"Young miss, are you okay?"
Islinda’s attention was roused by the Fae servant beside her and she realized she had been standing outside the door for a while now.
"Oh, right," She sucked in a deep breath and braced herself for the inevitable. There goes nothing.
She pushed the double door open, her epic entrance drawing the attention of everyone in the dining room, precisely the dark Fae prince whose burning gaze bored into her. His unwavering sapphire eyes drank her in slowly, starting from her head to her feet. His gaze lingered on her legs that peeked out from the slit in her gown a little longer as he licked his bottom lip and all this he did while lazily swirling his wine glass.
Islinda’s breath caught in her throat at his darkened eyes and she felt so self-conscious she almost tripped on her feet. Eli stared at her in such a way that made it seem he wanted to devour her whole. Okay, maybe he did intend to devour her whole. It seems she might have bitten off more than she could chew.
"Princess," He was up on his feet at once, pulling out a seat for her with his free hand and it was positioned beside his. Well, the closer, the better. There was no need to get nervous. She had this under control. Hopefully.
"Princess," He took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of her hand, his lips lingering more than they should, "Ravishing."
A shiver ran down Islinda’s spine, her heart pounding against her ribcage. No, she better get herself under control, this was supposed to be her scene, and couldn’t let Eli take her off guard.
"Thank you, Prince Aldric. You don’t look so bad yourself. " Islinda said for show since there were servants in the room and none of them knew Aldric had a split personality.
She took her seat, noticing Aurelia was present for this meal. It was hard to catch a glimpse of the Fae these days, neither was Rosalind around – which was for the better. Mission aside, Islinda was starving, Eli had taken her for hours and Rosalind’s presence would ruin her appetite.
"You are dressed to kill, princess. Remind me, what is the occasion?" Eli studied her over the rim of his glass.
"Well, I’m having a meal with the prince of the Fae Court, and since I’m not royalty, I decided I should look the part," Islinda said, crossing her leg, the slit revealing her creamy thighs and Eli’s attention was diverted there for a moment. Flirting? Who said she couldn’t flirt?
When Eli lifted his face, he was caught red-handed by her and he smirked unabashedly.
"Sorry, princess, but you’re too hot for royalty," He winked at her, his sexy lips tugging to the side in a smile.
By the gods, who turned on the heat? Islinda quickly took a glass of water and downed it. If this flirting continued at this raging pace, she was going to combust on the spot.
"Is that all you’re going to have?"
"What?"
He tipped his head at the empty glass in her hand, "I thought with the exercises so far, that you would have demolished these dishes by now. But the fact you’re not starving must mean I didn’t do a good job and I need to work harder." Eli concluded with a devious promise in his tone.
"No," Islinda said immediately, picking up her spoon while her face was reddened with embarrassment, "I was merely waiting for your order to begin."
"Have I ever given you an order to wait before?"
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