My eyes float closed again as I let the fantasy wrap around me. I’m vaguely aware of sinking to the floor.
Heat presses into my side as I’m jostled into someone’s arms. Finn’s scooped me up off the floor, and the smell of him so close flips a switch inside of me. That dull sexual ache winds tighter and more insistent until it’s a pressing need. I wrap my arms behind his neck and bury my face in his chest.
He stiffens and mutters a rough, “Thanks.”
Did I say something? Maybe about how good he smells or how sometimes I think about those big hands of his, wonder how those hypnotic eyes might change when he’s aroused—no, not that. He wouldn’t thank me for that.
“What did you drink? And how much?”
The sound of his voice makes me open my eyes—when did I close them? His face is so close when he’s holding me like this. Those lips hovering above mine. “Just one, two, three,” I say. “I’d like more, please.”
“I’m sure you would,” he grumbles, then takes his eyes off mine. That makes me sad. I don’t want him to look at anyone but me. “She’s too far gone for the elixir.”
“Am I dying?” I must be dying, because Finn has me in his arms and he’s touching me so tenderly. He has one hand on the small of my back and the other is stroking down the side of my neck.
“You’re not dying. You’re high.” But he doesn’t even look at me.
“The prince wasn’t around,” Pretha says. “And the queen hasn’t returned to the palace since Litha, though we still have no reason to believe she knows who Abriella is.”
“Then who did this?” he asks. There’s an edge of violence in that voice, and I know it should scare me—he should scare me—but instead the sound turns up the volume on the thrumming pulse between my legs.
High. Drunk. Drugged. Whatever this is, I’m grateful for it because I’m different right now. This Brie isn’t afraid. This Brie doesn’t have to deal with a broken heart and stupid guilt. She gets to say and do whatever she wants, and she wants to feel her fingers in Finn’s hair.
“Your curls are soft.” I twirl one around a finger.
Finn curses. “She’s overheating.”
I shift in his arms, sliding my hand from his hair to behind his neck and lifting my mouth to his ear. “I need to tell you a secret.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Pretha asks.
I feel his deep inhale. I’m pressed so close to him that I move with every breath he takes. “I’ll take care of her. Go find out what you can.”
My skin burns to be touched, and I nuzzle his neck.
“Brie.” His voice is low and deep. The husky timbre rakes along my sensitive nerve endings even as some distant part of my mind registers the warning.
“I saw her with you.”
“What are you talking about?” He’s carrying me somewhere. Somewhere away from the bed, I realize with disappointment, but he’s still holding me, so I don’t protest.
“She was in the library with you. You kissed her. I saw.”
“Who? Kyla?”
“Is that her name? What happened to her?”
He carefully sets me on my feet. “Spy much, Princess?”
“I was trying to get answers. Not that it worked.” I giggle and stumble on the edge of a rug. He pulls me upright, his thumbs grazing the underside of my breasts. I lean in to the touch and look into his eyes—more gray than silver tonight. I reach up and trace the curve of his lips. “You’re beautiful. I think I want to kiss you. Just once.”
His expression changes, and for a breath, I think I see something there. Is that heat? But then it’s gone. “You’ve been drugged. This isn’t you.”
“You’re right. It’s not me. I’m Abriella, the responsible one. The tough one. The boring one.” I close my eyes and settle my hand over his, leading it across my stomach as I whisper, “The lonely one.”
“We have to cool you off.”
I love the sound of his voice. It’s like a gentle massage across my skin. He’s saying more—boring nonsense about body temperature and water and blah blah blah—but I nuzzle into him, guiding his hand across my stomach.
“Brie! Abriella!”
My eyes snap open. We’re in a massive bathing room. How did we get here? When?
He’s turning the dials in the shower; then he nods. “Get in.”
I keep my eyes on him as I unlace my dress. I let it float down my body into a puddle of satin around my feet, leaving me almost naked. His eyes remain on my face. “You’re no fun,” I tease, walking a circle around him. “What did Kyla have that I don’t? What did Sebastian’s girl have that I don’t?”