That was the thing. I hadn’t been enjoying myself. Not until this very moment. Pathetic. That’s what I was. “And have your sister think me rude? I wouldn’t want to ruin her high opinion of me.”
“Says the man who showed up to her party drunk.”
“Drunk? Such a scathing accusation. I’m sober as a clam.”Although if I was to spend my night with these humans without murdering them all, I would need another drink—or ten. My buzz from the bawdy house was already wearing off.
“Right. I’d best be off,” she said, as if she didn’t care either way. “Enjoy the party.”Aveen twirled away, her skirts brushing against my ankles. She couldn’t leave. Not yet. If I let her leave, one of these pillocks watching her like hawks was bound to swoop in and steal her away. I followed her across the ballroom, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing servant.
When we reached the balcony doors, she stopped. “Did you need something else, or do you plan on following me all night?”
“That depends,” I muttered, taking a sip of shite champagne.
“On?”
“Whether or not you tell me your wish.”
Her hands balled into fists. Fists she settled on her hips. Hips that would give me something to hold onto if I bent her over the cake table and—
“I have decided that I do not want to bargain with you.”
I forced my eyes back to hers. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” she said with a little nod that made the curls framing her face flutter. “And I know you’re not cursed.”
“Am I not? Well, that’s a relief.”Although my empty chest would disagree.
“While I appreciate what you did for me yesterday, I did not ask for your help, so I don’t feel I owe you anything in return. The only reason I’m tolerating your presence tonight is because my sister invited you. So, you can take yourself and your wish and find someone else to torment.”
There were a lot of words coming out of her mouth, and I really ought to have been paying attention, but all I could focus on was the way the pink skin of her lips glistened in the candlelight. The one kiss we’d shared wouldn’t be enough. It wasn’t even a proper kiss. No, I needed to kiss this woman so thoroughly that those lips would be swollen.
And after I finished kissing her mouth, I’d kiss her throat. Then I’d cut her out of that pretty blue dress and kiss the rest of her as well.
“Ambassador!” Aveen scowled at me as if I’d spoken my thoughts aloud.
I hadn’t, though. I was ninety-percent sure, because if I had, she would’ve one hundred percent slapped me. She was so pretty when she frowned like that. “I like your dress.”I’d like it better off.
“Were you listening to me?”
A little. She’d said something about appreciating me and tolerating my presence, and she’d used the word “torment” at least once. And something about people getting the wrong idea.
A quick scan of the room told me that her fears were for naught. “No one is paying us the least bit of attention.”I tilted my head so I could hear better, listening as I drank, the last sip of champagne tasting far better than the first. “They’re too busy nattering about Lady Samantha’s husband going off with Lord Ketter’s wife”—whoever the hell they were—“and Lady Julia’s baby bump, which is rather large for someone married only three months.”
Aveen’s eyes darted this way and that, her head inclining toward the crowd. “You can hear them from here?”
“Fae hearing. Although this one’s fecked.” That blow to the head had been sore before it’d killed me. The almost imperceptible ringing in my left ear drove me mad at night.
“Why? What happened to your ear?”
As if I’d talk about it with her when there were so many more delightful topics to discuss. “You look positively delectable tonight.” You know what this party needed? Better drink. I shifted a flask into my back pocket, withdrawing it as though it had been there all along.
“Did you hear what I said?” she asked in the most demanding tone that, I had to admit, really did it for me.
I’d bet she’d be demanding between the sheets. “Did you hear whatIsaid?” She smelled so good. Did she know how good she smelled? She probably didn’t even notice it anymore. I noticed it, especially when I moved closer. “I wonder if you taste as good as you smell.”
Hearing her breath catch wreaked havoc on my body. “You mustn’t speak so improperly. Someone may hear you.”
If that’s all she was worried about, I could fix that with a flick of my wrist. I created a tost, blocking out all noise except the sound of her racing heart and uneven breathing.
“There. Now I can say whatever I want andnooooone can hear us.” I drank a little more, just enough to add a little fire to my throat. “You’re a viper tonight. Makes me want to do all sorts ofimproperthings with you.” I glanced over to where two humans were eating cake. What would my little viper do if I painted her naked body with icing and then licked it off? She’d still be a maiden afterwards, sotechnically, I wouldn’t be breaking my rule.