Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,87

made us enemies. Not me.”

“If I recall correctly, you’re the one who attacked my people with ice.”

“Ice that they’re immune to. It’s not like it hurt them.”

He leaned forward and snatched a piece of chicken off her plate.

“Hey!” She scowled. “There’s more chicken on the platter. That one is mine.”

Grinning, he popped it into his mouth and chewed. “Whoops.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a berry and tossed it at his face. It splatted on his cheek. Eislyn’s heart nearly stopped in her chest as it slowly slid down his chin. His eyes flashed with darkness, and she wanted nothing more than to rewind time and take it back.

He was Emperor Lir, and she was his prisoner wife. He didn’t need to tell her that she’d overstepped her bounds.

His lips curled. “Well. That settles it then. You will spend the night chained to my wrist, after all.”

Lir hadn’t been joking. After she’d eaten, he slid the bonds around her wrists and led her into his bedchamber. She swallowed hard at the sight of his bed. It was twice the size of hers, and luxurious silk sheets swept across it, inviting her to climb inside and drift into a world of luscious sensations.

“That’s quite the bed,” she said around a lump of coal in her throat.

He shot her a wicked grin. “Eager for it, are you?”

She flushed. “No.”

“Is that a lie, Princess Eislyn Darragh?” The smile dropped from his face, darkness churning in his eyes.

“Of course not,” she snapped back. “Stop assuming I’m desperate to be around you. You annoy me. In fact, I’d rather sleep in the dungeons than in the bed with you.”

“Well, if that isn’t incentive to lock you up in here with me, then I don’t know what is.” His smile widened.

All she could do was scowl.

Thankfully, he left the room when she changed into her nightdress, and waited until she’d climbed into the bed to return. Despite her irritation at him, Eislyn couldn’t help but sigh when the soft silk hugged her body like a soft caress. She fell back onto the pillows, her silver hair framing her face like a tangle of wild thorns.

Emperor Lir strode up to the bed in his silk black trousers, cinched low around his waist. She swallowed hard as her eyes tripped along the ridges of his abs. His glistening bronze skin glowed even in the darkness of the room. Without a word of warning, he climbed into the bed beside her.

Her heart hammered her ribs as she held out her wrists. “Go on then.”

“No chains,” he murmured, sliding onto his side to gaze at her. “I fear we’ll both struggle to sleep with them on.”

She frowned, even as relief soothed her frayed nerves. “I thought that’s why you brought me in here. What changed?”

“I can keep an eye on you without them.”

“What if I try to murder you in your sleep?”

“You won’t.”

“You’re my enemy. Maybe I will.”

“I’m your husband,” he said with a lazy smile. “You could not kill me even if you tried.”

Dammit.

“You know what? I really hate magic,” she muttered.

“And yet you fae are so desperate to have it again.” His dark lashes flared across his cheeks as his gaze turned intent. “You think your lives would be better if you could wield the power of ice or shadows or air again.”

She twisted toward him just as he wet his lips. Her eyes caught on his tongue, nearly stopping her heart in her chest. As her breath came out hot and fast, she struggled to focus on his question. Tension pounded against her skull, tempting to pull her closer to Lir.

This is ridiculous, she thought. Why are you reacting to him like this?

“Um.” She cleared her throat and tried to quiet her wild thoughts. “I mean, why wouldn’t it improve our lives? For one, we would live far longer than we can now.”

“Immortality is not all it is cracked up to be.” Sighing, he closed his eyes. “In fact, it can be quite lonely.”

Her heart shuddered against her ribs. Was this why he’d married her? Because he was lonely? It made a twisted sort of sense. She’d rarely seen him with any friends. His meetings with others were formal and brief, and he rarely dined in the hall with members of the nobility.

When she’d first met him, he’d come across so harsh and cruel, but she had to admit that she’d seen a different side of him since then. He cared about his subjects. He didn’t use harsh