A shiver of warmth traced down her back. They weren’t leaving Annwyn just to play cards; he wanted her and had figured that helping her was the way to her heart.
Two games later, she was still losing. It was worth it just to feel his touch on her cheek or his fingers in her hair as she tasted his lips. She played a card and Verden won again.
He leaned forward. “You’re not really trying.” His lips brushed hers. “Maybe you’re enjoying losing too much.”
“Maybe you should throw the game and let me win.” She held her breath, waiting for the rest of the kiss, but it didn’t come.
“I can’t do that. You need to play to win.” He eased back and picked up the cards, ready to play again. “You’re getting better. You almost won that time.”
She played carefully this time, watching every card, more familiar with their faces and the rules. But she was still slow and her hand wasn’t good. It was, however, complete. She took the risk and ended the game by revealing her cards.
Verden had a much higher value hand—almost.
“You lost on purpose.”
“Did I?”
She went back through the cards he’d discarded. “You could’ve won with a lower hand.”
He nodded. “If you are going to throw the game, it can’t look like you are trying to lose. I was merely going for the best hand I could, but you got in fast with a lesser hand. Sometimes it’s a chance that pays off.”
He was trying to teach her every aspect of the game in a few short hours. And she was getting it as if playing the game and setting the stakes were in her blue fairy blood. “You’ll take me across the veil again?”
Had she really just gambled for a second date? Was this really date?
He picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. “It would be my pleasure…perhaps somewhere warmer?”
She nodded, not sure she trusted herself to speak. Her skin was tingling where his lips had touched. She wanted more than a kiss on the hand. She slid off the boulder and stood in front of him, letting her fingers slide over his thighs.
He watched for a moment, then caught her hands and stood. There was no space between them; she was pressed hard against him. She was pretty sure she was going to melt even though the breeze was icy on her face. He slid one arm around her. Desire burned in his eyes. How did he keep it hidden at Court? She didn’t have time to think as he lowered his lips to hers.
His tongue flicked against her lip and she opened her mouth, wanting to taste him. His fingers slid lower and cupped her butt. She moved against him, feeling the length of his shaft pressing against her. A tiny moan escaped. She was rushing—she shouldn’t even be here with him, and yet she didn’t want to be anywhere else.
“We should be getting back,” he said between kisses.
“So soon?”
“Hmmm.” He gave her a last kiss and slowly let her go.
She took a reluctant step back, gathered up the cards, and made sure that nothing was left behind. Then they walked back to the split tree in silence, the cloak of leaves dragging behind her. She didn’t want to go. Going back to Annwyn was like stepping back into prison. And yet if she didn’t, her parents would die—she would die if she was caught on the wrong side of the veil when Felan seized control. Like a game of cards, the stakes were set and everyone had their hand to play. She’d just proven that sometimes it was better to win on a low hand than hold out for something better. Fast and simple. How simple could she keep things when the Court seemed to thrive on complex twists and plots? When even now she was in the mortal world with a man who’d by his own admission gambled all he had to become Hunter?
How much of him was left?
“Did you grow up at Court?” She just wanted to stall for a few moments more.
He paused before answering, then shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “No, my parents were farmers at the fringes of Annwyn. I came to Court because I wanted more.”
Then he’d climbed his way to Hunter. That was no small achievement. The drive and determination that would take was phenomenal. No wonder he’d had to risk everything on his way to the top.
“Did you find it?” She searched his face hopefully but knew that no matter what he said, she already knew. He was still looking.
“I found status and favor. What more could a fairy want?” He threw his arms wide, but his smile was the hollow Court smile. He was pulling up the mask already and shutting himself away from her.
He was just as bound by duty and loyalty as the King. It was Verden who was caged when all he wanted was the freedom of the wilds. Yet she knew he’d never ask to be released. She placed her hand on his chest. His shirt was delicate and soft beneath her palm, finer than any fabric she was used to in the mortal world. “Humans have a saying: money can’t buy happiness.”
He covered her hand with his. “Humans don’t last long at Court.”
Verden slid off his cloak and it fell apart, the leaves scattering on the ground. Then he flicked hers off. Without the cloak’s protection, the wind bit through her dress. Her arms prickled with gooseflesh. His face was a perfect mask again, unreadable, detached. The man she’d kissed and played cards with no longer existed.
“I will see you returned to the castle.”
“And you?”
“I will follow later. We wouldn’t want word reaching Felan or the King.” He stepped into the gap in the tree and was gone.
Taryn took one last look at the mortal world, wishing she didn’t have to go back, then stepped through. The heavy scent of blossoms and greenery assaulted her. Her blood surged as if she’d been plugged in and was sucking up power—which is exactly what was happening.
Verden was a few paces away, waiting in the shadows. It was still night, as if no time had passed in Annwyn while they were gone. As if the time they’d shared had never existed.
He handed her the cards. “Keep them for next time.”
“Thank you.” She’d learned more about the Court and the way it worked in those few short hours than she had all day. Most importantly she’d proved to herself that she could play their games. Perhaps she could even play the King.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Then he turned and led the way back to Castle Annwyn.
Chapter 6
Verden lingered in the shadows, making sure Taryn walked back to the castle safely. He had no intention of returning to Court tonight. He would go and check up on a few things. With more breeches of the veil, there was more trouble and the Greys were stirred up—as were those in exile, although he didn’t blame them for wanting to live.
He shouldn’t want Taryn, yet he couldn’t stop himself.
He lifted his head and gazed at the stars, which were far brighter in Annwyn than the mortal world. An easy smile formed on his lips. The heat of her touch still hummed in his blood. The memory of her skin, pale in the morning light and the cloak of leaves wrapped around her like she was part wild fae, leading him into unknown forests, lingered like a dream after waking. She was wild and dangerous. She didn’t play by the rules because she didn’t know them. And he would follow where she led because for the first time in a very long time, he was interested in something, someone. She made him feel like rolling the dice and risking it all.
That was his mistake. He’d let lust take the place of rules and deals.
Lust got people killed or banished or exiled. Stepping on the King’s toes in public would find him stuck on the wrong side of the veil permanently.
He gave a low whistle. A few heartbeats later, a white horse paced through the trees, two hounds at her side. All animals in Annwyn obeyed his call, as he was the Hunter. He swung himself up onto the horse, his fingers threading through the pure white mane, then urged her on with his knees. She galloped toward the doorway, the one monitored by the Prince and watched by too many spies.