Page 54 of Lady Knight and the Thief

“I have to show you something. Come with me,” he said, and didn’t give her the opportunity to decline when he tugged her by the hand after him.

“What is it, Torren?” Cypress growled when they left the throne room and the echoing thrumming music played by skilled musicians behind.

Again, he looked Cypress up and down, eyes pausing on the jumping pulse point on her neck. “Do you remember how I told you Pixie wine would affect the Fair Folk differently?”

Cypress sighed, rolling her eyes. “Yeah. Are you trying to ward me off from enjoying myself?”

“No… It’s not that…” Torren said, trailing off, as if he was afraid to finish his thought.

“What, Torren? Out with it.”

“You… You seem to be reacting to the wine more like…” Again, Torren didn’t finish his sentence, making Cypress grit her teeth.

“Torren, if you don’t just say it, I might actually strangle you.”

“The way the Pixie wine is affecting you, it’s like you have Fair Folk blood. By the looks of it, Pixie,” He said, tongue darting out to sweep across his bottom lip.

Cypress’s focus snagged on the motion, the shape of Torren’s lips.

“Did you hear me, Lass?”

Cypress blinked, mentally shaking herself. “What do you mean I’m reacting as if I have Pixie blood?” She demanded, shifting her weight once more.

Torren took a step toward her, then another, and Cypress mirrored the steps until her back hit the wall, and the two of them were tucked inside a small alcove,justout of view.

Green and gold leaves shifted, further shielding them from view.

With half-lidded eyes, Torren asked, “Tell me, Lass… Does your pulse rush when I’m this close to you? Do you feel reckless? Like, there is no relief to your torment?”

He loomed over her, arms braced on either side of the wall behind her.

Cypress’s breath caught. “I…” She swallowed, lifting her chin. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”

Torren groaned; the sound sent an echoing pulse to the apex of her thighs. “Ye don’t?” he asked in a thick voice and stepped closer, his thigh nearly between Cypress’s.

When Torren’s hand touched her waist, Cypress’s eyes fluttered shut, the barest of breathy sounds leaving her lips.

“You’re a little liar, Lass,” he whispered against her skin.

“That heat, that frenzied feeling in your loins? That’s the pixie wine. If you were entirely human, you would be unconscious now,” Torren groaned, breath heavy in her ear.

“What makes you so sure?” Cypress asked, her body quivering from the contact, her knees nearly giving out.

“Because, Lass, the last time I was this close to you, you had me on my ass before I could even think straight,” Torren said, the barest graze of his lips against her neck, their bodies now flush.

The spark of pleasure between her thighs at the contact was enough to snap her out of the fog, even if the undulating waves of heat hadn’t stopped pummeling her body from every connection point they shared.

When she pulled out of Torren’s grasp, his hands chased after her, like he’d pull her back.

“Okay. Thanks for telling me,” Cypress muttered, clearing her throat.

Torren swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, arms once more braced on the wall above her head.

Neither of them moved for a few breaths, eyes locked on each other. When she couldn't take it anymore, Cypress asked, “Is there something else?”

Torren rubbed the back of his neck, giving her a guilty look. “Well… It’s not uh… Not going to go away on its own.”

“What won't?”