KDBookOnline
Share Us
I just had to wait for Lachlan to return, and then…
And then I had no idea what would happen. He didn’t want to be out there, and neither did I. Rubbing my fingers together, I wished his hand was still in mine. That had to be the ambrosia’s fault. No wonder he’d given me that warning.
Leaving was a perfectly rational option, but if Ciara came looking for me, I’d feel terrible. I hoped she wouldn’t. I hoped she was having the time of her life and checking several people off her to-do list.
Food would be a distraction, but apparently, this was a liquid-only feast. Which seemed a shame because, honestly, I’d read quite a few sexy scenes involving food in a romance novel or two. I wondered if the fae were open to suggestions. I giggled to myself as I imagined what an orgy comment box would contain.
A few interested parties roved my way, and I offered them apologetic smiles before slipping deeper into the alcove, allowing the shadows to cloak me as I sipped my ambrosia and tried to find a safe place to rest my eyes.
It turned out the only safe place I could look was the floor, because it didn’t take long before casual flirting became more serious.
It wasn’t all that different from reading a book, I told myself, taking in the scene. In fact, it reminded me a little of a fairy tale retelling that I’d burned through last year. But this time, I didn’t have to imagine anything as fae coupled off around me, some even breaking into small groups. I watched as a few parties left the ballroom, heading upstairs to the massive beds that waited to welcome them and their partners for the evening. The less inhibited—and there were many of them—took to the walls or empty banquet tables along the edges of the room. Now I knew why no food had been laid out. I watched a male devouring a beautiful fae, the skirt of her gown hiked around her waist, her legs spread as he licked and sucked and nibbled. No man had ever touched me like that, devoured me like I was his last feast.
I could have that tonight, I realized—which was definitely the ambrosia talking. Lachlan had technically given me permission to take someone to bed. I didn’t doubt I could find a willing partner or two. The thought rocketed through me and landed with a low, persistent throb between my legs. The problem wasn’t having permission. It was that even as I watched, I knew I didn’t want any of them. I reached up and touched the skin behind my ear, remembering Lachlan’s stolen kiss. I belonged to someone else, like it or not. And I definitely did not.
Right?
“Mind if I hide with you?”
I startled as Oberon slipped beside me into the alcove. He was truly unspeakably hot, but I didn’t trust him. I pressed myself against the wall, clutching my glass of ambrosia to my chest, and nodded.
“Not your thing?” he asked.
“Will you think less of me if I say it isn’t?”
He chuckled. The laughter made his face look softer, almost human. Outside the alcove, someone moaned. Loudly. My eyes went wide, and Oberon chuckled again.
“Maybe we should find somewhere quieter,” he suggested, holding up his hands to show he wasn’t a threat. “No expectations.”
“That sounds exactly like what someone with expectations would say,” I pointed out. “You asked Lachlan to share earlier. Why aren’t you out there enjoying all of…” I flourished a hand at the debauchery before us.
“It’s not my thing, either,” he confessed. “I was only interested in you.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Why?”
“I’m doing this poorly.” He hung his head. “The Hallow Court is a bit more isolated than yours.”
My blood warmed at the idea that the Nether Court was mine.
“Honestly, I hate going to these things,” Oberon said. “I don’t have Lach’s swagger.”
Or his ego. I laughed at my own joke, and Oberon lifted a curious brow. “I was just thinking we could form a club for those of us who are not orgy regulars,” I said to him.
“Unfortunately, I suspect we’d be the only members.”
His voice was warm and welcoming, slightly musical, and it beckoned me. Not with the same magnetic force I felt when Lachlan walked into a room, but rather like the warm promise of a patch of sunlight on a cold day. My head spun a bit, imagining that the glow that seemed to emanate from his skin was sunshine itself.
He offered me his hand, and I stepped slightly out of the shadows, stumbling when my heel caught one of the sheer panels of my dress. How many glasses of ambrosia had I drunk?
“How did you get roped into coming here?” he asked as I tried to shake my heel free. “Something tells me you didn’t know it was going to be like this.”
I shook my head and yanked the fabric loose, which threw my already shaky balance into question. Oberon caught me before I landed face-first on the floor. He clearly hadn’t gotten Lachlan’s memo, though, because he didn’t withdraw his hand. I liked the way it felt on my waist, warm and steady.
“I made a bargain with Lachlan Gage,” I admitted to him.
His amber eyes widened. “Is that so? You don’t seem happy about it.”
“I got my brother out of trouble, so I guess it was worth it. It’s just that the price is a little steep.”