My hair was a dark auburn, even richer now that I'd turned fae, but nothing like Hellene's hair had been—a shade away from crimson. I loved that color.
And yet, I loved the combination of forest green against midnight black even more. The exotic tilt of Kardri's eyes, his high cheekbones, and strong nose. The way his hair gleamed like gold but also deepened to a rich brown, creating a bronzed effect. That was exceptionally beautiful. Broad shoulders and the power they represented—that was fucking thrilling, not just pretty. Hard muscles pressed against mine. A tight ass, rounding into my hands. A firm shaft in my mouth or my . . . whoa that had gone naughty fast. I mentally shook myself.
Just looking at Kardri had made me hard. Hellene hadn't done that to me, even with the memory of my first time helping her. Prince Storme didn't do it for me either, but that was more to do with the fact that he was an asshole than me not being attracted to him. I could appreciate his beauty. In fact, I appreciated it enough to be wary of it. He was nearly as handsome as Kardri, and that kind of attractiveness could be used as a weapon. Especially when my arsenal was so lacking by comparison. Could Storme lure Kar back to him?
I scowled as I thought about those strange pieces of—I didn't even know what to call them—furniture? Devices? Equipment? The things in Kar's bedroom. The things the Prince had taught Kardri to enjoy. The stuff I had said no to. Shit. I was gonna have to suck it up and do something really freaky with him. But he was worth it, and I was a soldier; I was always up for a fight. If the Prince thought he could brush me aside just because he was prettier than me, he was going to find out just what this naughty captain was willing to do to keep his warlord.
“Are you ready to order, my lords?” The waiter was back with our wine and appetizers.
He set a platter of little crispy things down before pouring our wine. As he poured, he smiled at Kardri, but his stare kept sliding back to me. I blinked in surprise. I was still getting used to all of this attention, especially the male attention, and it really surprised me when I was with Kardri. Not because of that whole rude flirting thing—this guy wasn't grabbing my ass, just looking—but because Kardri was so much more attractive than me. I couldn't understand why they would choose to look at me when they could look at him instead.
I gave the waiter a polite grin. “My boyfriend's going to order for us. He knows what's good here.”
“Yes, of course, my lord,” the waiter said while Kardri beamed at me.
Kar ordered lots of food. I heard the words and recognized most of them but didn't understand what they meant pushed together as they were. While he ordered, I popped one of the appetizers into my mouth and groaned in delight. I didn't care what he ordered anymore. After tasting that thing, I was confident it would be good.
The waiter left and as I watched him glide down the steps to the main part of the restaurant, a flap of wings caught my attention again. Ry'zaran was still sitting atop the elevator, but now he was thrumming his feet against the structure like a child, his food and wine gone. When he noted my attention, he looked once again toward Storme's table and shook his head. The Prince was getting up with a determined look on his face.
“There's a storm coming, Leopard Lord,” I gave the grim weather report.
Kardri glanced unerringly in Storme's direction and groaned. “What is wrong with that man?”
“Arrogance, privilege, a sense of entitlement—”
He stopped me with a lifted hand and a laugh. “Are you talking about him or me?”
“Yes,” I said with a grin. “But with you it's endearing. With him, it's just annoying.”
Kardri burst out laughing. He was still laughing when Storme reached us. The Prince had a smile pasted on his face but it looked strained, especially when he noted how unrestrained Kardri's laughter was. Other than that, the Leopard Prince was breathtaking, the top portion of his long, raven hair pulled back into a braid that mimicked a crown while the rest hung around his shoulders. The pulled-up style brought out the striking angles of his face while also reminding everyone of