From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,85

and then dipped his chin, causing me to tense. “I thought you liked to talk, Princess.” He paused. “Or is that only when you’re at the Red Pearl?”

I said nothing to that.

“You’re not going to pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about, are you?” he asked. “That you’re not her?”

I pulled on my arms. “Let me go.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” He turned sharply, and suddenly, my back and the bow were against the stone wall of the Rise. The contact sent a dull wave of fire over my healing back, but he pressed in, caging my body with his. There was barely an inch between us. “After all we shared? You throw a dagger at my face?”

“All we shared? It was a handful of minutes and a few kisses,” I said, and the truth of that struck me with startling clarity. That was all we’d shared. Gods, I was so…sheltered. Because in my limited experience, it had become…so much more to me. The wake-up call that it was only a few kisses was utterly brutal.

“It was more than a few kisses.” His voice dropped low. “If you’ve forgotten, I’m more than willing to remind you.”

Tiny coils of tension formed in my stomach. Part of me wanted to be reminded of what I surely had not forgotten. Thank the gods, the smarter, logical part of me won out. “There was nothing worth remembering.”

“Now you insult me after throwing a dagger at my face? You’ve wounded my tender feelings.”

“Tender feelings?” I snorted. “Don’t be overdramatic.”

“Hard not to be when you threw a dagger at my head and then cut my neck,” he shot back, his grip on me surprisingly gentle compared to the hardness of his tone.

“I knew you’d move out of the way.”

“Did you? Is that why you tried to slice open my throat?” His golden eyes burned from beneath heavy, thick lashes.

“I nicked your skin,” I corrected. “Because you had a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Obviously, you haven’t learned anything from it.”

“I’ve actually learned a lot, Princess. That’s why your hands and your dagger aren’t getting anywhere near my neck.” His thumb slid over the inside of my wrist as a reminder, and my fingers spasmed around the handle of my weapon. “But if you let go of the dagger, there’s a whole lot of me I’ll let your hands get close to.”

I choked on my next breath. Did he not realize who he was speaking to? Was the sound of my voice so common that he had no idea it was me? But if he hadn’t figured it out yet, that meant I still had the advantage. A small one, but still. “How generous of you,” I retorted.

“Once you get to know me, you’ll find that I can be quite benevolent.”

“I have no intention of getting to know you.”

“So, you just make a habit of sneaking into the rooms of young men and seducing them before running off?”

“What?” I gasped. “Seducing men?”

“Isn’t that what you did to me, Princess?” His thumb made another slow sweep along the inside of my wrist.

“You’re ridiculous,” I sputtered.

“What I am is intrigued.”

Groaning, I pulled at my arms, and he chuckled in response, eyes reminding me of pools of warm honey. “Why do you insist on holding me like this?”

“Well, besides what we went over already, which is the whole being partial to my face and my neck thing, you’re also somewhere you’re not supposed to be. I’m doing my job by detaining and questioning you.”

“Do you typically question those on the Rise who you don’t recognize like this?” I challenged. “What an odd method of interrogation.”

“Only pretty ladies with shapely, bare legs.” He leaned in, and when I took my next breath, my chest met his. “What are you doing up here during a Craven attack?”

“Enjoying a relaxing evening stroll,” I snapped.

His lips curled up on one side, but there was no dimple. “What were you doing up here, Princess?” he repeated.

“What did it look like I was doing?”

“It looked like you were being incredibly foolish and reckless.”

“Excuse me?” Disbelief thundered through me. “How reckless was I being when I killed Craven and—”

“Am I unaware of a new recruitment policy were half-dressed ladies in cloaks are now needed on the Rise?” he asked. “Are we that desperately in need of protection?”

Anger hit my blood like wildfire. “Desperate? Why would my presence on the Rise signal desperation when, as you’ve seen, I know how to use a