through and you’ve broken the bargain already.”
“You want me to spin three cops of goldtoday?”
“Do you want me to kiss you tonight?”
I huffed, folding my arms. “Not really.”
“Too bad.” He waved a hand behind him and walked out the door, calling, “Meet me in our room for your first lesson when you’re finished. And don’t be too late.”
CHAPTER 14
Killian
Fedir enteredmy study as I pinched the golden thread, inspecting the spin, the tightness, the strength—it had been nothing short of pure Changlingfae magic that Morella was able to transmute straw into gold.
“How was the rest of the tour?” my captain teased, tossing himself into an armchair by the fire.
“She can spin straw into this.” I chucked the spool of thread into the air where Fedir caught it.
He frowned but chuckled. “Odd joke, but I’ll play along. What do you mean by straw?”
Rising from my desk, I joined him by the fire. “What I mean is that the Queen of the Citrine Cliffs took a handful of straw and spun it on a spinning wheel intothat.”
He shook his head, pulling on the thread and winding it around his hand. “We assumed she must have Changlingfae blood, but something like this is...”
“Exactly.” I leaned back in my seat, staring at the low flames.
His chest rumbled and he set the thread down, crossing his leg over his knee and settling back. “She’s definitely under your skin. Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“Of course I didn’t,” I snapped. “She was supposed to be dull, ugly, and simple. Just as you predicted she would be.”
