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“Have you ever been to the Celebration of Elements? I went to the capital for it once. It was amazing,” the man beside me asked the woman he was sitting with. She shook her head. “Well, then. I will have to take you. It would be my honor.”

“Is it safe?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, I heard they increased patrols and are checking everyone.” She took a dainty bite of her food.

I placed my hand on E.Z.’s leg, leaned into him, and touched my lips to his ear.

“Listen,” I whispered.

I didn’t know what it was about the woman or how she talked, but it raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Somehow, I knew whatever she had to say was vital for us to hear.

E.Z. turned his body to face me. His arm snaked around my back, pulling me closer while his other hand cupped my face, blocking our exchange from view. He brought his lips close, allowing them to graze my ear as he spoke. And if I wasn’t mistaken, he sounded breathier than normal. “Where?”

I knew strategically that this position made sense. It made the interaction look intimate and stuck to the role we were playing. But to complete a mission, one’s brain needs to function. And mine was not functioning. Not while E.Z. held me like this.

“Kaia, talk to me.”

No nickname. No endearment. I understood the restraint in that, even if I was strangely disappointed. It reminded me that this insanely charming, good-looking, muscular man — if the thigh muscles under my hand were any indication — was not really coming on to me right now. It was a game. And he was on a mission. My body was acting up, and I needed to settle down.

I took a deep, calming breath. “Couple behind me.” I sold our connection with a shy kiss on his cheek under his left eye. Anyone watching would assume I had just propositioned him. My body was okay with that. It wanted to proposition him.

I rested back in the crook of his arm, idly taking in the fair and passersby's. I listened to the couple’s conversation, ignoring E.Z.’s hand as it played with the hem of my tunic, his fingertips occasionally grazing my hip bone.

This was going to be a long day.

“Increased patrols, how?” the male sitting next to me asked, clearly skeptical. “And what does that matter? That sounds like a good thing. Just means it’s safer.”

“That’s not what’s happening. They’re not letting anyone enter or exit the capital without a vigorous ID check.”

“So? I don’t see the problem. Show them ID.”

“Thatisthe problem. Not everyone carries an ID.” She paused to take another bite, continuing with her mouth full, “the problem is that they’re also using these stops as an excuse to search you. If you resist, they steal your cargo as a penalty.”

“Well, what are they looking for?” the man asked, more interested now.

“An escaped criminal,” the woman explained. “The daughter of the man they just executed for trying to kill the king. And other rebel sympathizers.”

I locked up. E.Z.’s arm ran up and down my arm to soothe me.

“Some people are being taken in under suspicion of being a rebel the minute they entire the city.” She continued, “People who know those taken swear it’s not true. The whole thing worries me.”

I started to shake, panic taking over. They were still looking for me. How soon before they expanded their search? Was it even safe to be in town right now?

E.Z. leaned down and nuzzled his cheek into the side of my neck. “Breathe,” he whispered, pulling me in tighter.

The scrape of E.Z.’s stubble against my neck did not help me to relax. It did not help me loosen up. If anything, I locked up tighter, making breathing even harder.

E.Z. chuckled, his breaths warming my already heated skin. Despite knowing E.Z. Had gotten the exact reaction he was looking for, I leaned my face into him, needing more. I was uncomfortably horny in the middle of town square. And E.Z. knew it.

I bit his ear. Served him right. Instantly, the arm around my back pulled. I was spun so I sat sideways across E.Z.’s lap with his arms banded around my waist. He looked down at me with his eyebrow raised. Despite being perched on his lap, I sat tall, not backing down.

“You keep hitting me and pushing me around. Now you bite me. Careful, next time, I may do something about it,” E.Z. said. There was a smile on his face but a promise in his eyes.

Our mouths were almost touching. I could have moved forward the slightest bit and seen if E.Z.'s lips tasted as pink as they looked. Pink tastes sweet and tangy and exciting and delicious. Or I thought that’s what E.Z.'s mouth would taste like.

“Ohh!” the male said with excitement. “I did hear something about that.”