Her cheeks flush and she jerks back, but the thorns around her legs prevent her from getting far. I pierce her with my gaze, and it takes everything in me not to lift her up and bring her down on my face. I can’t survive for long in the world up here, but I bet I could survive on her.
“You’re the one who came into my room in the middle of the night.”
I tilt my head, changing my thorns so the brambles fall away and they’re nothing but delicate vines that snake higher and higher up her thighs. “And your mate is away in the Autumn Realm, the other in the cold and ice. So, who exactly were you dreaming of creeping into your bed and feeling this exposed pussy? The Summer Prince with a dawn awakening? Hmm, what is his name again?”
“Shut up,” she hisses.
“Or,” I release my hold on the vines, let her consciousness ease in, as we both coax them higher and higher, “was it me you were thinking of?”
I expect her to spit at me, or curse, or call me disgusting. I don’t expect the flush on her cheeks. Her long sigh as the vines slide to brush the edges of her center. Through them, I can feel how slick she is. Her desire is a palpable weight in the room, and for a moment, I feel I may lose all control and plunge these vines deep inside her just to fill her aching need.
I manage a raspy breath and my senses return. Retracting the vines, I snag one in my palm, licking the tip. “Just as delicious as I remember.”
She seems to have regained her composure and growls, “You’re a pig.”
“No.” I spin us, so she falls to her back. “I’m the one in control. And if you’re tired of this little dance, tell me where my book is and I’ll be on my way.”
“What book?”
“My princess is learning, but you have no idea what you’ve got.”
She wiggles beneath me but can’t quite break free. The long ears suit her, matching her large eyes and perfect lips. “I know some things. Parts of it were written by the Queen. But I don’t understand what interest you’d have in her.”
“The Queen was the most powerful fae who ever lived. You can’t blame me for being curious.”
“It’s more a diary than a spell book,” she says.
So, she has been studying it. That wasn’t part of my plan, but I wonder … It might not be such a bad thing. “You’d be surprised what you can derive from someone’s raw thoughts.”
“I’m not giving it back. It’s hidden somewhere you’ll never find it. I don’t trust you. You betrayed us, Caspian.”
“They’ve been calling me a betrayer for years,” I say. “It was your mate who made a bargain with me. It wasn’t my fault the little pup wasn’t careful about his wording.”
“You don’t get to insult Farron,” she snarls. A tangle of thorns strikes me in the chest, and I fly back across the room, landing in a heap with my hair falling over my brow.
Rosalina stands, looking down at her wrist where two thorn bracelets writhe like living snakes.
I stand and dust off my tunic. “Speaking of bargains, there’s one you haven’t paid for. A kiss for those convenient thorns, remember?”
“Just playing by the same set of rules you are, Cas,” she says. “Besides, why would I want to fulfill it and let you take away my thorns?”
“You’re a fae, but you still don’t understand me.” We begin to circle each other. “Why don’t you give me a kiss and see if I let you keep your little trinkets?”
“I’m not kissing you,” she says, then narrows her gaze. “You knew I was fae, didn’t you?”
“From the moment I first laid eyes on you.” Though the Fates had shown her with pointed ears in their prophecy, so I can’t exactly take credit for that one.
“You do love your secrets.” She keeps stepping in a circle over the objects I’ve scattered around her room.
“And just because you’re fae doesn’t mean you’re safe. Being fae isn’t all sunshine and roses, Flower. Even the Queen knew that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Keep reading my book and maybe you’ll find out.”
“Stop talking in riddles and actually give me some answers. Then perhaps I’ll give your stupid book back.” She spreads her arms wide in frustration, the moonlight through the window casting her curves in a dangerous silhouette.
Her breasts are free and heavy beneath the nearly sheer nightgown, and it’s so easy to see the sharp points of her nipples. She gives a little gasp when she notices my gaze, and her own flicks to her robe on the ground.