Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Lyv danced with Kalla more than once. Kalla tried her hardest to keep herself as calm and seductive as she always was, but Lyv knew. She knew there was something that must have happened in those last few weeks since she last saw her. She'd gone to visit a friend in Ethran, hadn't she? She never mentioned who, but Lyv never thought to ask before until Kalla had taken her into her arms and twirled them around on the dancefloor.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Lyv," Kalla had said to her, reaching up to brush her fingers against the silver, diamond, and pearl crown atop her curls. "Or do I need to address you as Crown Princess Alyvia now?"

"Not yet," Lyv mumbled with a blush.

At that, she raised a brow. "Yet?"

"Yet."

Because what happened between them over the last two days on the ship had made Lyv realize just how much she wanted Jai. Her teasing him wasn't just affecting him, but her as well. And if he thought she needed to be teased by him as well...she wasn't going to last long.

She definitely wasn't opposed to that either.

When he finally cut in after three dances with Kalla, Jai came up behind her so silent that Lyv didn't even hear him. Kalla winked at her with a knowing smile just before his hand touched the small of her back, making Lyv jump as Kalla twirled her away and into his arms. She was breathless at the sudden change of whose arms she was in, but instantly relaxed when she looked up at Jai.

"You lasted longer than I thought," she smiled, hands tracing up his bare arms. The muscles tensed beneath her touch and pulled her closer as she continued over his shoulders, neck, and finally threaded her fingers into his hair.

"I didn't bring Kalla a present, so I figured we would give her more than one dance with you."

She snorted out a laugh. "Nice."

"Gideon wants one, too, you know."

"But I'm yours right now."

The look in his eyes then as he reached up to brush his fingers along her jawline, her lower lip... "You're mine for much longer than that, princess."

Mother above, he wasn't kidding about teasing her.

Except this didn't feel like teasing.

"And you are mine," she whispered back to him, pulling him down to lean her forehead against his.

Gideon did get his dance with her, though. Several, actually. Others tried to dance with her and she did for a few minutes, but she always ended up in arms she knew, whether it was Jai, Gideon, Thia, Kalla, or even Shyael and Dodge. The party lasted well into the early morning hours before Lyv finally whispered to Jai in the confines of Kalla's private room that she was more than ready for bed.

She didn't mean for it to sound seductive, but apparently her tired and slightly tipsy tone sent white hot flames of want and need shooting through him. And because they were so attuned to each other now, Lyv felt it, too.

And Kalla, seeing the exchange, shot them both a sleepy grin from where she lounged back with a crystal glass in her hand as Dodge began placing kisses along her neck and shoulder. "Well, you two know how to get back to my place. And I don't have any guests staying with me at the moment, so you have free reign to any room you want. Jai, you know yours is always available. Lyv remembers which one it is, too. You know, just in case you want to share."

She did...and another look that occurred between her and Jai. The memory of the kiss they shared in that room had her face heating.

Before Lyv and Jai left, they were going to see if Gideon and Thia were ready to go, too. But by the smiles and laughter and flirty touches their two friends were sharing as they danced with each other let them know they weren't. Lyv knew Thia was going to try and make her think it was the alcohol that did it, but she knew better. Neither Thia nor Gideon had taken a drink of anything but water the whole night.