Winter

Shit. My heart punches into my throat. I toss the phone and lunge for the door. The moment it opens and I see the prince’s face, I slam it shut and slide the deadbolt.

“Oh God,” I mutter. “He’s here.”

“How?” Mack screeches. She jumps from bed, sending the dark green covers sliding to the floor. “What about the wards?”

“I’m a Fae prince,” a sultry voice says through the door. “I can break most wards on this campus.” A long pause. “I can also open locked doors, Princess.”

Of course he can. I release a ragged breath. “I don’t want to see you right now.”

“Are you sure about that? Because your breathing and your racing heart say otherwise.”

Ruby takes a defensive position above my head. “Hey, ice bastard! Just try coming inside and I’ll shrivel your balls to frozen little raisins.”

“Sounds entertaining.” Another pause. Then, “I’m unlocking the door now. Please refrain from shriveling anything until Summer hears me out.”

I step back as the deadbolt unlocks itself, the telltale perfume of lilies and copper permeating the air. The door slides open with a creak and then the prince fills the doorway. His hair is disheveled as if he’s run his hand through it a hundred times, his eyes dark and a little wild.

Cold surges from him in frigid waves.

“Well that’s one way to open a locked door,” I snap. “The other is to not fucking open it because it’s locked.”

His lips twitch into an amused grin. If he was within touching distance I would throat-punch the smirk from his stupid face.

“There’s not enough magic in the world to force me to be your mate,” I hiss. “Now get out.”

His eyes darken, but instead of leaving, he takes a step in my direction.

51

I retreat until the far wall meets me back. The prince’s eyes don’t leave mine as he claims the space between us. His hands go on either side of me against the wall, pinning me between his arms. Ruby gives a war cry and rushes toward us—

He tilts his head and she freezes midair.

Without breaking eye contact, he says, “I need a moment with Summer.”

Mack hesitates, her arms crossed.

But I nod without looking at her. “It’s okay.”

“Fine, but I’m right outside,” she points out. “In case you need me.”

When she’s gone, he releases Ruby. “While I appreciate your concern for Summer,” he says, “this is between me and my mate.”

Mate. The word reverberates through me like a curse, even as something warm and electric opens inside my middle.

I hear Ruby cussing all the way down the hall. When she’s gone, he conjures a gust of wind to shut the door. I glance at the door, back to him. The knowledge that he could keep the door closed for as long as he wants settles in my core, along with the knowledge of what might happen if we’re alone.

Already I can feel my body responding to his closeness. Changing. The anger and tension bleeding from my shoulders and neck. The need to feel his touch, to kiss him and more, so much more, consumes me.

He stares into my eyes for a long time. Then his focus shifts to my lips. He goes to drag a thumb over my bottom lip and I slap his hand away. He blinks, a growl stirring his chest, and then tries again.

I hate how my lips part for him. How I gasp as the rough pad of his thumb brushes the sensitive part of my bottom lip. A tremor shakes his shoulders. He’s excited by my reaction. I can see it in his eyes.

And I like his excitement. Oh, God. This is all wrong. I was supposed to be mad at him. At the very least, I was supposed to get answers out of him.

If he doesn’t leave this room right now, I’ll lose control.

Ducking beneath his arms, I stride to the door and point. “Please leave.”

He stares at me for three breaths. Then he nods. “You’re right.” He rubs his head, and for the first time I wonder if he’s as conflicted inside as I am. “I’m going back to the Winter Court tonight with my father. I have to fix this before it gets out.”

My heart lurches sideways. “Does that mean—did the eternal fire thing make a mistake?”

I’m supposed to feel hope at the idea, but all I experience is panic.

He walks up behind me and his arms slip around my waist. His fingers splay over my stomach, low and firm, his chin resting in the spot above my collarbone. The fabric of my dress is so thin that I might as well be naked, the cold of his fingers bleeding into my flesh.

His lips brush the sensitive shell of my ear. “Does this feel like a mistake to you?”

I sink into him, sighing as I do. Holy hell. Nothing should feel this good.

“No,” I whisper.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Eclipsa is going with me, but Asher will stay here with you. When I return, I’ll explain everything.”

“You’re missing the dance?”

“Not if I can help it.”

My body jerks as he pulls away. A rush of air hisses through my teeth. “Wait. I don’t understand any of this. I don’t even know . . . your name.”

He stiffens. Outside, snow batters the windows in violent bursts. When he looks at me, there’s such vulnerability in his face that I fight to avert my gaze. “I have enemies everywhere. Enemies who would use such information to destroy me.”

I reach into my dress and tug out my pendant. “I have this. I think it’s why I was immune to your glamour, which means no one can force me to reveal your name.”

“Even so. Trusting isn’t in my nature. Call it a result of my upbringing.”

The dark sarcasm in his voice can’t hide his pain.

“Prince, I’m not your enemy.”

“Life has taught me that everyone is a potential opponent, even those close to me.” A muscle flickers in his jaw. “Especially people close to me.”

“I am not your enemy,” I repeat softly. “If I can trust you not to hurt me, you can trust me with your name.”

He hasn’t stopped staring at me. Hasn’t blinked. That raw vulnerability making him irresistible. I want to break down those walls. I want to destroy them and anyone responsible for their creation.

“Be careful looking at me that way,” he says, his voice low and gravelly with warning.

“Or what?”

“Or I won’t be able to leave.”

“Then don’t. If that’s what it takes to get the name of my mate.” What the hell am I saying?

But it’s too late. He prowls toward me until we’re inches apart. His hands slide over my waist, cool and claiming. His thumbs begin circling low on my belly. “Say it again.”

“What?”

“My mate. Say it.”

A rush of air escapes my lips. I hadn’t meant to utter that phrase, but there it is. A wave of dizziness crashes over me as the words come to life on my tongue, heavy and terrifying and final.

The moment I release them, I won’t be able to take them back. Not a second time. And I can see in his eyes what that means.

But I can’t stop my rebellious mouth from parting. My traitorous lips from curling to form each syllable. My errant lungs from sending a surge of air to release the two words that will change my life forever.

“My mate.”

His hands leave my hips and frame my face. Then his fingers slide over my jaw to cup the back of my head. Two of his fingers twine in my hair, gently controlling my head. His lips crush mine. The force startling. When his tongue enters my mouth, my eyelids snap shut, a soft moan rumbling in my throat.

Instinctively my hands go to his hair, fisting the silky strands.

He stiffens before growling into my mouth.

“Tell me you don’t want this, Summer,” he whispers. “Tell me to stop and I’ll walk away.” It’s almost a plea. Maybe he feels as out of control as I do. But I couldn’t stop this thing between us at this point even if I wanted to.

Everything after that is a blur. I’m in his arms. There’s a flash. A portal. We’re in his bedroom. Snow speckles the air like dust motes and fall over my feverish skin, tiny pinpricks of cold. My crystallized breath spills from my throat in milky bursts.

He settles me onto a pile of furs over his bed and then stares down at me with a predatory look that sets my insides ablaze. He drops to his knees and spreads my legs. I watch as his hand fists the hem of my dress. Watch as he tugs it up to my belly, his other hand stroking the inside of my exposed thighs. My newfound muscles respond to his touch, clenching and trembling.

All the nerves inside my body are melting down. I feel everything. The impossibly soft fur against the back of my bare thighs. His fingernails flicking over my skin. My silk dress as it slides up my stomach and over my head. His hungry gaze unapologetically raking over every inch of me.

I watch, mesmerized, as his slender hands move over me. Curling a finger beneath my panties, he tugs them off. My bra is next.

His eyes never once leave mine.

He wants me to see his intentions. To take in the full force of his desire. Every time I gasp, it ripples through him. Every time his fingers graze my flesh and I tremble, one corner of his mouth curls in amusement.

At one point, his gaze snags on my tattoo. His brand. He captures my wrist between his hands, holds the inside of my forearm up to his lips, and kisses the inky swirls, his mouth tracing up my arm.

There are no words between us. My rapid breathing creates a symphony in time with the wild hammering of my heart. I don’t even have a chance to feel awkward at my lack of experience because he does everything.

I wish I could say when he lowers himself onto the bed that I protest a little. Wish I could say I hesitate, even for a moment, as he claims my body as his. That Mack’s warning and Evelyn’s predicament and my own misgivings give me pause. But nothing matters except satisfying the savage, primal urge raging through every cell in my body.

I have to quench the inferno or I’ll die.

“Promise,” I breathe as his teeth capture my earlobe.