Page 63 of Prisoner of Steel and Shadow

She sighed but ceded the point. “All right, but I certainly don’t walk around meowing in an obnoxious demand for attention.”

“No, you’re too stealthy for that. Stalking your prey in silence until it’s time to pounce.”

“You’ve given this comparison of yours a lot of thought.”

“What can I say? Kitten suits you.”

She watched his lips curl around the words, goosebumps erupting down her arms as his tongue swept across his bottom lip.

He leaned forward until their faces were less than an inch apart. “Shadow?”

“Hmm?”

“You might not meow, but I bet I could make you purr.”

She gaped at him, her mouth falling open as she was rendered completely speechless.

His gaze dipped from her eyes down to her lips. “Would you like that, kitten? For me to reach under this table and pet you until you were little more than putty in my hand?”

“You...” That was the best she could manage, because fuck it all, she did. She wantedexactlythat. “I think we’ve gotten off topic.”

He sat back in his chair, blue eyes searing her with their heat as he folded his hands over his flat stomach.

She mourned the loss of him, even as she welcomed the breathing room. The man was damned potent. A few innocuous words in that sexy growl of his, and she was reduced to absolute rubbish. What would it be like if she let him make good on his offer?

No, Shadow. Absolutely not. You will get him killed.

She didn’t give herself the opportunity to consider why she was more concerned with his death than her own.

His lips twisted with knowing amusement, but rather than continuing with his teasing, he surprised her by saying, “Our tale begins in the Forest of Whispers.”

So he hadn’t been using the tale as an excuse to talk to her. He really did want her to hear it. That alone was enough to renew her interest in the story, though she couldn’t resist a little dig first. “Oooh, the Forest of Whispers, how fitting. A pretend setting for the made-up story of our past.”

“Be quiet now, killer, or I won’t tell you how the queen of the Forsaken nearly gelded me.”

Nowthathad her lips snapping shut.

“Glad to see I finally have your attention.”

There was no ‘finally’ about it. The man had held her attention hostage from the second he set foot in her city. Not that she’d ever dare admit it.

“An impostor declared war against the rightful queen of the Chosen—”

“The Chosen?”

“That was short-lived.”

She shrugged in apology. “Just trying to get the facts.”

“The Chosen are those blessed with the gift of magic.” He wriggled his fingers, little flames dancing above each of them before vanishing.

“Your people. You’re one of the Chosen.”

He nodded.

Her brows furrowed. If there were more like him, why had she never heard of them before?Because this story isn’t real, Shadow. It’s just make-believe.Mollified, she gave in to the willing suspension of her disbelief.

“The Kiri, Helena, was in desperate need of allies, which was why after centuries of exile, she sought out those previously declared her enemies.”

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