“You look so beautiful this evening, Synthia. You make everyone here pale in the face of your beauty,” he said softly against my ear.
“Says the man in a tuxedo. You, out of everyone else here, should be banned from wearing something that makes you look so,” I stopped talking because if I finished that, I’d be begging him to sift me out of here to do inappropriate things. The man was sinful in a t-shirt, but in a Versace styled tux, the man was dangerously seductive.
“Sexy, huh? Can’t look at me?” he purred as he inhaled my scent. It made heat pool to my core for him.
“We shouldn’t be dancing,” I said, trying to pull away, but he kept me there.
“Why? Because you still want me or because I want you, Synthia?” he growled low against my neck as he flicked his tongue against my pulse wickedly as his head hid his actions from everyone else in the room.
“You want me to be honest? Both. I want you. Right here, right now. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now, because the answer is yes? I’m afraid you’ll make me do things that I shouldn’t do. I’m not the type to cheat on anyone. I refuse to become that woman to any man, and Adam deserves better from me. I can’t cheat on him; not even for you, Fairy.”
He smiled, and it made me blush with how sinful it looked on his beautiful mouth. Knowing that this would be the last time I allowed myself around it, hurt deeply. I felt hot tears pushing against my eyes, but I managed to keep them hidden, just barely. He held me as we effortlessly continued to dance, oblivious to everyone else around us.
“Have you fed from him?” he asked quietly, and as I lifted my eyes, I flinched as I saw the pain bared in his bronze depths. “Have you fed from Adam, yet?”
“No, I was well fed before I left your bed this morning. You are a beast when it comes to hunger, but you make sure I’m always fully sated,” I replied with a small smile.
“Good,” he whispered, but his smile had gone behind the clouds as surely as the sun on a rainy day.
“Are you fully healed now, from the iron?” I asked.
“Worried about me?” he asked as a smirk lit up his generous mouth.
“Always,” I replied with mischief dancing in my eyes. “Someone has to worry about my fucking Fairy.”
“Your fucking Fairy?” he asked, lifting a brow.
“Syn,” Adam said from behind me. “It’s time. Ryder, Eliran was looking for you a few minutes ago. He said it was urgent.”
“Time for what?” I asked as he pulled me closer to his side.
“We have to sign the binding agreement with our parents,” he answered. I ran my thumb over Ryder’s arm before dropping my hands and stepping back and away from him. He dropped his arms at the same time, but where my face was a mask of pain, his was blank again.
I accepted Adam’s arm and walked back toward the area that had been set up for this formal signing of the contracts. The signing was more than uncomfortable, considering I wanted nothing more than to wipe the ugly smirk off of the Light King’s face.
We moved closer as the Kings discussed something quietly, and then stopped as they noticed we were approaching. I felt the vise around me loosen with the smirk Adam shot me. He leaned over and whispered in my ear softly.
“My dad can take yours. Willing to bet on it?” he asked in a stage whisper, making me laugh outright.
“I don’t like my dad, so no. I’m willing to help yours just to make sure he wins,” I replied in a voice as I winked back, which caused him to beam a wide smile.
“Sign the contract,” Dresden growled, not finding our little joke funny at all. I hesitated and turned to look at Adam.
“Can we have a minute?” I asked.
“No,” Dresden growled.
“Of course,” Kier answered.
“Which is it?” I asked, raising a brow at them both.
“You have a minute, but make it fast,” Dresden said with annoyance stamped across his brow.
When we had enough privacy I turned to face Adam. “What’s up, Adam?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” he replied, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“Oh, no reason; besides the fact that I have known you long enough to know when you’re upset. Now spill it.”
“There’s nothing wrong; this is just moving fast.”
“Do you want out of this? Because, if you do, I’ll personally scour the earth to find another way to save Faery.”
“You know as well as I do, that there is no other way. Had there been an alternative, Ryder would have found it by now and kept you,” Adam replied.
“This is me and you, Adam. We can handle this. We will make the best of it, and I do love you. We have more than most people would in our situation.”
“We do, don’t we?” he said, smiling. I nodded at him, and we both took a deep breath like we were going into battle or something.