She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, I’m relaxed.” At least for a second or two.
He waved a flat plastic room key in front of her nose. “Good. Then let’s get some sleep.” The room was small, barely enough space for two people to get around in. A window on the far wall revealed the lovely view of a fire escape and the brick side of the neighboring building. The bed—a king size—was the only piece of furniture. There were no dressers, no chairs, not even a lamp or a bad painting on the wall. It was clear what the room was meant for . . . and it wasn’t for relaxing weekends away from home. Bella almost turned and walked the other way once she’d crossed the threshold, but Ronan caught her arm.
“There’s only one bed.” It was a stupid, obvious comment, but her tongue couldn’t find any intelligent words at the moment.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the floor.”
She eyed the small space. “There’s not enough floor for you to take.”
“I’ll manage. The rooms are small so they can pack a bunch into one building. These places make a ton of money.”
“Great.” She curled her lip at the garish green design of the coverlet and eyed the dark entrance to what was undoubtedly a closet-sized bathroom. “I think I prefer my apartment.”
“Not all the fae are as blessed as the Seelie, Bella.”
“Is the room clean, at least?”
“Spotless. It’s run by the Uruisg. You know how clean-crazy they are.” The Uruisg were a breed of Scottish brownies, a slightly more nightmarish cousin to her house goblin, Lolly. Aside from being known for their cleanliness, in ancient times they’d had a tendency to harass unwary human travelers for the fun of it, back when the fae were supposed to be underground. Some of them had been unable to leave humans completely alone.
So, apparently, the Uruisg had gone from tormenting travelers to hosting them.
That was called irony.
He entered the room, pulling off his coat and his sweater with a tired groan as he went. Bella averted her eyes and lingered in the doorway. Stepping into that room was going to be like stepping into fire.
She didn’t want to get burned, but the flame was so very pretty.
She fidgeted and frowned. “Maybe I could get my own room.”
He glanced at her and shook his head. “And if the Imperial Guard shows up? If you’re in your own unlocked room, by your choice, how could I convince them I kidnapped you?”
“They saw me helping you, Ronan.”
“I’d still try to convince them I’d coerced you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I thought you said we were safe with your spell on us.” He spread his hands, shirt fisted in one hand. “No one can predict the future, Bella. No one can know every possible angle. Magick is a never-ending tangle of possibilities.” Ronan swept low in a courtly bow. “Please, enter, my lady. I promise I won’t bite.”
Maybe he wouldn’t bite, but the mischievous look on his face convinced Bella he might want to nibble a bit. The problem was she wasn’t completely sure she didn’t want him to nibble.
She entered the room anyway.
His hands went to the top button of his pants. She looked away. “I’m going to take a shower, if you don’t mind. I still have prison stink on me.” At the shake of her head, he headed into the bathroom.
With a grateful sigh of relief for a few moments alone to collect her thoughts, she sank down on the bed and stared at the closed bathroom door. The water was turned on, and after a minute steam rolled from beneath the door. She wasn’t going to think about Ronan naked, wet and soapy under the spray of the hot water.
So, of course, that’s all she did.
Pulling off her coat, she slumped back against the pillows and recalled the first time they’d met. The Seelie Court was small in comparison with the rest of Piefferburg, but it operated through a system of social cliques. Ronan had come to the court on an errand for the Shadow King. He’d lived in the Black Tower since he’d been a child, along with his brother, who still resided there. He and Bella had met in the hallway that day and it had been like an electric shock for her. She’d been immediately smitten.
Ronan had been scheduled to be there for a week on and off, acting as a messenger for his king. At the end of that week, he’d shocked them all by applying to stay in the Rose Tower. The Shadow King was incensed. The Summer Queen allowed it because taking one of the Unseelie was a way to embarrass the Black Tower’s Royal, and besides, Ronan was physically attractive and had captured the imagination of most of the women at court. It also didn’t hurt that he was a powerful mage. The queen quickly employed him as one of her personal assistants.
Due to the uniqueness of the circumstances—an Unseelie coming to their side of the square, even if said individual had some Seelie blood, was highly unusual—everyone assumed he was sleeping with the queen. That he was her pet, so to speak. Even Bella had believed that to be the case at first.
But of all the women at court, Ronan seemed to have his eye set on Bella. Every time they passed each other in the corridor, his dark gaze would hold hers with such a carnal intensity that her cheeks would heat and her heart would thump. At banquets and balls he always managed to sit near her or brush against her. Bella wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Aislinn had commented on Ronan’s fascination with her often.
Secretly, it had thrilled her.
It had also worried her, because if the queen had taken Ronan as her lover, Her Majesty would not be pleased if he was attracted to another woman. Bella rather enjoyed her head on her shoulders.
So one evening Bella took matters into her own hands. She cornered Ronan and asked him point-blank what sort of game he was playing with her life. That was when Ronan told her he wasn’t sleeping with the queen . . . and then he’d kissed her.
Ronan’s hadn’t been the first kiss of her life, but it had been the first kiss that made her knees go weak and her toes curl. It had been the first kiss that had ever blanked her mind clean of rational thought, made her bones turn soft as warm butter. It hadn’t been her last kiss from Ronan, nor had it been her last kiss, period.
Still, brushing her fingers across her mouth even now, she could recall the first touch of his lips.
They’d shared a strong romance from that day forward, though they’d never slept together. The court had buzzed about their affair and even the queen took notice. The Seelie Royal finally asked Ronan what his intentions toward Bella were and gave him her blessing if he chose to ask Bella to marry him.