I blushed to my roots and shook my head vigorously. My body heated, causing my eyes to grow rounded and wide with embarrassment as hormones rushed through me. My hands lifted, covering my eyes before I spread my fingers, glaring at him because now I was picturing us naked. He was amazingly built in my imagination, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get the image out of my mind.
“Are you…? Oh, my gods, take it all.” He moaned as he began to reach between his legs.
I jumped from the chair, launching myself at him over the table, causing dishes and food to go flying around us as we landed together on the floor.
“I am not a dirty girl!” I slapped his face, and he grinned. “I am not picturing you naked, fucking fairy! Take it back!” Ryder’s hands gripped my hips where I sat above him, pressing against his lower half as my hands gripped tightly around his throat. His hips rolled, and I gaped down at him. I tried to lift off of him, but he held me in place, causing my eyes to peer down where he was hard and hung like a horse. “Is that a rock in your pocket? What is that?” I dropped my hand between his legs to feel what was hard in his pants against my sex. It continually grew as I touched it. My blush intensified as the realization of what I held dawned on me. “Oh, balls.”
“Actually, that’s a dick, one you’ve had many times before.”
He thrust his hips forward, and I jumped up and off of him as if he were on fire. Everyone laughed at me, forcing my anger to rise with the absurdity of his words and actions.
I spun around, noting I wore enough food on me to end up as screwed as Alden and Adam without even taking a bite. Then a shiver went up my spine as comprehension sank in that I’d just tackled the Horde King, and he was laughing at me. He hadn’t lashed out or attacked me for assaulting his person. This entire day was fucking whacked out on Scooby Snacks.
“Adam?”
“Yeah, Syn?”
“Did we drop a hit of acid again?” That was the only logical explanation. It would explain so much if this were just a bad trip. That would account for all the beautiful colors and exotic meats and smells. That would also justify Ryder’s wings and why Alden was so blasé about the whole situation.
“Um…” Adam scratched his neck, turning to wince at the look on Alden’s face.
“I’ve got to be tripping. I mean, I just tackled the Horde King and groped his rather large dick.” I laughed nervously as I indicated its presumed size, then put my hands down so as not to embarrass myself any further. “Pretty sure that would be enough to get me dead if this scenario was real.” I put my hand on my neck and pressed my fingers into my skin. “I can feel my pulse, which means I’m still alive. I told you we couldn’t drop acid when we’re at the guild!”
“You did acid at the guild?” Alden snapped.
“Balls.”
“We were seventeen,” Adam groaned, covering his mouth as he watched me. “You’re not tripping, Syn. This is all really happening.” He shook his head like he was having a hard time believing his own words. “You haven’t said balls since Adrian died.”
“He just died, duh,” I snorted, stepping back as the Horde King rose to his feet. He towered over me, causing my neck to ache as I leaned back to hold his gaze, becoming lost within it. “I didn’t mean to grab your penis.”
“You’ve done a lot more than that with my penis, woman.”
“You can lie! I know I didn’t have that thing anywhere near me, I’d die!”
His husky chuckle made heat flash through me, echoing the fire that lit within his eyes. “You didn’t die from my cock. That isn’t what killed you, Pet. You take the entire thing and beg me for more, quite often.”
“Liar.” I stared at him a moment longer and yawned, feigning exhaustion. If I couldn’t get to a bathroom alone, maybe I could escape from a bedroom window. “I’m tired. Can someone who isn’t the Horde King show me where I will sleep tonight?”
“You sure you’re ready? Because you will be sleeping with me tonight,” he mused with a wolfish glint in his gaze.
My lady parts did a little flip, and I immediately shut that down. “I’m surprisingly not tired at all anymore.” I shrank back, and he closed the distance between us, butting me up against the table as he placed his hands on either side of me, caging me in.
“You’re sitting on my plate. Unless you’re offering to be my dinner, I suggest you move back to your side of the table, wife. I assure you, after watching you today, there’s nothing more I want to do than remind you to whom the fuck you belong.”
I swallowed past the hard lump that tightened in my throat with his words. I watched as the predator side of him was exposed for me to see, and it was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
“Are you going to move, so I don’t have to touch you?”
“No,” he smirked roguishly, inspecting me through heavily hooded eyes.
I leaned closer, toward his luscious mouth, watching as his eyes locked on my tongue that trailed over my lips as if he’d implanted the idea of kissing me. The moment our lips brushed over one another, and his tongue slipped out as if to delve between mine, I chuckled, ducking beneath his arms to move away.
“Like I’d kiss you? Bleh, please, you’re not even my type.” I smirked until a man blocked my path, his expression consumed with pain as he watched me. He alone had been the only one who hadn’t laughed at what was happening to me here.
“Flower,” the silver-eyed male said. I stopped mid-step, drawn by what was displayed openly in his eyes. There was a sadness to him that tugged at my heart and made me pause.
I knew that look because I’d worn it well when his kind had murdered my parents. “You’re grieving and in immense pain from your loss.”
He nodded slowly. “I lost someone whom I loved very much.”
“You’re fae. Everyone knows that the fae do not love one another.”
He smiled and searched my face before snorting. “Funny. Coming from you, that’s really fucking ironic and almost hilarious. Excuse me, Flower.” He stepped around me and left the room silently.
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I didn’t understand why I’d feel bad for him or his kind. Something inside of me seemed to think I should. I turned on my heel, moving back around the table. Sitting, I lifted my eyes to Ryder and examined the pain flitting over his features before he spoke softly.