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Ineedto hide my face.

“Nia? Are you ready to do this?” Talan asks.

I look up into his dark eyes and push him down into a seated position in an alcove, then straddle him.

He arches an eyebrow. “Didn’t get enough before, did you?”

The air between us grows sultry, swirling with heat. I cup his face, pulling him in for a kiss. His lips meet mine, pressing me against the hard steel of his chest. Slowly, his hands stroke the length of my spine.

He kisses me fiercely, claiming me, and I drape my arms around his neck. With every stroke of his tongue, I grow hotter, my desire coiling more tightly. Moaning slightly, I shift my hips against him, and liquid desire plunges into my belly. I’m overwhelmed by the delicious warmth and the teasing friction of his body against mine.

Slowly, I pull away from the kiss, breathing rapidly. He’s cupping the side of my face now, his thumb stroking my cheek. He stares deeply into my eyes with a hungry expression, and hiseyes lower to my lips. A muscle ticks in his jaw, and I have the sense that he’s wrestling with restraint as much as I am.

“You really are playing the part well, aren’t you, Princess?” he whispers.

I lick my lips. “Just keeping up my part of the bargain.”

“You’re very good,” he murmurs, “at being convincing.”

I swallow hard and glance around. The twins have wandered off to another part of the party.

It’s time for us to move.

“Aedan’s attention is elsewhere,” I whisper. “Let’s get out of here now and wait for him in his chambers.”

I slide off his lap and smooth my dress, trying to collect my thoughts.

“And just when you were starting to get interesting.” He takes me by the hand, leading me away again.

The memory of his kiss is seared onto my lips, and I press them together. Whether it’s the aphrodisiac in the air or the magic of his kiss, I can’t tell. But one thing is clear: his allure isn’t just a distraction. It’s an addiction.

And I have no idea how I’m supposed to walk away from it.

CHAPTER 19

Talan leads me by the hand through Aedan’s palace, where smooth, golden stone columns covered with climbing honeysuckle stretch up to a towering ceiling. The ivory marble reflects warm torchlight. Outside, the whirling snow catches in the winter sun. It’s heavenly in here.

“How do you know he’ll go to his bedroom?” I ask.

“He makes new connections and deals during these banquets, and he always leaves a few times throughout the event to write business letters in his room. He will absolutely show up.”

I doubt we’re supposed to be marching through the palace wherever we want, but this isn’t going to stop Talan. He stalks through the place like he owns it. Twice, we pass palace staff, and twice, they avert their eyes and scuttle away without a word. Talan hardly seems to notice them.

“I’m hoping to catch Aedan unaware,” I whisper. “Do you think the maids we ran into will tell him we’re heading toward his room?”

“They will not report on me,” Talan says quietly. “They’re more afraid of me than they are of Aedan.”

“Okay. When we get to his room, I want to hide in there and sneak up behind him.”

“Hide?” He raises a quizzical eyebrow. “I’m not really someone who hides.”

“But I’m the expert on how my magic works, and I need to surprise him.”

“Fine.” He turns and climbs up the stairs, polished pale stone that sweeps upward in a wide arc.

I’m about to ask how he knows where to go when I realize that he’s been here before and visited Eithne’s room. I feel a hot pang of jealousy at that thought, but that, of course, is ridiculous.

We reach the second floor. The air is cooler here and faintly perfumed. Talan leads me down a wide hall, where candlelight flickers over statues of nude woman, their marble bodies draped with vines. At last, he stops by an engraved oak door and tries the handle.