The Bound (Ascension #2)(106)

She shook her head. “This, most certainly, does not scare me.” Then, she kissed him again for good measure.

He laughed. “Good. Because I know Eleysia is different than Byern, and I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I met you in the woods in Aurum.”

“You have not!” she insisted.

“Are you kidding? A gorgeous, feisty woman who wasn’t afraid to put me in my place the first time she met me? Someone who pushed back and didn’t care about my title?”

“I didn’t know about your title.”

“And it didn’t change a thing.”

Cyrene shrugged. “A title is just a title. The person underneath the title is the only thing that matters.”

His smile was electric. It was as if no one had ever bothered to see past the prince to the man underneath.

Her legs quivered as exhaustion hit her anew.

His smile turned to concern. “Are you all right?”

“Just tired. I’ve been training all day and can barely stand.”

Dean smirked down at her, and then, before she knew it, he scooped her up in his arms. He held her as if she weighed nothing, carrying her down the empty corridor without a backward glance.

“Dean, what are you doing?” she whisper-shouted at him.

“You’ve had a very draining day. You should be resting, but I’m not willing to give you up just yet.”

“Well, wherever we’re going, I can walk there!”

He laughed. “I think I like this.”

Dean toed open a door at the end of the hall. Cyrene was about to demand he release her, but the comment was lost on her lips. The room she entered was inherently masculine. All dark colors and hardwood furniture. It was impressively clean with books neatly arranged on a bookshelf that took up an entire wall and a desk full of more books.

But Dean kept moving and opened up another door. This brought her into a darkly furnished sitting area, which connected to a bathing chamber as well as a bedchamber.

Dean gently laid her down on the sofa, and even though she wanted to protest, the comfort of the sofa and the softness of the pillow under her head immediately soothed her.

“These are your rooms?” Cyrene asked shyly.

He nodded and took a seat next to her, resting his arms against the back of the sofa. “Yes.”

“They’re nice.”

Dean shrugged dismissively, as if he wished he could minimize the opulence of his rooms. But he seemed comfortable here, more laid-back. It was like seeing him back in the woods, away from his courtly duties.

Just a man. With a woman. In his rooms.

Cyrene bit her lip and averted her gaze. She needed to slow her thoughts down. Dean had brought her here because she was exhausted, and he wanted more time with her. Nothing else.

“So, tell me everything. What happened? How did they find you?” Dean asked.

Cyrene looked back over at him and smiled. “They were at the party. With a little thanks to your sister, they found me. Just like Basille Selby had said.”

“My sister?” Dean asked, confused.

“Alise.”

“Creator,” he said, running a hand back through his short hair. “What did she do now?”

“She and Robard…locked me in a room, and I…kind of blasted the room apart, trying to get out,” she confessed. “I was the explosion.”

Dean cursed violently and stood. He started pacing angrily. “What was she thinking? And then that explosion. How did you survive something like that? It rattled the palace.”

“I don’t know what Alise was thinking. I would really like to know what her real problem is with me because it’s going past bitterness over you.”

“I have no idea what’s bothering her. This is beyond ridiculous. She is endangering your life.” He ground his teeth. “I thought I made myself clear with Alise before, but I will talk to her again. She needs to stop this business right now.”

“I agree, but will you come sit down? You’re making me nervous,” she said. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy. All she wanted to do was sleep, but Dean was making her want to stay awake.

“Yes. My apologies.”

Dean moved forward, and she thought he was going to take his previous seat, but instead, he gently lifted her head from the cushion and sat where her head had last been. He placed the pillow back in his lap. She rested back against him, and he ran his fingers through her long hair. She sighed and snuggled against him. This is bliss.

“You’re so exhausted.”

“I know,” she murmured. “Matilde and Vera have been training me to control my powers. It’s exhausting.”

“Well, get some rest,” he encouraged. “I’ll be right here.”

“What happened to Basille and Brigette?” she murmured in the silence.

Dean sighed. “Basille left Eleysia again. My mother has forbidden them to wed, and Brigette hasn’t left her rooms.”

“That’s so sad for them.”

“My mother can be unbearably stubborn when she wants to be. Thankfully, she likes you.”

“She does?” Cyrene asked, surprised.

“You’re still here, aren’t you?”

“Mmm,” Cyrene said. She wasn’t sure that was the same thing.