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“She’s caught up in a conversation with Mr. Montrell. She won’t get out of that anytime soon. He loves to chat, and he talks nonstop. So we have a little time,” he says with a wink as he runs his fingers down my back.
My body reacts instantly to his touch, and it sends a sweet shiver across my skin. I look up at him, catch the sparkle in his eyes, and kiss him. He nibbles my lower lip, teasing me, and our kiss quickly intensifies. The blood surges through my body, and a fierce desire blazes inside me.
I pull Ayden harder against me and feel his breath on my skin as I wrap my arms around his waist. My hands develop a life of their own and wander under his shirt. It feels so incredibly good to touch his bare skin, soak up his warmth, and feel his muscles. Oh, how I’ve missed being able to feel him like this.
I gasp as Ayden steers me backward and presses me against one of the pillars. He holds my arms over my head and runs his tongue lightly along my neck, his free hand exploring my body. First, it goes to my waist, then wanders higher, touches my throat, my side, my breast. He’s so tender and fierce at the same time that I can barely contain myself. I tilt my head back, feel the cool wood against it, and close my eyes blissfully.
Ayden’s lips are on my neck, kissing it slowly and deliberately, as if we have all the time in the world. He knows how tortuously sweet it feels and the effect it has on me. I want more, and apparently, it’s no different for him. He pushes his hand up under my top and traces my waist with his fingertips, then my ribs. I yearn for his warmth. It fills me up, and I sigh blissfully.
When I open my eyes, I seek out his, which are glazed with lust and longing. I press my lips against his and gasp as his fingertips touch my breast and caress its soft skin.
“Ayden?” calls a voice that’s unfortunately all too familiar. “Are you in here?”
“Great timing,” he groans, pulling me behind the pillar so Claire can’t see us.
But it doesn’t take long for her to find us. The little crease between her eyebrows tells me that she’s distinctly unhappy to find us together. But her voice is sweet as sugar.
“I was looking for you. Dad wants to discuss the latest deployment with you, plus my grandfather will be here soon. He promised to give a little speech tonight.”
Ayden glances longingly at me, and I murmur, “It’s okay.”
He kisses me on the cheek and whispers, “No, it’s not.” With a heavy heart, he leaves me and goes to Claire. When he gets to her, he turns around again and extends his arm toward me. “Are you coming?”
I nod. Although I know it’s unwise for him to risk angering Claire with this gesture, I’m so grateful for it.
I follow them, and we return to the party room. Claire leads us to her father, who’s standing with a few other Council members.
“Here’s my wonderful girl, who’s done us all so proud. I’m telling you; she’s going to change our world.” He smiles proudly at her and then turns to Ayden. “Once we have a goddess of destiny on our side, the future will look rosy for the hunters. What happened to Mr. Brian will never happen again. Did you find his body?”
Ayden shakes his head. “Unfortunately not. It was difficult to search for him since we have no idea where he may have been ambushed.”
“Well, I suppose it’s time you found out. Whose job is it if not the hunters’?” grumbles a short fat man with gray hair.
“You have to admit that the circumstances of Mr. Brian’s disappearance are unusual,” Paxton Cunningham points out. “And I think the hunters do a fantastic job.” He gives Ayden an encouraging smile. “How is the training going? I hear Claire has started training with the other students? I hope she’s performing well.”
Ayden nods. “Yes, she is. Claire’s a formidable opponent.”
Her father instantly starts singing his wonderful daughter’s praises again. Eventually, I can’t bear it any longer and wander to the buffet to join Kate. But she’s not there. I go looking for her, weaving my way through the packed room. Suddenly, someone grabs my arm and turns me around.
“I’m glad I’ve got you alone. I wanted to have a quick word with you.” Matilda Cunningham looks at me with her pale eyes, in which I see nothing but coldness. I doubt she has anything nice to say to me. I want to refuse and keep looking for Kate, but the woman leaves me with no choice.
She leads me out of the room and into a small adjacent room. It contains a blue velvet sofa, and the walls are lined with bookshelves.
Claire’s mother doesn’t even invite me to sit down. So I just stand and wait for what’s coming.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I ask when she shows no signs of initiating a conversation.
“I think you can guess. It’s about my daughter Claire and Ayden. I hear you’re in some kind of relationship with him?”
I fold my arms across my chest and try not to let my anger show. “We’re in a committed relationship,” I explain.
“And you actually think it has a future?” Matilda Cunningham stands in front of a bookshelf, apparently lost in thought, running her fingers along the spines of the books. You’d never think to look at her that she had just asked me such an insulting question.
“I do. I don’t just think it; I’m convinced it has.”
“Interesting. I assumed you were aware of all the trouble this dalliance is causing him. I mean, you keep clashing with the Council; you can’t seem to control your powers, and what’s more, you don’t know our world the way a girl of your age should. Ayden has excellent prospects. Surely you realize that you’re just a hindrance. I expect he’ll realize sooner or later what this relationship has cost him. And it’s hard to imagine that he won’t hold it against you.”
“You obviously don’t know Ayden at all,” I retort, wondering how much longer I should put up with this crap. “He knows who he wants to be with, and he would never blame me for any of it.”
