CHAPTER 9
Lynne
SAYING THAT I WAS having a mild panic attack was an understatement. I’d never had a male in my room that wasn’t a servant or a relative. Why I had let a complete stranger in without a thought was beyond me.
“So, this is your room,” the dark prince drew out as he stepped into my room. His head turned this way and that.
Becoming self-conscious, I searched the room for any clothing or embarrassing items that I needed to hide. Luckily, though, I am a pretty neat person, and the only things lying around were my books.
I made a mental note to take some of them back to the library before I stepped in front of my betrothed. “So what did you want to talk about?” I might as well get the ball rolling before he did something to make me lose control again like at dinner. The thought of it still made my face heat.
His dark eyes turned from looking over my room to meet mine. His lips turned up in a small smile and he shrugged. “Anything. We do not have anyone to worry about now that we are alone. So feel free to be yourself.”
Be myself? In front of a complete stranger? That was as likely to happen as a faerie giving birth to a troll.
Clasping my hands together in front of me, I tried to think of something safe to talk about. But my mind was blank. I honestly had no idea what to talk about with this person.
“How about this, let us have a seat and each take a turn asking a question?” he asked sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. He patted the seat next to him, clearly wanting me to join him, but I hesitated.
Closer was probably not a good idea when it came to the UnSeelie Prince that already made faeries dance in my stomach.
He leveled his gaze at me and smirked. “Come, now, I won’t bite. I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
I chewed on my lip glancing at where he sat and then looked away before sighing. At least it wasn’t on the bed.
I eased down next to him, my hands in my lap. The dark prince shifted in his seat and I tensed for an attack. When all he did was cross one leg over the other, guilt ate at me.
Come on, Lynne, pull it together. You can’t just jump to conclusions like that. You aren’t your mother.
“So,” the dark prince started, placing an arm on the back of the couch. My body was acutely aware of how close his hand was to my shoulder.
“So,” I replied feeling a bit foolish.
“What do you like to do for fun?”
I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his question. When he gave me a curious look, I gestured around us. “You can’t tell?”
The dark prince’s eyes landed on the pile of books I had next to us, and he smiled sheepishly. “I suppose that one was pretty obvious.”
“You think so?” I teased.
“All right then.” He turned slightly in his seat to face me. “Since I wasted mine, it is your turn.”
“All right,” I paused, my eyes staring off into the distance and then I had my question. My pale blue eyes locked with his. “Do you really want to marry me?”
His eyes widened a fraction. I seemed to have stunned him. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked? No. I needed to know. If I was going to make the effort, then he would too. I refused to be miserable for the rest of my existence.
After what felt like forever, he finally answered, “You do not waste any time, do you?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Best to get the hard ones out of the way. So, do you?”
“I am going to be honest with you, my peach.” His nickname for me caused my skin to prickle. I forced the feeling back to listen. “When I first learned of our engagement I did not react well.”
I could relate to that. Seven plants died at my hands because I was so furious and couldn’t control my magic. It had taken weeks before I could finally get it together well enough to coax a sprout from the ground.
“And now?” I asked partly holding my breath for his answer.
“Once I realized it was for the good of our realms, I could not exactly say no.” He offered me a small smile.
“I get that.”
“Once I was set on it, I could only hope that you were not some spoiled brat that I couldn’t stand. Thankfully, that was no so.”
My lips quirked up at that. “You didn’t care if I was ugly? Or deformed? What if I had horrible breath? Or my laugh was annoying?”
He laughed at my questions, the sound of it made me shiver. Was there nothing about this man that didn’t affect me? If I reacted this way just to his laugh, I couldn’t imagine how I would react to his touch.
“It did cross my mind, but then I thought, the Seelie Queen would not dare to have an ugly child. So I should be safe, and thankfully, I was right.” His eyes glittered as he watched me. “My turn.”
“All right,” I answered, though, he hadn’t exactly answered my question at all.
The dark prince leaned forward his eyes darkening as he said, “Have you ever laid with another?”
The question stunned me. I had expected all sorts of questions. I hadn’t expected him to ask something so personal. Though, I should have. We are to be married, eventually. He should know whether I have been with another. Though, based on what Erydesa had said about his reputation, I had no doubt that he had been with plenty of women.
“No.” The single word seemed to resound through the room making him suck in a hard breath.
“Have you ever even been kissed?” he asked getting closer to me.
“That’s two questions,” I whispered, my eyes flickering to his lips and then back up to his eyes where they had turned into the turbulent stormy blue.
“I do not think that you have.” His hand came up to brush the side of my face, his voice lowering as well.
My body burned where his hand was touching me, and the room suddenly was stifling. I leaned into his touch without meaning to; my eyes fluttering opened and closed.
The dark prince’s thumb slid along my bottom lip, and my tongue darted out, tasting him. It was then that my nose was assaulted with the combination of our scent. It had kind of earthy spice to it. Something I had never experienced before.
But having experienced it now, my body roared in response. My body alighted with desire and a low growl came from my betrothed, causing my eyes to shoot open.
His nostrils flared, his eyes even darker than before. It was as if he were a feral creature and not the Crown Prince of the UnSeelie Court. The intensity of his gaze frightened me enough that I tried to pull away, but his other arm wrapped around me drawing me closer to him until our fronts touched.
“I wish to kiss you.”
The words were more of a statement than a question. I wasn’t sure how to react. I wanted to kiss him too, but part of me kept telling me not to. That he would ruin me if I gave into him. I shoved that part back and swallowed thickly before nodding.
That was all the consent he needed before his mouth covered mine. He didn’t take his time coaxing me into submission. Instead, he dove in overtaking my senses until all I knew was him.
Each sweep of his touch ignited a fire in me that left me craving more. My hands grasped his shirt, hoping for something to ground myself, but all it did was spur him on more. I was hopelessly lost in him and I couldn’t have been happier.