Page 51 of A Blaze of Fire
I held my breath so I wouldn’t be swayed by the intoxicating aroma that was Alec. “Stop, Alec,” I repeated. “Please.”
His hazel and green eyes shifted between mine, searching for an answer I couldn’t give. I didn’t know what he wanted from me, if he wanted anything at all. In any event, I wasn’t the person to give him anything. I wasn’t Sage.
“What’s going on here?”
We snapped our attention to find Ansel standing at the end of the hallway, watching us with an inscrutable expression. With Alec temporarily distracted, I pushed him away and stepped aside.
“Nothing,” I croaked. “We were just chatting,” I said guiltily, even though I didn’t do anything wrong. I approached him warily. “What are you doing on this side of the castle?”
Alec frowned as he looked at Ansel with renewed interest. “Yes, brother, what are you doing on your way to the throne room?”
“I had something to do and then I was going to grab something to eat in the dining hall, not that it’s any of your business!” Ansel glared and glanced suspiciously between me and his brother.
Alec strolled toward him nonchalantly as if nothing had just happened and shrugged. “Of course. Well, I’ll leave you two to chat. Why don’t you escort her to the dining hall? I’ll meet you both there.” Then he walked away with his hands in his pockets, whistling a merry tune as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
I couldn’t believe him! He left me a bundle of nerves, yet he was cool as a cucumber.
Once Alec disappeared around the corner, Ansel turned to me and took my hand. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded and smiled. “Yeah, everything is fine,” I lied, unable to meet the inquisitiveness in his stare. “There’s just something I have to do that I’m not thrilled about.” I didn’t want to tell him about the public exhibition. He’d freak.
“What is it?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.” I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into an embrace. Slowly, hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me. For the first time between us, it felt awkward.
He knew I was keeping something from him, but Ansel was too nice to confront me about it. He probably didn’t want to pressure me so he was giving me space, hoping I’d come to him when the time was right. It was one of the traits I liked most about Ansel. But it also put distance between us.
“What areyoudoing standing outside the throne room?” He glanced over my shoulder at the closed double doors.
“We had to meet with the King, but everything is fine,” I said quickly.
Ansel narrowed his green gaze on me but kept quiet. The silence was killing me and I was about to speak when he finally said, “Be careful of my brother, Vi. He likes to take what’s not his.”
My mouth fell open slightly and I shut it. How could I respond to that?
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” he clarified, “but I know how Alec can be, and it can get … confusing. Don’t let him mess with your head. This is all a game to him.”
I nodded but kept quiet. Was I confused? Is that what this feeling was? Either way, I didn’t plan to explore it any further. Ansel was right. This was nothing but a game to Alec.
Ansel glanced at the double doors behind us and hesitated, like he was supposed to go in but at the last minute decided otherwise. He dragged me down the hall.
“What the –?” I shrieked as he opened a door and we tumbled inside a dark room that ended up being a large closet. “Ansel … what are we doing here?” I whispered.
He backed me up against a set of shelves and I held onto the edges to keep myself steady, peering up at him through heavy lidded lashes.
“I … I can’t stand that you’re spending so much time with Alec!” he admitted in a harsh whisper. He closed me in between his arms and gripped the shelves behind me.
“Ansel—” I started, but he cut me off.
“I know why, but it doesn’t mean I have to be okay with it. It feels like as each day passes, he gets closer and closer to you while we drift apart.” He lowered his head and rested his forehead against mine.
“That’s not true!” I argued weakly. I clutched his shirt and tugged, willing him to listen to me. “I might be by Alec’s side, but it’s you that I—” I couldn’t finish that sentence. Did I love Ansel? Did I even know what love was? The only person I’d ever loved was my mother, and that was an entirely different type of emotion. Everything with Ansel felt new and fast. I could barely catch my breath.
In the end I didn’t need to finish because Ansel’s mouth crashed onto mine, drowning me in his eucalyptus scent and filling me with all the emotions I didn’t understand quite yet.
His hands roamed my skin, igniting my body in way I’d never felt before. I was lost in Ansel … and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be found.
When his hand slid up my torso and to my chest, I moaned louder than I should have, given our precarious position. He grabbed my breast through the flimsy fabric of my dress and pinched my nipple. I was hungry for him and didn’t care that we were fumbling in a closet in the Unseelie King’s castle.
