“They came to the area when Adrastus was still very much alive. Doran had joined the king’s army so she stayed close by most of the time. One day, I slipped out to the market in a neighboring village, and well,” she laughed, “I bumped into something I couldn’t see. When I knocked into her, she materialized right in front of my eyes, apologizing profusely. She had been peeking around a tree, too nervous, I guess, to enter the market. But we talked, I took her arm, and we went into the market together. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“She was invisible?” I asked, my eyes wide.
“Yes, that is her magic, to be able to blend into her surroundings.”
“Oh, wow,” I replied, making a mental note to be aware when she was near.
I hadn’t been to the breakfast room before, but as we rounded the corner, my mouth fell open. A wall of windows. It reminded me of our breakfast room at home in that way, but where ours overlooked the border mountains, these looked over the ocean.
An image of my mother eating alone flashed in my mind and sadness threatened to crush me. Taking a forced breath, I stifled it, as I was constantly doing lately.I would be home soon,I reminded myself, but I didn’t know if the thought was even reassuring anymore. Just a fact that stayed in the forefront of my mind.
As I stepped closer, I realized the entire wall wasn’t actually windows at all. It was open, just as every other window in the castle, separating the room from the great vastness it overlooked with just a thin spell.
Glancing at the table, it was long and rectangular. My eyes followed to one end, where they found Rogue—his eyes already locked on me, his lips parted slightly.
He was wearing a black tunic, open at the buttons, and his usual black leather trousers. His hair was hanging in loose waves around his face and his crimson wings were on full display, relaxed behind him. As my eyes met his, my heart raced and heat filled me, craving his touch. I stood tall, resisting the urge to fling myself into his arms, even as my body longed for him.
His scent reached me then—smoke and evergreen—and I inhaled deeply, reveling in it. It was engraved in my senses by now.
Wetness pooled between my thighs, and I swallowed hard, my eyes never leaving his.
Suddenly, as if he could sense my reaction, he tensed. His eyes were dark as they slowly roamed down the length of my body, taking in every inch, lingering on my exposed hips. Under the heat of his gaze, the room felt warmer, flushing my cheeks, and Thana cleared her throat as if she could feel it too.
“I-Enjoy your breakfast,” she said quickly as she spun on her heel and strode through the door. I turned to reach for her, but she was already gone, the door clicking shut in her wake.
We were alone.
The blush deepened in my cheeks, and I took my seat across the table, avoiding his gaze.
Chapter Twenty
Ara
After I finished eating, he spoke, finally breaking the silence.
“You’re avoiding me.”
“What do you mean? I’m right here.”
“Look at me,” he demanded and I clenched my jaw, staring down at my plate. His chair screeched as he slid it back and my eyes jerked up to him, my mouth falling open as he stalked around the table.
He pulled my chair out from the table and knelt in front of me, grabbing my chin with his thumb and forefinger, and turned my face to his. I met his gaze, heart pounding in my chest.
“Do you still not want me?” I shook my head and he released a low, breathy laugh. “Are you sure?”
His free hand slowly slid up my arm and I closed my eyes. He inched his way to my shoulder, rubbing his thumb along the bite mark. A bolt of white-hot desire shot through me, pulling a gasp from my lips, and his grip tightened on my chin.
“Look. At. Me.” He demanded and my eyes snapped open to him. “I can feel it. Your desire for me. Your arousal.” He rubbed his thumb along the bite mark again and I moaned, leaning into his hand. “With this delicious little mark, I will always know when you are in need of me.”
I should be shocked, disgusted… But it only flamed the raging fire that spread through me at his touch. At his words.
“Tell me to stop.”
I paused, searching his face for something, anything, to snap me out of it. To remind me why this was wrong. But every thought I’d had for days dissipated at the intensity in his eyes. The sincerity.
He wanted me just as badly.
“I’m not agreeing to be your mate,” I whispered and he dropped his gaze, nodding.