Chapter 29
twenty-nine
Orelia was drunk.
She almost missed her mouth when she went to take another sip of ale.
“Careful now,” the man whose lap she was sitting on said. Ivan? Igor? She didn’t know. She could barely hear him in the busy tavern.
He pulled the mug from her lips and set it on the table. His blonde hair, hazel eyes, kind smile, and sweet words were just what she’d needed. The exact opposite of the jerk she’d left standing in the alley.
Orelia smashed her lips onto Ivan-Igor’s mouth.
She ran her fingers through his short hair the best she could, intertwining her tongue with his.
He tasted of peppermint, even after finishing three ales with her over the last mark.
His hands roamed her body, sliding over the satin of her dress, making the space between her legs ache.
She debated taking him into the alley and asking him to fuck her against the wall. Out of spite. Out of need. Out of frustration. Out of all of it.
The gorgeous human pulled her face from his and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go dance.”
“Give the rest of us a chance with her, Ivan!” One of his drunken friends called out.
“Not a chance!” he shouted back, wearing a boyish smile.
Orelia enjoyed being sought-after, and at least she knew his name now.
She swayed as they moved through the crowd, her sweaty palm clasped with his.
He spun her in a circle, then wrapped an arm around her waist. The people laughed and cheered as the fiddles picked up their pace.
Boots stomped on the ground in unison, ales lifted high in jubilee.
Orelia twirled around the room, seeing flashes of blonde hair and pale skin as they made their way around the dance floor.
They danced for two songs before he kissed her hard, the crowd fading into the background. His lips were warm, and soft, his caring arms holding her close. Orelia hadn’t felt this light in weeks.
She laughed and twirled, knocking into revelers who cared even less about the interruption than she did.
Everyone was happy and lively, and the music filled her body. Orelia let go of Ivan’s hand and pirouetted on her own, the room blurring in a kaleidoscope of colors. With arms raised, skin flushed and sweaty, and heart full, she was lost in the pleasure of dance.
Something harsh in her peripheral made her stop.
Vade stood just outside the dance floor, glaring.
Ivan stepped into her vision and took her hand, leading her back to the table. Orelia didn’t bother looking back for Vade; she could feel he was close.
“I’m cutting in,” a curt voice said.
They both turned, and Ivan looked the fae up and down. “I don’t think so.”
Vade stepped into him. “That wasn’t a suggestion.” He shoved Ivan, and the human slammed into the ren behind him, spilling her ale.
“What in the hells, Vade!” Orelia smacked him on the shoulder.
After the ren had finished cussing Ivan out, he came for Vade. The fae stepped in front of her, and the ale had her swaying as she tried to move around him.
The two men stood almost nose to nose, exchanging words Orelia couldn’t hear over the fiddles. She squeezed herself in between them, trying to keep a fight from breaking out.
Ivan stepped back, attention going to her. “Do you know him?” He shot a glare at Vade.
“Unfortunately, yes. Can you give us a moment?” She flashed him a cute smile, hoping it would tide him over.
Ivan’s eyes flicked back and forth between her and the man practically breathing down her neck, but eventually, he headed back to their table.
Orelia whirled. “That was so rude!” Her weak punch completely missed his shoulder.
Vade caught her and slid an arm around her waist. “He’ll get over it.”
She tried to free herself, but there was no outmuscling him. “You’re such an ass.”
He chipped away at her irritation the more he messed up the steps, fumbling around the room like it was his first time dancing. Perhaps it was.
“I thought you said you don’t dance,” she said, gripping his shoulder tight to keep herself upright.
Vade spun them again and almost crunched her toes with his boots. “I don’t. But I’m making an exception.”
With his rigidity and her loose limbs, she thought they must have looked like a comical pairing. It would have made her smile, but he’d been incredibly rude in the alley, and he was going to have to earn her forgiveness. “Why make an exception? And how did you even find me?”
Vade knocked them into a drunken ren couple, and Orelia apologized on his behalf.
They continued dancing awkwardly, but even drunk, she was acutely aware of everywhere he touched her.
His callouses brushed against her palms with each spin.
His large hand found the small of her back instantly, and her traitorous body relished in his proximity.
He was always warm and smelled so inviting.
She wanted to hate him for it, but she was weak.
He had this beyond irritating hold on her. Even with his blatant rejection after the card game there was still a part of her wishing for his approval, for his affection, for something other than the formality with which he regarded their situation.
She wanted to matter to someone. No. She wanted to matter to him.
“You seemed pretty pissed off earlier, so I took a guess you might be in a place like this,” Vade said.
She let the hand on his shoulder drift to his neck and slid her fingers into his hair.
Goosebumps blossomed on his skin, and she grinned. He could lie all he wanted and say he didn’t care for her, but she did have an effect on him. His body gave him away.
“I was. I still am,” Orelia said.
He cocked his head and smirked. “Are you?”
Her heart fluttered under the intensity of his stare. He was a complete asshole, but he was here, dancing with her. “Yes,” she said, somehow managing to slur a one syllable word.
“That drunken smile says otherwise.”
“How was the brothel?” Her fingers dug into his neck with the question.
His smirk faded. “I didn’t go.”
Orelia couldn’t think of how to respond, so she just let him lead her, and even though they fumbled around the dance floor, she had to admit she enjoyed that he was here. When the song ended, Vade let her go. “Let’s go back to the cabin. It’s late.”
Orelia stood firm. “I don’t want to. I’m enjoying myself here.”
Someone wrapped their arms around her from behind. “Can I have you back now?” Ivan’s sweet voice sounded in her ear. He kissed her cheek.
“Let’s go, Orelia,” Vade snapped.
“No.” He controlled every minute of her schedule, and for once, she wasn’t going to bow to him. For one night, she just wanted to do what she wanted. And she wanted to keep dancing.
“I’m not playing games, witch. We need to be up early. Let’s go.” When Vade reached out for her, Orelia hooked her arm around Ivan’s.
“I’m staying with him.”
Ivan gave the fae a taunting grin.
Vade grabbed her arm. “I said, let’s go.”
Ivan knocked his hand away and stepped in front of her. “She said she doesn’t want to go, so turn around and leave before you cause a problem.”
Wrath swirled in the depths of the fae’s black irises. “Touch me again, and I’ll break your fucking neck.”
It didn’t matter that she’d enjoyed dancing with him. It was only a matter of time before Vade ruined her night even more. He was nothing if not predictable.
Orelia pushed the men apart. “Stop. I’m not going with you. I’m staying here. You told me to enjoy myself tonight, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Vade blew out a breath. “I’m not—”
“She said ‘no.’ Get it through your thick skull.”
Her skin warmed at being defended so boldly by someone she barely knew.
Vade looked like he was about to tear Ivan to pieces. His eyes slid to hers, but Orelia didn’t give in. He was not her ruler.
She sidled up to Ivan, and he draped an arm over her shoulder. “Don’t wait up tonight.” She winked at Vade, then led her new companion back to their table with a confident, if not a bit sloppy, walk that she knew would have the fae fuming.
She didn’t care.
After another ale, Orelia’s eagerness to take Ivan to bed fell away. It wasn’t soon after Vade left the tavern cursing under his breath that the human’s words became slurred, and his hands became more explorative of her body.
Orelia had pushed his hands away multiple times, but he kept returning them to her. “Come on . . .” he drawled in her ear.
She moved his hand away from under her breast. “I’m not feeling well,” she lied. “I’m leaving.” Orelia tried to get off his lap, but he didn’t let her.
“Stay a little while longer with me. Aren’t you having fun?”
She had been, but the ale had caught up to her, leaving her full, sleepy, and making her head spin.
Besides, they did have a long way to travel tomorrow.
Her head would be throbbing come morning, but she wished for a warm bed, even if it meant enduring an inevitable lecture from Vade about not coming back with him.
At least she’d wake up in a place with someone she actually knew.
Orelia managed to escape Ivan’s grip and stood as he did the same.
“We’ve been here for a long time already,” she said. “I want to call it a night.”
“Then how about we go back to my estate? You won’t believe how big it is.” He kissed her neck, and when her head lolled to the left, the room spun so quickly she almost fell over.
“Maybe next time,” Orelia said as she righted herself. “Sorry.”
Glassy eyes searched hers, then Ivan turned around and grabbed both of their mugs off the table.
Orelia scanned the tavern and noticed half the room had cleared out. She couldn’t see the moon through the dirty windows, but it had to only be a few marks from dawn.
Tomorrow was going to be brutal.
Ivan handed Orelia her mug. “How about we finish these, then I’ll walk you home.”
He clinked his mug against hers, and, not wanting to be rude, she finished the drink.
Ivan leaned into her. “But if you change your mind, I can show you every room in my house. Then we can decide which one we want to . . .enjoy.”