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“My ankles are just fine,” she mouthed to him, but all he could think about was biting into her bottom lip and dragging it through his teeth as she smiled at him. He thought about what she would taste like, what she would feel like. “The more you tell me to go home, the more I don’t want to.” Her voice brought him back from his wayward thoughts.

He tried to compose his face, but a laugh snuck through. “Oh, I know, you do everything you can just to defy me,” Torin declared. She smiled back at him, and his pulse quickened. “But that is besides the point. As of a few hours ago, I officially became your guard, and I believe it is in your best interest to get you home safely.”

“I believe it is in my guards’ best interest to be less bossy.” She circled him, strutting in those dangerous, sensual heels. “After all, you are talking to the soon-to-be Empress of Air, you know,” she reminded him with drunken confidence. He could hear the joke in her tone, but it was true.

He shoved one hand into his leather pocket and leaned in closer. “Empress of Air or not, I will put you over my shoulder if I have to and take you home. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Her cheeks hid a blush under the lights of the tavern well, but he could still see it. “When did you become so responsible?”

“The minute I was put in a position to protect your life,” he said without even thinking. She stared at him, and he could have sworn her eyes changed colour at his words. He didn’t know what in the Underworld that meant, but she didn't cower away from what he said. Torin swallowed. “So you can either walk out of here with me holding your hand, or I can put you over my shoulder and go. Your choice.”

She didn’t ponder his proposal long. “I think, as the Empress of Air, I should get a choice on how I walk out.”

He smiled back at her, exercising control. She would need that. That was a good trait to have. “Of course, you do. I have given you the options.”

“I will walk out with you,” Emara said.

“Damn, I was really looking forward to you putting up a fight and getting to put you over my shoulder.”

She rolled her eyes as a little smile tugged at her fake frown. “I will walk out. But I am not holding your hand.”

“Not even to make our way through the crowd?” he said jokingly. “As your guard, it would keep you close to me.”

“Nope.” She smirked, and it almost stopped his heart. “If my guard is skilled enough, he should be able to do that without touching me.” Her eyes changed again as if she were thinking about something naughty. He thought about offering up his right arm to the Gods to get an insight to what was running through that pretty little head of hers.

“Fine,” he said, removing his hand from where it had been tucked away. “This time, I will take my losses. But next time, I won’t be such a pushover. I might require you to hold my hand.”

“Never, Blacksteel.” She beamed. “Now are you going to take me home or stand there with your poor negotiation skills?”

He cut out a dry laugh at her insult. Why did he love it when she tried her best to insult him? “I never thought you’d ask, angel.”

She punched him on the bicep playfully as she led their way towards the exit, his hand firmly placed on the small of her back.

By the time Emara had gotten back to the tower, the burning sensation on the balls of her feet had worn off the buzz of her head. Yawning, she hid a wince as she placed one foot in front of the other.

Damn fashionable shoes!

How did Cally waltz about in these like they were her winter boots?

She winced again, the nippy ache returning not only in her feet, but in her heart too, sobering her thoughts and body.

“I could carry you to your room, you know,” Torin said as he walked beside her.

“I think I can manage,” she jeered.

“You don’t have to be so stubbornly independent; I can see that you are literally about to scream with pain any second.” He looked her over from head to toe with those sinful eyes. “I mean, I am not complaining about how you look in them, but they are not exactly practical for walking.”

“I think I can make it to my room,” she huffed, bringing her eyebrows down into a scowl. She hoped she looked annoyed, but it was really because of the pain. “I don’t need your big, strong muscles to get me up all those flights of stairs,” she mocked. “I have my own.”

Looking forward, he removed his hands from his pockets and fixed the black tunic that cuffed his wrists. “I am just saying, I think you would enjoy it.”

Emara wondered how many girls Torin Blacksteel had carried up the stairs of the tower and her heart stiffened. “And I am just saying absolutely not.”

“So stubborn.” He let out a small chuckle and placed his hands back into his pockets.

They walked for a few flights of stairs before she spoke again.

“I am surprised you even offered to take me back to the tower.” She thought over her last minutes in La Luna. “Well, I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, but still.” She threw him a glance full of sass as they walked up to her door.