Page 132 of A Vow of Embers

“Play along,” he said. “We’re happy, remember?”

He continued to press soft kisses to my neck and I felt tiny sparks kindling inside me. His right hand played with my hair, running his fingers through the strands. Moving up to stroke my scalp so that I felt like Io’s cat, purring and leaning into him for more.

“I’m sorry about what I did to your skin. I didn’t mean to be rough with you. There are marks everywhere,” he murmured.

I wasn’t the least bit sorry. I wanted him to do it again. I wondered what he would do if I said that to him.

He worked his way up, and the heat inside me kept rising. He reached out to turn my head gently toward him, presumably so that no one would see the moment he drew the lower part of my earlobe into the delicious wet heat of his mouth. Each time he sucked on it, I felt the same pull low in my belly, pulsing in time to the rhythm he set.

“Do you like that?” His words were hot against me, and then he blew gently on the earlobe that he’d just had in his mouth and my stomach clenched as my eyes rolled back into my head.

He laughed softly, and it made me want to have us be on equal footing. His right hand was near my mouth and I drew his fingers up to my lips. I spread them apart so that I could kiss the line and length of each one.

I didn’t know what possessed me, but then I took his index finger into my mouth and gently sucked on it while licking the underside. I heard the hissing sound he made, felt the way his body went hard next to me. I released his finger, only barely remembering that we were not alone and that this was perhaps not appropriate behavior for our current setting.

But I was struck with the desire to do it again. To recreate the reaction he’d just given me. His eyes darkened and I saw his hunger. It made me feel powerful.

An alarm of warning tried to sound inside me. What was wrong with me? He had just been kissing someone else a few days ago.

Maybe that was why I’d done it. I was every bit as possessive as he was. I wanted to claim him as mine. Even if I couldn’t have him, I didn’t want her to have him, either.

“What did I tell you about playing with fire?” I heard desire in his voice and it made me shudder.

“I am already flame-kissed. I can handle being burned.”

His gaze held mine and I saw promises there, the pleasure that would await me if I would say yes.

This was madness. Sheer, utter madness.

Someone laughed at another table and it broke the spell he’d had me under.

I had no idea what the court would think of what they had just witnessed, if anyone had paid attention to us. My cheeks flushed and I didn’t know if that was from embarrassment or arousal. My body wanted him and it was so hard to hang on to all the reasons that I hatedhim. I had just cause to keep my walls up and I had to remember them right now or else I would be lost.

I needed to hang on to the way that he had hurt me and the people I cared about.

He stood up, his chair scraping along the floor. “If you will all excuse us, my wife has something she would like to ...discusswith me in private.”

If the court hadn’t been paying attention to us before, they certainly were now. Especially when he took my hands and yanked me to my feet. Then he swept me up into his arms and it filled me with so many memories of the times he’d done this before.

The festival, when I wanted to stay the night with him.

The day we were married.

When he saved me from the assassins.

There was laughter behind us, and some people clapped and cheered. I was confused and excited and a thousand different things. Some parts of my brain told me this was a terrible choice and others were begging me to give in.

I didn’t have a decision to make, though. As soon as we were clear of the dining hall and the doors had shut, he released me. I nearly fell to the ground, it was so unexpected.

He walked away and I knew that he expected me to follow. Neither one of us spoke as we went to our room. Once we were safely inside, he closed the door.

I noted that he did not lock it.

“What were you playing at tonight?” he asked.

“Me? I was only trying to honor our contract.” I put my hands behind my back. I would not let him know that I was partially lying. “I’m supposed to make everyone think that we’re happy, aren’t I?”

Different emotions flashed in his eyes. I couldn’t tell if my answer made him upset or if it was what he wanted to hear.