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I wriggled impossibly closer, digging my own fingers into his hair and pulling, holding him against me. I felt my towel slipping down until it pooled around my waist.

In response, Ambrose growled low in his throat, and bit down on my lip until I tasted blood. He fell backwards out of his kneeling position so he was sitting on the floor, and dragged me with him.

His hands moved to my waist, lifting me until my knees landed on either side of his, straddling his lap. I pressed down, feeling him hard beneath me. The contact pulled a gasp from me and a growl from deep in his throat. He gripped me harder, his fingersdigging into the bare flesh of my sides so hard I was sure I’d have bruises in the shape of his fingers.

I felt wild and alive, like I was burning up from the inside out.

Suddenly with a panicked jolt, I jerked my head back and looked around the room.

Ambrose blinked at me, as if dazed. “What are you doing?”

“Checking that I haven’t set the room on fire.” I muttered distractedly. “It’s happened before.”

His eyes widened at me, and then he laughed. A real laugh, that lit up his entire face making him even more handsome than he already was.

I glanced back down at us, a slight heat rising to my cheeks. I hadn’t planned to do this. Hadn’t meant for the kiss to go so far, but still, I wasn’t bothered. I wanted more, to go further and to find out what it would feel like to have all that intensity focused entirely on my body.

But maybe now wasn’t the time.

I could only imagine what Scion would do if he came up here looking for us. For some reason, I didn’t feel as if I were betraying anyone. Still, I needed to talk to him before I said or did anything else.

As if thinking the same thing, or perhaps guessing where my mind had gone, Ambrose lifted me gently off his lap and stood up. “Come on,” he said, as casually as if nothing had happened. “Get dressed. There’s food down in the den, and I’m sure you’re hungry.”

I was hungry, actually, and I nodded slowly as I too got to my feet.

Ambrose reached out and dragged the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip where he’d bitten me, wiping away the drop of blood pooling in the center. A jolt of heat traveled through me, throbbing low in my stomach. As if he knew what I was feeling, his eyes danced with laughter.

Still looking directly at me, Ambrose brought his thumb to his mouth and sucked. “You taste fucking delicious, love. I can hardly wait to taste the rest of you.”

23

LONNIE

THE CUTTHROAT DISTRICT, INBETWIXT

Nearly an hour later, I strode back into the den.

The smell of roasting meat and vegetables greeted me, and my stomach growled loudly as I approached the bar area. I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was, what with my adrenaline running so high for the last day or so, but now I realized that my stomach felt as if it might cannibalize itself.

I was surprised to find both Scion and Ambrose sitting together at the bar. Each had a plate of food in front of him, and there was a third plate to Scion’s right, presumably for me. They weren’t talking to each other, but neither were they fighting–a vast improvement overall.

As I approached both males turned to look at me. Ambrose didn’t react, leaving no indication that anything had happened between us upstairs, but Scion got to his feet to greet me.

I kissed him softly before drawing back and glaring at him with a sort of mock anger. “You abandoned me this morning.”

He looked affronted. “I did nothing of the sort. I went to find us something to eat.”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows. “I had no idea you could cook.”

“He can’t,” Ambrose said over his shoulder, a note of humor in his voice. “Ask him how long he spent staring at these vegetables, practically praying for them to roast themselves.”

“I don’t have to ask.” I laughed.“I’ve seen it before.”

“If you’re referring to that inn on the coast, that’s unfair,” Scion interjected defensively.

I was indeed referring to the several days we’d spent, jumping from seaside village to seaside village, in the days after Ambrose’s army had taken the capital. I’d quickly learned that not a single one of the Everlasts had ever prepared their own food. Even Scion, who had spent many years in the army living far less luxuriously than while in the palace, struggled to concoct anything edible.

I crossed the room and perched on the edge of the table nearest the bar. “How is it unfair?’