The anguish in his voice made my throat tighten painfully. I slipped my arms around his waist and held on tightly as I breathed in his scent. He smelled of fresh air, leather, and the faint musky odor of tarran that made my nose wrinkle. He could reek of skunk, and I wouldn’t care as long as he kept holding me like this.
The door clicked, telling me Faolin and the guard had left, and I finally found my voice. “I’m sorry,” I whispered against his shirt. What happened hadn’t been my doing, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“It wasn’t your fault.” He loosened his embrace and put a hand under my chin to tilt my face up to his. “I should have kept you safe. If you had been hurt…”
I barely registered his head lowering before his mouth closed over mine. The only thought that went through my mind was Finally!
His kiss was hard and possessive, and it set my insides ablaze. I didn’t surrender to it. I matched it with all my pent-up emotion and need. My hands slid up his chest and grabbed the neckline of his shirt to keep him exactly where I wanted him.
Lukas’s chest rumbled with pleasure, and he lifted me until my legs could wrap around his waist, and my face was level with his. He broke the kiss to look at me, and my limbs turned to jelly at the desire in his eyes. Then he reclaimed my lips with the same fierceness, and I knew that if he asked, I would give myself completely to him.
“Vaerik, I see you’ve found your missing friend,” said an amused male voice from across the room.
I gasped and let go of Lukas like he’d burned me. He caught me easily before I fell and lowered me unhurriedly to my feet. His smile did little to reassure me, and my face was on fire when I turned to face the newcomer.
I did a double take at the sight of the male who could be Lukas’s twin. His dark hair was long like that of most faeries, but his face was almost a mirror image of Lukas’s. Even though his clothes were in the same elegant style favored by the males at Court, he had a presence that told me he was no ordinary faerie.
Of course! He was Lukas’s brother Kellen, whom Lukas had planned for me to meet at dinner tonight. I groaned inwardly and resisted the urge to look down at my crumpled, soiled clothes. This was not how I wanted to meet Lukas’s family. I was a mess, and Kellen had just walked in on me making out with his brother.
“It’s more like she found us.” Lukas’s hand gave mine a gentle squeeze. “Father, allow me to introduce you to Jesse James.”
It took a few seconds for his words to sink in, and then shock slammed into me. Father?
I was standing in front of the Unseelie king…who had witnessed me climbing all over his son and heir.
Where was a drakkan to carry me away when I needed one?
Chapter 12
“Jesse.” King Oseron walked toward us. “I have heard so much about you.”
I had never learned to curtsy, so I gave him a small awkward bow. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
He smiled warmly. “Yes, I hear I am a subject of much curiosity and speculation in the human world. Do I live up to the expectations?”
I hadn’t expected the Unseelie king to address me so informally, so his manner threw me off balance. How was I supposed to answer a question like that?
“Father,” Lukas said in a slightly annoyed tone.
The king waved him off. “There is nothing improper in that question.”
Lukas quirked his eyebrows. “No, but I speak from experience when I say that Jesse has no qualms about telling you exactly what she thinks of you.”
King Oseron threw back his head and laughed. His gaze met mine again, and I saw that his eyes were blue but not the same midnight blue as his son’s. And they seemed older somehow. Up close, there were other differences in their faces. The king’s jaw was squarer, and his lips were not as full as Lukas’s. Although their smiles were similar, the king’s did not have the power to turn my insides to mush. Only one person had ever been able to do that to me.
“I expect nothing less from the girl who returned the ke’tain to us.” The king reached out and took one of my hands in both of his. “On behalf of Unseelie, I thank you.”
“I… you’re welcome,” I squeaked when I found my voice. Never in my life had I imagined I would someday be face-to-face with the Unseelie king while he held my hand. Could this day get any crazier?
I discovered the answer to that when the door opened, and a dark-haired female came in. She carried herself so regally I knew immediately that she was Lukas’s mother, Maurelle.
Maurelle saw me and smiled. She crossed the room and kissed both of my cheeks. “Jesse, I am so glad you have returned unharmed from your ordeal.”
“Thank you, Consort,” I stammered.
“Call me Maurelle. Vaerik and his friends speak so fondly of you I feel like I know you already.” She stepped back. “I wish we could have met under normal circumstances, but if I waited for my son to present you, goddess knows when that would be.”
“Jesse has been in Faerie for two days, Mother,” Lukas said in an amused voice. “I thought she might want to settle in a bit before I subjected her to a royal inquisition.”
“Vaerik.” She shot him an admonishing look.
King Oseron chuckled. “Are you enjoying your first time in Faerie, Jesse?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Talk about a loaded question. I’d only been here a few days, and already I’d been poisoned and carried off by a drakkan. On top of that, I had to sit by while he tried to match Lukas with a “suitable” mate.
“It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined,” I told him honestly. “I can’t wait to see more of it.”
He smiled, pleased by my answer. “There is much to be seen. Are you an adventurer, Jesse?”
“I’ve only ever lived in the city, but I hope to travel someday. I don’t know if that makes me an adventurer, though.”
“Then we shall have to find out. As a faerie, you now have the means to explore both worlds. Do you prefer mountains, desert, or ocean?”
“Father.” Lukas’s tone was sharp this time and held more than a hint of annoyance.
The king frowned at him, and they shared a look I couldn’t decipher. I didn’t know enough about their relationship to read their body language around each other, but I felt like an intruder on a private conversation.
Maurelle laid a hand on her mate’s arm. “Jesse has had an exciting day, and she must be exhausted. Why don’t we let her and Vaerik have some time together?”
The king frowned. “There is a matter of importance I wish to discuss with Vaerik first.”
My stomach tightened with disappointment. “I’ll go so you can talk.”
Lukas’s hand shot out and took mine before I could move away from him. “It’s late, and I’m sure the discussion can wait until the morning.”
For the first time since he’d arrived, I caught a glint of displeasure in King Oseron’s eyes. “Seelie has agreed to meet in two weeks, and there is much to be done to prepare for it.”
“Then it would be best to go over it with the council,” Lukas replied firmly. “If you wish, you and I can talk about it at breakfast.”