The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

While I’d thoroughly enjoyed my all-too-quick visit to
Saion’s Cove, my mind was already a twisted mess, focused
on the upcoming meeting with Casteel’s parents. “Thank
you.”
He dipped his head and kissed my cheek as Kieran sent
him a wry look. “Don’t let him convince you that his motives
are completely altruistic. He also doesn’t want to be on the
receiving end of shouts and long looks of admiration.”
There had been a lot of them the day before.
“It makes me self-conscious,” Casteel said.
“Really?” I asked, and when Casteel agreed, I looked to
Kieran for confirmation. “Is he lying to me?”
“A little.”
“He has no idea what he’s talking about,” Casteel
claimed as the hand that had been resting on my hip inched
across my lower stomach. His thumb moved, idly drawing
circles around my navel.
“I think I’ll believe Kieran,” I decided.
“How dare you?” he teased, and I felt the nip of his
sharp teeth against the curve of my neck. I jerked as a rush
of heat flooded my system. “I am very shy.”
“And very delusional,” I retorted, glancing at the tall
trees. With the thinness of the tunic, it felt like there was
next to nothing between his hand and my skin.
It was hard not to show any reaction to his touch as
glimpses of sandstone structures peeked out between the
trees crowding the path. The farther we traveled, the lower
his pinky finger roamed, and I began to see people behind
the trees, loading carts and wagons with bushels and
baskets. I wiggled a little when his finger danced lower,
looking over my shoulder at him.
A look of pure innocence had settled on his features as
he met my gaze. “Yes?”
I narrowed my eyes.
One side of his lips kicked up. The dimple in his right
cheek appeared as a horse-drawn wagon neared the path.