Page 89 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“Yes and no. It is true that I needed to inspect it, to make sure no one has tampered with it or tried to unlock it, but this is also a beautiful place to spend a night. I traveled this realm during my exile, inspecting the many gods’ portals, because to me, they feel like a disaster waiting to happen. Every single one of those sites is as charming as this one.”
Aldrin wraps his big hands around my waist, stroking my curves leisurely through the thin fabric of my dress and gazing at me with heat simmering in his amber eyes. My core clenches at the look that promises a thousand wicked things, and my skin breaks out in hot and cold shivers.
Without warning, he swipes an arm under me, taking out my legs and bundling me up against his chest. I squeal with equal parts shock and delight.
“Is this not a delectable place to strip my mate bare? To lick every inch of her body and swim naked with her?” he growls low in my ear, carrying me out of the temple before I have a chance to respond.
Aldrin deposits me unceremoniously on the edge of the stone-paved island, where it juts out over the gently flowing river just outside of the temple.
“Sit. I’ll be right back.” He turns and walks away without another word.
I stare at his receding form with indignation. I was not expectingthiswhen he whispered dirty words in my ear and put his hands all over me. I shuffle on the hard surface, agitation as well as hot desire coursing through me.
Aldrin returns moments later with his arms full and a huge grin on his face. He dumps a spread of strange-looking fruits between us, along with broad green leaves that look like they belong on a banana tree. He pulls out his knife and cuts into the fruit, arranging it into a platter on the huge leaves.
“What are you doing?” I finally snap. I need him to plunge those fingers inside me, not within the pulpy core of that pale pink fruit, between the segments that are too similar to folds, as he pulls it apart. It looks a lot like a mandarin.
He pauses, eyebrows rising high. “Cutting fruit.”
“Cutting fruit?” I repeat. “Why?” I can’t help that my voice has turned a little shrill. It is his fault, really, getting me all hot and flustered, then just stopping.
He lets out a long breath, then picks up a round woody ball. “I’m trying to woo you, Keira. To make tonight memorable.”
“Woo me? You don’t need to woo me! I’m ready to go. I want what you promised me.”
“Patience. This may be one of the last chances we get for a few romantic moments shared between just the two of us. Tomorrow, I will leave the City of Vertical Gardens and reclaim our armies. I had already contacted Ezekiel and his clan of dragons to meet us at our first offensive. Everything we have endured in this realm so far has just been a prelude for what is to come.”
Romance. He wants romance. I can cool my blood enough to do that.
“Fine,” I mutter.
A huge, beautiful smile fills his face as he passes me the orb he has been working on. The fruit has a fibrous burgundy shell with hairs inches long coating it, and he has sliced a portion off the top to reveal a clear liquid within. Some kind of milk or juice. The sweet scent that rolls off it is tantalizing. He watches me closely as I take a sip from it, and laughs as my eyes roll back in my head, my senses lighting up. I immediately take another long gulp.
“Go slow on that one. The juice within is naturally fermented.”
“Is that your idea of wooing me? Getting me drunk so you can have your way with me?” I mock chide, poking him in the chest.
His eyes slowly roam over me. “We both know I will have my way with you tonight, regardless.”
My stomach tumbles and chills run down my spine. I toss back the rest of the strangely floral alcohol, discard the husk,then crawl up Aldrin’s body. Within a heartbeat, I am straddling his lap, running my hands under his tunic and across the hard planes of his abdominal muscles, pressing my breasts into his chest.
Aldrin throws up his arms. “Not while I have a knife in my hand!”
I pry the small blade from his fingers and flick it away from us, biting his ear. “How about now?”
“Romance, remember? I…I want to just talk for a bit while we can. There are things we need to discuss before I disappear again.”
The vulnerability in his voice is enough to douse my desire…marginally. He runs his hands up the bare flesh of my thighs, making me ache all over again, then lifts me from him.
“You’re really not helping, Aldrin.”
“Everything is about to get more intense. Titania’s mistreatment of you and the violence in the city,” he says, not looking at me as he lays out slices of a spiky red fruit that is soft and pulpy, then scatters yellow berries and green nuts across the platter. He adds multiple cheeses and two varieties of crackers from his bag. “We need to rip the Spring Court open and tear the corruption from its flesh before we can begin to heal it.”
There is sadness in his eyes as they flick up to mine. He leans in close and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. He doesn’t remove his hand from my cheek.
“I need you to be strong for me, Keira, but more importantly, I need you to be honest, because you have positioned yourself right in the heart of this maelstrom with your bargain. If it gets too much, you must tell me, because I will drop everything to get you out. Nothing,nothing, is more important than your wellbeing. I will not allow this war to break you.” His fingers stroke the side of my face as he looks at me with desperation.
“You cannot just waltz into the palace and kill Titania,” I say.
