Page 37 of The Nightbound Soldier

Nottuza cups his knees, his claws extending as he leans forward and parts the shadows from his face. “The fates look after the fairies. I have the task of looking after my people and you. It’s not one and the same, for what is good for the fae people isn’t always good for mine. Or for you.”

“Okay.” I lean in, waiting for more. “Was that all?”

“Yes.”

“You get no medals for speechmaking.”

Nottuza extends a hand. “Come here.”

I accept his hand, and he tugs, maneuvering me into his lap.

This close to him and with his scent stuffing my brain, I can barely contain my excitement, and yet I must. I never want him to think I like him when he’s struggling with liking me.

One hand comes around my back and settles on my left hip as he positions me to sit on his left thigh, my back leaning against the cabin and his left arm resting on my hip.

An extended claw taps the wooden bench. “Put your feet here.”

The heels of my shoes tap the place he pointed to.

Nottuza wraps his fingers around my right ankle. He squeezes tightly, not painfully, not gently either. It reminds me of a restraint, and the sexual implication of his touch fires up my senses. Tingles sparkle under my skin, and I flush with the beginnings of an arousal I haven’t felt since the night I met him.

The scent of crushed lavender grows thicker in the cabin and makes my eyes flutter. I’m not the only one our proximity affects, but he’s so much better than I am at hiding his attraction or arousal.

Perfectly composed, Nottuza stares at his fingers around my bare ankle. “Your arrival in the Winter Court requires adjustments to the plan I already set in motion. It is incredibly challenging to course correct a perfectly coordinated plan that’s already been set off.”

I lean in and sniff around his jugular, but he growls, warning me off.

I pull back. “Sorry,” I whisper. “Got carried away there. You were saying?”

“I was explaining my reservations about having you at the court.”

“Your explanation is as clear as mud, General.”

Nottuza sneaks a hand under my coat.

Oh my fate. My breathing, my breathing. I must calm it so he can’t tell how he’s affecting me, but I can’t when his cold palm touches the warm skin under my dress. Instead of pulling away, I moan, encouraging him onward.

He grips my thigh, a flash of red coloring his eyes.

I must’ve imagined it. He wouldn’t allow a show of any sort of emotion. A vampire flashing a red eye means he’s either hungry, aroused, or anticipating violence.

“You’re wound up tighter than a serpent around a dove’s neck. Let go, my flower,” he whispers at my ear and envelops me with his arms as he would a baby. “You haven’t slept much for the past two nights as you waited for the soldier who is bound by night and sworn to protect you.”

“How perfectly romantic.” I nibble his jaw. “If only I knew who he was.”

“If only,” he repeats. “Sleep,” he commands, and I nod off instantly.

16

NOTTUZA

After Aamako assigned me withthe princess post, I tried changing his mind. I listed many reasonable reasons why Fleur should stay in the Summer Court, including the possibility of violence around the Summer princess, which nobody will tolerate, least of all her brothers, who will go to war with the Winter Court if Fleur is harmed or even inconvenienced.

Ever since the rumors of her infertility and multiple fallouts with her past lovers, including two princes, her family no longer interferes, meaning they’ve given up on matching her with a strong breeder. Fleur takes partners on her own.

Males are allowed to court her only if she invites their attention first, and if any aren’t familiar with how to approach or show interest in Fleur while at the Summer Court, her brother El’jah, who is believed to carryvocamagic as well, handles the males.

If El’jah isn’t around, the commander of the Summer fae armies protects her, and since he’s a formidable fighter, males tend to avoid her when he’s on her duty. Then there’s the Summer king, who, if rumors are to be trusted, wipes Fleur’s memories of experiences that could cause her pain.

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