Caged Kitten (All the Queen's Men #2) - Rhea Watson Page 0,162
proud like the galaxy’s most phallic tower ever—we still hadn’t stopped teasing him about it. Arched open windows lined the walls on either side, allowing the air to flow through—air that was always like that first breath of fall, crisp and cool and perfect for snuggling under the blankets with a man who burned hot as the sun. Or a man as cold as ice.
Or a fae just uniquely skilled with his impish tongue.
While illuminated by the enchanted orbs, charmed to look like floating stars, light as bubbles and warm to the touch, the hallway was filled with shadows—the perfect hunting ground for a vampire.
The alluring air shattered a little when Fintan and Elijah lolled around the corridor’s slight bend. Arms thrown over each other’s shoulders, drunk and merry, they started up an old fae tune, Elijah’s deep baritone the perfect complement to Fintan’s rich tenor. My dragon had proven himself quite talented at picking up obscure and useless languages—as Rafe had dubbed them—and, ugh, gods, it was hot as hell to have him and Fintan whisper filthy things to me in a dialect as old as time.
Best of all, it made my heart happy to see the pair getting along.
To see them all bonding—and not just because of me, but because they enjoyed each other’s company.
A clan of misfits.
After a quick scan of the shadows, I turned slowly and continued my amble down the corridor, hands in my luxurious skirts. Every outfit I wore was fit for a queen, my closets filled to the brim by Fintan’s sisters—who had showed up that first day to discover their brother’s girl severely hungover and in possession of nothing beyond a prison jumpsuit to wear to court. After that, it was one magnificent gown after the other, and once I had stopped puking up fae wine, me and the princesses got along just fine. Some better than others, but he had nine sisters—the odds were stacked against me that I would be besties with all of them.
Tonight was no exception to the fancy-dress policy. After all, I had appearances to maintain in court, and I did so in a beautiful silvery-white gown patterned with glittering stars. The thin straps over my shoulders probably wouldn’t last the night, the men behind me prone to destroying my outfits, and the plunging neckline had kept Fintan distracted for most of dinner. And the skirt, oh—flouncy and layered, the material fell like petals to the ground and had pockets. Practical and breathtaking.
Every arched window I passed opened to the magnificence of the Midnight Court. The kingdom glittered all around the palace, a court made wealthy by the abundance of diamonds in their mountains. Blanketed in midnight, the city reflected the sky, thousands of little white lights sparkling like the unfettered stars above. Surrounded by majesty—but here, in this winding corridor, also totally alone. Fintan’s personal guard had left us at the entrance to the prince’s domain.
And that was just the way we liked it.
“Come here, little witch…” Rafe’s seductive growl made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and sent a flood of giddy goose bumps down my arms. Lower lip caught between my teeth, I slowed, sensing he was close, maybe even right on my heels, then whipped around to find… nothing.
Same old corridor, Elijah and Fintan still a ways down, singing and laughing and teetering side to side.
Sober as ever, Rafe had all the power tonight.
And that was just the way I liked it.
I sprinted down the stone corridor with a giggle, skirt trailing behind me like a comet’s tail, like I was the heroine of an epic fantasy romance being pursued by her lover. And I was, of course, being pursued—more like hunted, not just by a lover, but a predator too.
Hair blazing, wild and free, I threw a glance over my shoulder, expecting to find a shadow in the shape of a man—nothing. Again. Lips pursed, I faced forward—then screeched when I crashed into Rafe’s much too solid chest. Clad in a full black suit, right down to the socks and the tie, luxe and rich beneath my fingers as they clawed at him, shoved at him like an escape was even possible. When our eyes met, hunger and desire blazed bright in his, and with a flash of golden fang, he hauled me off to the side and thrust me up against a patch of wall between two arched windows.