and knees, with Kardri behind me. My pale body bent to accept his midnight cock, the curves of his ass clenching with every thrust, and his broad hands running over my back. I could even see the joyous expression on his beautiful face, so much happier than it was now. Then the image vanished, leaving me breathless.
I stood up abruptly. “Let's go for a walk.”
“A walk?” Kardri looked as if he didn't understand the concept.
“It's easy,” I assured him and took his hand. “You just put one foot in front of the other and repeat.”
“Yes, I know walking,” he grumbled as he let me pull him to his feet. He set his mug down and took a deep breath. Then he stepped forward and stumbled.
“Fuck!” I caught him. “How much have you had?”
“I'm not the one who can't say melancholy,” he growled.
“Great, I can't speak and you can't walk. We make an excellent team.”
Kardri grinned suddenly and it made me feel lighter. I smiled back and slung his arm around my shoulders.
“Come on, I wanna show you something.”
“You wanna show me something?” Kardri asked as if that were impossible.
“Yep.” I led him through his pack of worshipers, slapping away their hands as they reached for him. “Leave off, he's having a hard enough time walking as it is! Go back to your dancing. Put your dick away!”
Kardri chuckled and leaned on me.
“Fuck, Kar, you're heavy,” I muttered.
“My apologies.” He tried to right himself and stumbled.
“I've got new faerie muscles, remember?” I put him back where he was. “I'm just giving you shit.”
“You do that a lot, Captain.”
“It's called defection.”
“No, it's not.”
“Delection,” I tried again.
“That's not a word.”
“Defraction?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Defunction. De . . . aw, fuck, you know what I mean.”
“Deflection,” Kardri whispered and trailed a finger over my lips. “You're beautiful.”
I paused, and we just stared at each other. The campfire was finally behind us but still close enough that its light cast fascinating shadows over his face.
“Which is a good thing since you're such a moron,” he went on.
“You asshole!” I said, but I laughed my ass off.
Kardri laughed too. We kept laughing as we strolled/stumbled through camp, soldiers bowing to us as we passed by. I waved at them in a twirling, lordly manner, making Kardri laugh harder. He finally stopped laughing when I got him through the fae section of camp and out past the boundaries, into the woods.
“Where are you taking me?” The Leopard Lord stared around at the creaking trees and shadows with curiosity.
“It's a secret. Shh.”
I took him down an undefined path, ducking beneath some brambles and weaving around a tree draped in vines. I almost dropped him a couple of times, but we managed to stay upright and I managed to not get lost despite the utter darkness. At last, we stumbled into a tiny clearing, just six feet wide. Although the open ground went only a few feet forward, a deep pool extended another ten feet or so beyond it, ending in a rock cliff. Tree branches hung over the top of the clearing, hiding most of it from the sky, but the moon still managed to peep through and shine off the water, giving the place a magical glow.
“What is this place?” Kardri whispered as he sank onto the grass.
I sat down beside him and stared at the water. “This is where I come to be alone. I found it by accident.” I glanced at him and added, “I've never shown it to anyone, but you looked like you could use some peace, and it always makes me feel peaceful.”
A strange, soft expression slid over Kardri's face as he turned toward me—a goofy grin and a tender look in his eyes. It was the first time I'd seen him look so . . . real. His eyes started to shine, and I realized it was with tears.
“Damn, you really are a sappy drunk,” I teased.
“No one has ever shared anything important with me before,” he whispered as he took my hand.
“What do you mean?”
The Leopard Lord sighed and leaned his head back, looking at the moon through the trees. He set our joined hands in his lap, almost as if he'd forgotten about them. “I'm a warlord. I'm expected to be the aggressor. To seduce or take what I want.” He glanced at me with a rueful grin, then looked down at our hands. “Those men you see around my fire, they offer themselves to me every night, expecting