Page 71 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

She could see his bare torso moving along with his tense breathing.

Now he was the one staring at her like he was apprehensive of her movements, of her words.

There was something a bit exciting, to be the one responsible for making such a powerful man so vulnerable and cautious of anything she did.

Kassein was staring down at her, utterly confused by her apparent fearlessness.

His hands hadn’t moved, and he was keeping them resolutely by his sides as if he was afraid to touch her after what he’d done.

Alezya was feeling bolder with each passing second.

Her actions probably looked a bit mad to him, and she was sorry for that, but she absolutely wanted to let him know she wasn’t scared, and she trusted him.

After a hesitation, and when her heartbeat had jumped at the thought, she slowly got on her toes, and shyly pressed her lips against his.

It only lasted a second before she separated herself from him, feeling crazy and nervous to see his reaction. Kassein looked properly stunned and, if possible, even more confused.

He stared at her intensely, and Alezya felt her heart sink to her stomach at the realization of what she had just done.

Had she really gone insane this time? She felt like she was slightly drunk because she couldn’t explain how else she could have been that bold.

Kassein’s reaction seemed delayed, making her all the more anxious.

Had she crossed a line she shouldn’t have?

She raised her hand, maybe to caress his cheek or hold his shoulder, but Kassein grabbed her wrist before she could make up her mind. She jolted, surprised by the sudden movement, and her reaction made him let go immediately.

“ La, ” she said, grabbing his hand back.

She wasn’t scared. How could she make him understand?

She held his hand firmly, although hers was smaller in comparison, and pulled it toward her cheek, her eyes riveted on his.

This time, after a few seconds, Kassein’s expression seemed to relax a bit.

There was still doubt in his gaze, but his brows relaxed, and slowly, gently, he deployed his fingers on her cheek.

Finally, Alezya thought. She slightly tilted her head in his hand, not breaking eye contact, and stepped a bit closer to him.

She felt his strong arm wrap around her waist behind her cloak, holding her in his embrace, his warmth spreading to her body.

She was safe in his arms. The same hands he killed with were capable of holding and caressing her so gently.

There was something exhilarating about being so close to such a dangerous man, and yet completely safe from him, like she was with his dragon. ..

Slowly, she saw Kassein lower his face toward her, and her heartbeat picked up an excited pace again.

He kept his eyes open, going from her eyes to her lips, gauging her reaction.

.. and she didn’t stop him when his lips met hers.

Instead, she closed her eyes and sealed their kiss, her whole body firing up.

His hold on her waist tightened, pulling her against his hot, bare torso, and Alezya felt her blood rush through her veins while butterflies bloomed in her stomach.

Kassein was kissing her, a real, passionate kiss this time.

She had nowhere to run from his thick lips on hers, and she loved that.

She pressed her hand against his on her cheek, and wrapped the other one around his neck, keeping him there with her.

Kassein’s kiss was slow, and a bit gawky, as if he was voluntarily holding himself back.

He wasn’t using his tongue, just kissing and plucking her lips, at a furiously slow pace.

Now Alezya was the one growing impatient, her body heating up faster than she could bear. ..

“ Aqayir. ”

They stopped, Alezya surprised by Tievin’s voice. She glanced back while Kassein was already glaring at the intruder. How long had... that man been here?

She blushed, hiding her face against Kassein’s shoulder as his arm wasn’t releasing her one bit. She’d thought they were alone, but Kassein didn’t seem too surprised to see the scrawny man. Had he heard Tievin arrive?

Her blush deepened, what had just happened finally dawning on her.Since when was she so bold?! And that kiss...

She licked her lower lip very faintly. She hadn’t expected Kassein to respond to her childish kiss with a passionate one. She could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers, and his torso being inches away from her face didn’t help her cool down either.

Kassein and Tievin seemed to be arguing, the first one sounding pissed and the other one in his usual monotone tone, but Alezya didn’t care for their conversation.

Instead, she was trying to recollect herself, and it wasn’t easy when she was still firmly held in Kassein’s arm, with nowhere to run. S

he glanced to the side hoping to see something that would distract her, and her eyes landed on Kein.

The dragon was busy playing with a bone it had licked clean.

.. along with more in a pile underneath it.

There was a lot of blood on the snow, but not a bit of human flesh or clothing left.

Confirming that dragons could eat humans was quite an effective cool-down.

Kein suddenly burped loudly, and she grimaced.

Not the dragon’s usual breakfast, probably. ..

While she couldn’t understand what Tievin and Kassein were arguing about, Alezya could hear the latter getting more and more annoyed. Was Tievin pestering him about the killings, or about her?

She’d rather not know and avoided looking at him for that reason.

That, and she was still ashamed to have been caught kissing their leader.

As the dragon toying with human bones grossed her out a bit, she turned her head in the opposite direction, and this time, she could only look at the mountains.

.. Those mountains were the ones above Kassein’s dwelling, but they still made her think about her clan and the people her father had watching her.

Would they have witnessed her kissing Kassein?

She hadn’t done it for any calculated reason, but it might not be a bad thing if they had indeed witnessed it.

It would make them believe she was complying with their plan.

.. when she was, in fact, doing everything she could to counter it.

The only part she wouldn’t lie about was getting closer to Kassein.

She felt guilty on the account of Kassein having no idea he was part of an evil scheme, but Alezya’s feelings were sincere.

She craved his warmth and kindness far more than his protection.

For the first time since she’d been repudiated by the man who’d once been her husband, she felt the desire to seduce and be desired by a man.

His argument with Tievin was lasting a while though, and he was getting more and more annoyed and silent while Tievin was rambling.

.. He wasn’t going to seriously get mad at him, right?

Tievin didn’t seem like a nice person, but he looked essential to the Dragon Clan.

At least, that was the only reason she could see for such a scrawny man to be there despite standing out like a sore thumb amongst all those warriors.

She shyly glanced up at Kassein, and half a second later, he happened to be glancing down at her too.

Their eyes met, and a faint smirk appeared on his lips, while Alezya blushed and looked away.

No, he definitely wasn’t really mad at Tievin.

.. but she was getting tired of listening to that man’s monologue too.

Instead of fighting Kassein’s unmovable arm around her, she turned around in his embrace to face Tievin and smiled at him, making him finally stop his interminable speech.

“ Tievin ,” she smiled. “ Taam ?”

He frowned at her. Either he could tell she was deliberately changing whatever topic he was on or he was annoyed to be cut off, she couldn’t tell. He stared at her for a few seconds, with an empty gaze that reminded her of a fish on land.

She knew he didn’t like her much, and he wasn’t trying to hide it. Still, Alezya smiled anyway, trying to ignore that deadpan and annoyed expression of his. Tievin was nothing compared to the other men here, at least she was confident she would not have to fear him of all people.

Then, he rolled his eyes as if she couldn’t see it, or he didn’t care if she did, and turned around, taking a large detour around Kein. She felt Kassein chuckle behind her, and he put his chin on her shoulder.

“ Hungry? ” he whispered.

She nodded, happy to understand that word.

“ Mada huri hadu kuha? ”

This time, she was the one to roll her eyes.

How was he expecting her to understand all that?

She only knew kuha which meant to eat...

After a second of thinking about each word he’d uttered though, she could only think of a handful of possible meanings, the most likely one was that he wanted to know what she wanted to eat. Was that it?

“ Meat, ” she answered with one of her favorite words in his language.

He finally released his grip a bit to step up next to her and look at her with a faint, amused smile.

Alezya realized she had guessed right, and felt even prouder.

She was really looking forward to learning more from Lorey now.

.. The mere idea that she and Kassein would one day be able to have a proper chat was making her excited.

There was so much she wanted to tell him, and even more she wanted to ask him.