Page 120 of Death of a Mortal

Drayce had hoisted me—gently this time, in light of our late-night, wine-induced conversation—into the saddle of a sleek black horse and then positioned himself right behind me.

Right up against me.

So I sat forward slightly, holding the horn of the leather saddle, back stiff as a board, and quickly grew uncomfortable. Not to mention the sway and jostle of the horse’s quick steps. I decided I did not like riding horses.

I was positioned between Drayce’s lean, muscular thighs, and he held the reins lazily in one hand in front of me, making it difficult to lean too far away from his chest.

“You seem uncomfortable. If you relax, you’ll be far less sore,” he said from way too close.

“Relaxing would create a lot of unwanted contact.”

“Suit yourself. Don’t let me hear you whining tomorrow.”

It didn’t take long for my lower back to scream in pain, so I took a deep breath and relaxed, the entire lower half of my back leaning into his front.

I could feel all his tight stomach muscles and his body heat, and it made warmth flood into my core when I realized I couldfeelhim against my ass.

Gods, I could not think about that. My cheeks heating was bad enough.

I heard him take a small breath, as if about to speak.

“Not a word,” I added quickly before he could say anything.

He huffed out a laugh but said nothing, tightening his hold on the reins and boxing me in even more.

He was enjoying this.

Okay, two could play this game…

I adjusted myself in the seat a bit, backing more fully into his crotch instead of his stomach, making him stiffen and his stomach muscles tense.

“Do you have enough room, Drayce? Just want to make sure you’re as comfortable as I am.” I arched my back and stretched my arms high above me for added effect.

He just grunted—point for Naci.

But then he reached around me with his free hand and split the reins between both, resting each hand on one of my thighs, making me take in a sharp breath. The contact made my skin tingle and my pulse quicken.

Damn him. We were now even in this game.

But I would not allow that.

“I’m going to take a little nap. Wake me when we get there,” I said.

Before he could respond, I leaned all the way back, my shouldersresting against his chest, and positioned my head to rest against the side of his neck. There wasn’t a hair’s breadth of space between us now, and I felt him grow hard against my backside.

Point back to Naci. I smiled before I could stop myself, letting my eyes fall closed to sell the fib.

He lowered his head so that we were cheek to cheek, making my eyes fly open. “That’s fine. I know you’ll dream of the things I could do if you were facing me.” He leaned further down until I could feel his hot breath on my neck. “I won’t tell anyone if you moan my name in your sleep.”

Oh, fuck.There was no winning this game. To win, I would need to make a very stupid decision. But gods, I wanted to so badly in this moment.

I used my better judgment, despite the heady fog surrounding my brain, and sat back up so that only my lower back was against his stomach.

He laughed once more but said nothing.

He knew he had won. The sour taste of defeat was enough to calm my heated thoughts. I’d thought briefly, maybe this was the best way to get over Varyn. But now that I was thinking clearly, I knew how poor a choice that would be.

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