Page 29 of The Ruthless Fae King
This kiss saidI approve of what you did.
It saidI appreciate you.
It saidthank you.
It saidsomuch more.
Kissing a man like Lucien Thorne was nothing like kissing the boys behind school. This kiss promised that one day when we bedded, there would be more where that came from. There would be pleasure for both of us.
When he finally pulled back, I was panting. I hated that he’d stopped, but also I was grateful. I was not sure I ever would have, and Piper was a rule breaker, so she would let it go on forever. But if we were seen it would tarnish my reputation and he knew that.
He was lightly holding my throat, his lips glistening with my saliva when he leaned in and whispered into my ear: “Had I known you kissed like that, I would have doubled your dowry.”
I grinned at the compliment as he pulled away from me.
“Well, goodnight,” I said stupidly, my mind still on his tongue and how he tasted and smelled and felt.
I turned to go get Piper for our walk back to our room.
“Madelynn,” he called, and I spun to face him, still breathless. “Would you have killed Marcelle?”
His question shocked me, but not more than the answer. Lucien had poured his heart out in front of a room full of strangers. He’d humbled himself before that widow and bowed to her. And Marcelle ruined it.
“Yes,” I said honestly, and then turned before I could see the response on his face.
I didn’t want to know if he was disappointed or delighted with my answer. Though I believed I knew Lucien well enough now to know it was the latter.
SEVEN
We got out of Summer Court before the sun had even risen. Things going down with Marcelle last night were not good, so if there were a true rebellion we could be in trouble. I’d barely slept, replaying that kiss over and over in my head. It was like we’d been made for each other, fitting together perfectly, our tongues dancing to the same song. Piper kept asking me to describe the kiss and swooning as she fell back on the couch clutching her romance novel.
“You’re Elowyn,” she would say, and we would start to giggle.
Now we rode for Winter Court. It would be nearly a full day’s journey having to cross through the corner of Spring Court and then into Winter to parade through town. Lucien took turns sitting in the carriage with me for a few hours while I read, and then riding on horseback with his soldiers for a bit while I talked to Piper.
When we were nearly to the Winter Court border, the smell of smoke filtered through the carriage and I popped my head out to see a fire in the distance.
Our little caravan had stopped, and Lucien was speaking with his soldiers.
“Could be a trap to lure us over there,” his lead guardsman said.
I slipped out of the caravan and stepped onto the highest stair, looking at the flames touching the top of the building. It was a farmhouse and it was on fire.
“Are we in Spring?” I asked, noticing the beautiful flowers and damp earth.
Lucien turned back to me. “Yes, so either that fae doesn’t have much power to make it rain, or it’s a trick.”
“You can freeze people where they stand and I can pull the breath from their lungs. What are we waiting for, let’s go offer help. If it’s a trick, we kill them,” I said plainly.
Lucien looked to his lead guard with a raised eyebrow and then at me. “Have I mentioned how much I love your secretly violent nature?”
I scoffed. “I’m not violent!”
Lucien kicked his horse lightly and it turned around, coming to my side. “Well then, Princess, let’s go see what we can do to help or hurt these people.”
Well, when he put it like that, itdidsound violent. I merely meant that if it were a trick, we could easily overpower the bandits.
I lowered myself onto his horse, sitting sidesaddle and then slipping my arms around his waist. I tried not to focus on the hard muscle beneath my fingers or the fresh pine smell of his hair. I really tried not to remember the way he tasted, like mint and honey.
