Page 165 of Brimstone

Was he really so blind? Didn’t he know meat all?

I had fought tooth and nail to rescue him from Zilvaren, and all the while he’d suspected that I was atraitor?

“Dance with me.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, facing Fisher. His eyes were even greener tonight with the sky full of evenlight. He hadn’t gotten to his feet yet, but hewasoffering his hand, and he didn’t look like he would be deterred from his request.

“Is this the part where you tell me you don’t dance, Osha?” he murmured. “The part where you say that you don’t know the steps, or that you have two left feet?”

Hah. And he thought he had me all figured out. There were still things about me that Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate was yet to learn. And while I didn’t know the steps to any of the graceful dances popular here in Yvelia, I was a quick study and light on my feet. And I wasnotone to be underestimated. I smiled as I considered Fisher’s hand and then took it.

“I’ll muddle through,” I told him.

The next thing I knew, we were among the high bloods, and Fisher was spinning me along with him as he slipped ontothe dance floor and into the dance itself. He moved easily, his movements sure as he fell into step with the vampires that surrounded us.

I tried not to smile as he swept me around, lifting me so that my feet barely touched the ground.

“Does this entertain you, Your Majesty?” he murmured, suppressing a smile of his own.

“Oh no. I’m just surprised thatyou’reso confident on a dance floor.”

He leaned into me and spoke, voice low, his breath fanning warmth over my neck. “Dancing is like fighting, Osha. It’s also like fucking. And I pride myself on my skills in both of those arenas.”

I laughed. “Oh? Is that so?”

“Mm. Yes. It is.” The dimple in his cheek made a brief but satisfying appearance.

“I suppose you’ve had a lot of practice in those arenas then, have you?” I was toying with him, and he knew it. He puffed out his cheeks, pretending to think about the question.

“Well. I’ve impaled quite a few people on the end of my sword,” he said conspiratorially. “And I’ve lost count of how manybattlesI’ve fought in.”

“Hey!” I thought about digging him in his ribs, but at that moment his hands found my waist and he lifted me into the air, doing a one-eighty before setting me gently down again—a part of the dance that the other high bloods on the dance floor carried out at the same time. Fisher’s eyes were bright, the thread of quicksilver resting dormant in his iris as he took my hand and set off again, careening around the hall in the opposite direction.

“I don’t think I want to know about all of thisimpaling,” I said, feigning disapproval. “Though, maybe you’re not as good at it as you think you are. Maybe you need a little more practice.”

The left side of his mouth lifted, his eyebrow following suit. “Oh? You have notes?”

“Yes.Extensivenotes.”

Now it was Fisher’s turn to fake injury. His lips brushed my temple as he spoke. “And here I was, thinking I was doing a good job every time I made you beg for my cock.”

Gods and sinners, he was trying to kill me. Inpublic. “How many of these high bloods can hear your boasting right now, I wonder.”

“All of them, I hope. They can alreadysmellyou on me.”

“Fisher—”

“They’re lucky I’m not tearing you out of this dress and bending you over that fucking throne right now, Saeris,” he growled.

Gods. My blood pounded in my ears. “You wouldn’tdare.”

He looked at me, smile turning into something far more serious. His eyelids lowered, a lazy hunger suddenly lurking in his eyes. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t want to ruin the dress.”

I’d thought now that we were sleeping together, that the roar of need I experienced whenever I was around him would dull a little. That hadnothappened. If anything, my appetite for him was growing worse by the day. I looked up at him and remembered what he looked like when he thrust inside me. How his sweat marked his brow. How he tasted of salt, and mint, andsogodscursed sweet whenever he plunged his tongue into my mouth—

I looked away, unable to bear the eye contact anymore.

I loved him so fucking much.