Page 60 of A Warrior's Heart

Lorcan snarled his upper lip and tugged Alek closer to his side. “No one but my mate touches me.”

Yet, even Alek was grinning.

“Where’s my sweet treat from the bakery?” I asked.

“I don’t know if you deserve it now,” Lorcan said, pulling a folded cloth from his inner coat pocket. He caved when I pouted. “Fine. Take it.”

I rushed forward and snatched it up, unwrapping the cloth to find a honey flaked pastry stuffed with strawberry jam. I wasted no time before sinking my teeth into it and groaning as the flavors exploded on my tongue.

Malik shifted beside me. “Must you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make those noises.” He wiped at the edge of my mouth before slowly licking the jam off his thumb.

The pastry was forgotten as I stared at him. More specifically, at his lips.

“You should just kiss me next time and lick it off,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

Flirting with Malik was nothing new. I’d done so for years, much to his annoyance. Yet, things were different now. His hungry gaze burned into me.

A light chuckle drew my attention to the left.

“Looks like I win the bet,” Shar said, glancing between me and Malik. “I said they’d end up together by the day’s end. I’ll take a shilling from each of you.”

“You… made wagers on us?” Malik growled.

“I didn’t,” Nereus said, raising his hand in innocence. “Matters of the heart should not be gambled upon.”

Shar scoffed at him.

“You’re together then?” Lorcan asked me.

“Yes,” Malik responded before I could say a word. He bowed his head to Lorcan. “Do we have the prince’s blessing?”

Warmth radiated through my chest. Hard to believe that an hour before, I’d been in bed inwardly cursing his name. And now we were… well, more than we used to be.

“Of course.” Lorcan nodded to Malik. Then, he grinned. “It’s about damn time.”

***

Waves crashed against the side of the hull, rocking the ship. A storm brewed outside, bringing heavy rain and wind. A crack pierced the air and the room lit up in a blinding light before fading back to darkness.

I whimpered and pressed my face more into my pillow, wrapping my arms around my torso. Eva slept beside me, undisturbed by the outside racket.

In Avalontis, the water would darken and move differently when a storm hit the surface world, but I wasn’t used to the booming thunder, lightning, and strong gusts of wind that seemed as if it’d blow the ship on its side.

As a distraction from the chaos outside, I thought of Malik.

After Malik had announced our relationship in front of our friends, we had eaten a late snack of freshly baked bread and cheese that Kellan had bought from the market. Not long after, the wind had picked up, bringing with it the smell of rain. After battening down the hatches and securing the sails, we retreated to our quarters for the night.

A downpour soon followed.

It hadn’t stopped since.

Lightning cracked like a whip, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I threw the blanket off me and slid out of bed before pulling on my trousers. Eva slept like the dead, not even budging as I went for the door and left the cabin. Right away, wind caught my hair and whipped it around my face. My bare feet slid on the rain-slicked deck as I took off toward the right.

I reached his door seconds later. It was unlocked.