he’ll tell you the story.”
“What story?” I asked.
“Duncan’s always loved you,” he said. “But even I can’t get the story out of him. What happened, how you broke him. And you don’t remember.”
I faced Duncan, who had his hand on the doorknob to our room and a look on his face that was more terrified than when he faced any monster.
“Well?” I asked. “Is it story time?”
Duncan glared between the two of us, then said, “I’m going for a walk. Going to check the village security.”
“So many words to say I’m running away.” I said lightly, even though my heart was beating faster.
Duncan leveled me with a look. “Believe me, Princess, I doubt you want to hear it.” Then he pushed past Azrael before jogging down the stairs.
“Well, there’s no more dignified way to put it!” I called after him. “You are running away!”
Azrael rested his palm lightly over my mouth, cutting off whatever else I was going to call after Duncan. “You are especially feisty tonight.”
“I think we’re all a little extra, thanks to Tiron,” I said.
He was smiling at me. His body was so close, even now that he’d taken his palm from my lips, and I breathed in that warm, spicy scent that made me think of lying in front of a cozy fireplace.
He ran his thumb over my lower lip. “You are very scary. I can see why Duncan had to run away.”
“Oh?” I asked, brows arching. He leaned forward, and my back arched, my face tilting up toward him. His lips met mine in a soft caress. He tasted like wine and chocolate.
“Funny,” I breathed into his mouth. “Because you don’t seem very scared at all.”
He was still kissing me as the two of us fell through the door and into the bedroom.
Chapter Eight
Azrael closed the door behind him with his back, and as soon as he did, I leapt into his arms, knowing he’d catch me. My legs wrapped around his waist as his shoulders slammed back into the door, and the building felt like it shook. He half-smiled against my lips. His palms cupped my ass, holding me lightly against his body.
“For tonight,” I breathed, “Let’s pretend things are simple between us.”
His lips pressed mine in a long, breathless kiss that stole the air from my lungs. I cupped his jaw with my hand; he’d shaved after his bath, and his skin was fresh and smooth, the scent of cloves clinging to his skin. He broke away from the kiss, then seemed to change his mind and kissed the corner of my mouth.
“Some things really are simple,” he said, punctuating his words with another kiss. “I always want you, Alisa.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right. You always want sex—that’s not exactly romantic, Az.”
“No,” he said, and the vehemence in his voice surprised me. “I always want you.”
I gazed into those intense purple eyes. “You said I was your first.”
“You were my only,” he corrected. “I never wanted anyone else after you.”
That was sweet, or was it? “Did I ruin you?” I asked, suddenly worried that I’d traumatized him so badly he’d never wanted to be with another girl.
He chuckled, a low, warm sound that lit a glow in my chest. There was something unexpectedly tender when he kissed the bridge of my nose. “In the best of ways.”
The last twenty-four hours seemed suddenly overwhelming. The way the village had treated me as a hero, being hailed as the true queen, Azrael’s unexpected tenderness… things had changed so much since I left the castle.
But I hadn’t changed. What if these were the only few moments in my life when the world saw me this way? What if the woman they saw right now was a lie?
I decided to phrase it as a joke, but my heart was beating faster right now.
“I don’t know if I’m—” I began.
He suddenly turned, pinning me between him and the wall, before his warm palm covered my mouth and nose. He warned, “Don’t doubt yourself.”
“If you put your hand over my mouth one more time,” I said, my voice muffled, “I’m going to bite you, and not in a fun way.”
But my irritation had driven away all that self-doubt that threatened to overwhelm me a moment before. Lord, he was bossy.
“Oh really?” He suddenly dropped his hand—a wise choice—but he was already capturing my wrists in one hand. He drew my wrists up over my head, pinning me to the wall as he captured my lips with his. He kissed