Page 181 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Something Ryker had said…but what?
Bleeding.
Protecting.
Fallen star…
I still couldn’t believe he’d shown me the heart of his realm. That could become very dangerous information in greedy, bloodthirsty hands.
Luckily, I had no interest in conquering other realms.
I couldn’t even protect my own.
But that proved a level of trust I hadn’t expected. He’d also revealed his name and–
I leaped out of the bed as if scalded as the puzzle piece finally fell into place.
In the next breath, uncaring that I was wearing the barest of silk slips–the heat in my room was no joke–I raced to the door separating my room from Ryker’s.
As much as I wanted to yank the door off its hinges, I respected his privacy as much as he did mine.
Instead, I knocked.
Fine, pummelled the door with my fists.
My strength was coming back day by day and I apparently wanted to use all that energy on fighting this thick piece of wood–and losing.
Only silence came from the other end.
He’d been flitting around and pacing only minutes before, I’d heard him.
Ryker couldn’t be sleeping that deeply…could he? Nothing could have happened to him insides his own rooms…I hoped.
I knocked again, louder.
If this door wouldn’t open in the next few seconds, I was not above kicking it–
The door swung open so fast, I barely had time to jump out of its way.
I opened my mouth to argue, only to snap it shut.
Because in front of me was a ripped, dripping-wet Commander, with nothing but a towel covering his waist. My heart dropped somewhere near my ankles as my mouth wentdry.
His eyes sparked as they roamed up and down my body.
“You’re not hurt,” he said, sounding relieved and confused all at once.
“I–” I shook my head.Focus, Vegheara. Sculpted chest and abs are to be admired and relived in your mind later, not now. “Why would I be hurt?”
“Because you were trying to bust my door down as if a pack of trolls had entered your room.” He sighed in relief and leanedagainst the doorframe. He crossed his arms in front of his chest–his broad, muscled,wetchest–which only made the muscles of his arms bunch up even more. “What’s up?”
The heat in my cheeks, for one. Ryker in a leather and fur uniform was already hard to resist, but having him naked and on full display was impossible not to salivate over.
From the little smirk on his face, he knew what effect he was having on me andlovedseeing me flustered.
I blinked and shook my head once more, trying to dislodge the wicked thoughts away. The same ones he’d stoked back in that crypt.
“Why did you meet with the Northern Clans today?” I asked.
