Page 49 of Avaritia
“I am more attached to you than I expected to be.”
That was the Theon equivalent of ‘I’d die for you, my love,’ and I refused to believe otherwise.
I twisted in his lap so I was facing him, draping my arms over his shoulders. “Good answer. I’d like to kiss you now.”
I’d already panicked and backed off once before because his body language hadn’t been encouraging enough for me to close the distance, but I wasn’t going to chicken out this time. I was going to use my words like a motherfucking adult. Mentally, I gave myself a little pat on the back for my maturity.
Theon frowned slightly, leaning forward to press his lips to my forehead.
Huh, maybe that was why he’d been giving me mixed signals. In so many ways, Theon seemed to know everything about the developments between Hunters and Shades—from a spy of his at court, I presumed—but maybe he hadn’t heard about this.
I shifted my hands, gently cupping his sharp jaw. “Like this… may I?”
“Of course.” There was a small flutter of delight in my stomach at the way he was just… letting me do whatever I wanted. I had no intention of abusing his trust, of course, but I was amazed he’d so easily given it to me.
As I leaned in, brushing my lips gently against his at first, I felt like a shy teenager experiencing my first kiss all over again. There was an element of newness to it—Theon’s lips were much firmer than any human’s, and almost leathery in texture, so I had to move mine a little differently—but it was also just him. Even when he was hunting me down, pinning me to the floor and wrecking my insides, he still made me feel like a girl with my first crush.
I teased at the seam of his mouth with my tongue, and while I couldn’t smell myself perfuming the air with arousal, I was absolutely confident that I was when his tongue brushed tentatively against mine.
“You’re a fast learner,” I said in a muffled voice, because he was also an enthusiastic learner and wasn’t ready to let go of me yet.
Theon let out a rumbling growl of agreement, his arms banding more tightly around me, one hand gripping my hair, tugging my head back and encouraging me to open for him. Within seconds, he’d gone from light and unsure to tonguefucking my throat, and I was cursing myself for not straddling him before I’d started this game, because I could desperately use some friction right now.
The door opened with a bang, and we sprung apart so fast that Theon’s fang scraped my lip, the faintest trace of coppery blood hitting my tongue. Only Theon’s fast reflexes saved me from falling off his lap completely.
“Your Grace,” Wilder panted, skidding to a stop in front of us, looking panicked. “She’s gone. Melody-Rainywillow is gone.”
“Gone?” Theon rasped, pulling me further into him as if he could shield me. “Gone where?”
Wilder swallowed nervously. “The human realm. She and your mother fought about Melody-Rainywillow’s plan, and then she left.”
Theon’s shadows bristled with agitation. He didn’t explode with anger the way I’d expected him to, though. Just sighed heavily before climbing to his feet, taking me with him and placing me gently on my feet, though he didn’t let me go.
“Stubborn, boneheaded child,” Theon muttered. “She’s going to get herself killed. How long ago?”
“A few hours.”
Theon’s shadows cracked around us like whips without connecting with anything, and I winced. “Why am I only hearing about it now?”
“Your mother tried to follow. Tried to bring her back without… inconveniencing you.”
“Without telling me,” Theon corrected. Wilder nodded in agreement, looking just as disapproving. “My mother is no warrior. What did she think she was going to achieve? Ludicrous. I will go and fetch Rainy.”
“Hold on,” I interjected, twisting out of his hold so I could face him, while holding onto his forearm. “Theon, we need to alert the palace first.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You’re not allowed in the human realm—”
Theon straightened. “I don’t take orders from my little brother.”
“That little brother is the king, and responsible for the safety of every Shade in the realm—”
“He is not responsible for me,” Theon growled. “His edict is ridiculous. I know exactly where Rainy is—we have discussed the spot for years—you and I will simply go there now and fetch her. I will deal with her as I see fit once we are back home.”
He grabbed my hand, tugging me into the sitting room and heading for the corridor. He’d moved so quickly that he hadn’t been as mindful of his claws as he usually was, and I sucked in a breath as he broke the skin on my thumb.
“We?” I asked, stumbling on behind him.