A heavy wave of disappointment flooded me.
“Looking for me?”
My breath hitched as he stepped out of the shadows by the small pond. The soft gleam of moonlight bounced off the rippling water, illuminating his black silhouette.
“Let’s say I was, then what?” I challenged with a false sense of bravado, desire ripping through me at the sound of his voice.
“Well, then I’d have to admit… I was rather hoping you’d follow me out,” he purred as he slunk forward, moving towards me like a predator to his prey.
Steeling myself, I took the last step between us to close the distance and reached up, grabbing both sides of his face to pull him down to me. His mouth crashed to mine and the smell of smoke and evergreen spice engulfed me, followed by the intense, overwhelming need for him.
He enveloped me. His mouth, his hands, his scent.
Him.
I pulled back, just for a moment, just to see his face, and he leaned forward, following me. When he opened his eyes, there was a heat behind them, restraint in every muscle of his body. But as I gazed at him, the look in his eyes changed to satisfaction, an arrogant smirk curving his lips. I stepped back in confusion.
Suddenly, a shimmer started behind his shoulders, a black shadow emerging from it. My eyes followed as the shimmer continued, stretching out away from his body, leaving a dark webbed skin in its wake. My heart thundered in my chest as enormous, leathery wings unfurled from his shoulder blades, and he snapped them out to full length.
My gaze slowly inched back to his face, snagging on his now-pointed ears, before reaching his eyes. He tilted his head, grinning, reveling in my reaction.
A scream crawled up my throat as terror iced in my veins.
He was Fae.TheFae that burned down the entire lookout tower, killing every man, and had been sneaking through Auryna undetected.
How could I be so foolish? My father had warned me.
I turned to run, but he quickly wrapped a thick, muscular arm around my waist, snatching me back to him and pulling my back flush to his chest.
Everypart of me was flush with him and I could feel him pressing into my backside.
“Oh, no you don’t,” he growled in my ear as he leaned down, towering over me. I could feel his breath along my neck and goosebumps spread like wildfire, flaming the lust that filled me.
I kicked and thrashed against him, attempting to free myself.
He chuckled darkly against my ear.
“Yes, keep writhing against me like that and see how far you get,” he whispered.
Gritting my teeth, I bent over to snatch the knife from my boot and stabbed it into his calf behind mine. He released me with an angry huff and I stumbled forward.
He ripped the knife out of his leg, tossing it into the pond. I turned in a panic to retrieve it as he grabbed my arm and yanked me back to him, glaring into my eyes with a mixture of lust and rage.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” His other arm wrapped tightly around my waist and in one powerful stroke of his wings, we shot to the sky. A scream escaped my throat just before the world went black and I fell unconscious.
* * *
As I stirred awake, the sound of bustling men and horses met my ears. I sat straight up, furs falling around my lap. My eyes darted about the unfamiliar room. It was a tent and the bed I was lying atop was the only thing in it besides a small fire in the center.
Hazy sunlight peeked through the closed flap door and the night before came crashing back. My chest was tight as my heart pounded, fear tensing my muscles.
If a Fae kidnapped me, then the sounds coming from outside the tent…
My hands shook as I slowly pulled the blanket back and rose from the bed, my bare feet hitting the ground. Glancing down, I was still in my clothing with my boots at the door, but my mother’s ring was gone. Surely stolen for its worth.
I took a deep breath against the rising panic as I tugged my boots on and pulled the flap door open, peeking my head out. My breath left me in a harsh gasp and I jerked back inside, my hands flying to either side of my head as the world swayed around me.
Fae.