Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,30

something?” Grace continued.

Fiora tried to think of a clever riddle, but she had a difficult time. Talking to them wasn’t like telling fortunes in front of a crowd.

No, not them. Him. Jaxx.

“I tried to have my vocal cords disintegrated once when the Federation was putting me into a medical booth,” Fiora admitted. “They caught the programming code and stopped it before the damage was done. It wasn’t very smart of me. Anything I do to myself, they’ll repair. The only thing they can’t fix is death.”

“Stop talking like that,” Salena said.

“Please don’t ask me any more about this.” Fiora looked to Salena, silently begging her to get them to stop questioning her.

“I apologize. I don’t mean any harm,” Grace said.

“How would you like it if you were asked personal questions you were forced to answer?” Jaxx countered.

“I only thought we might find a way to help make it better,” Grace said, sounding slightly defensive.

Salena gave a slight nod toward Fiora and winked. “You know, Grace, I’m curious about something. What is up with your betrothment? I heard you were engaged to a Var prince, but it sounds like you are avoiding him. When’s the big wedding?”

Grace’s eyes widened and seemed to flash with an inner fire. “I don’t recognize the betrothment because it frightens me to know my future has never been my own. I’m afraid that I’ll be trapped in a loveless, humorless marriage to a stuffy cat-shifter prince who will try to snuff out everything that I am. I resent my parents for agreeing to the treaty, even if they didn’t intend for it to hold. And I know, in the end, I’m going to be forced to marry a man I don’t love for the good of the kingdoms. I will do everything I must to put off the inevitable.”

Grace put her hands over her mouth as if to stem the flow of words.

“Not so fun when it’s you, is it?” Jaxx said.

Grace shook her head. “My apologies, Fiora. I won’t ask you any more questions.”

“I didn’t know you were frightened,” Grier said.

“Shut your black hole,” Grace grumbled, as she surged on ahead of them on the path to effectively cut off the conversation.

“She has a lot of anger and sorrow in her,” Fiora whispered as images of Grace’s future flowed through her mind. “If you could see her path, you wouldn’t tease her about it.”

Jaxx touched her arm, drawing her from any visions of the future. He glanced at his cousin and nodded that they should keep walking as he slowed his steps and kept her with him. When Grier and Salena followed Grace, Jaxx said, “I want you to know, I’m attracted to you, too.”

“I know. I heard you tell my sister,” Fiora answered. She hoped that meant they’d have sex soon. She could have tried to suppress the thought, but there was no use.

Jaxx grinned. “So, I wouldn’t be pushing past allowable limits if I…”

He stopped walking and cupped her face in his hands. His eyes moved to her mouth, and he hesitated before lowering his lips to hers. His kiss was warm and gentle and way too brief.

“…did this?” he finished.

Fiora shook her head in denial. “No.”

“And if I wanted to do it again? Would that be allowable?”

Fiora nodded, weakly whispering, “Yes.”

Jaxx’s mouth met hers in a deeper kiss. Her mind was devoid of premonitions, but her thoughts ran rampant as they all focused on him. She felt the breeze against her hands, heard the sound of the wind crashing the giant leaves together overhead. Dots of sunlight danced over Jaxx’s head. She kept her eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment. With Jaxx, she couldn’t predict what he would do next, and the not knowing both excited and frightened her. She wasn’t used to being surprised.

“I can’t do what I want at the moment. If I kiss you again, I think I might embarrass myself.” He glanced around at the trees and then down the path where their companions had gone. “This is not the place.”

At that, Fiora chuckled. “I’m kind of the queen of embarrassing myself. It’s mortifying to answer every question asked of me. Yeah, I was staring at your ass. Yeah, I want to have sex with you many, many times. Yeah, I’m going to tell my sister, your cousins, and anyone else who asks me about it. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but—”

He placed his finger against her lips, silencing her. “I don’t