Chapter 56: Unfortunate

NINE

Swallowing, he pushes my hair off my shoulder, then glides his palm into the nape of my neck. I stare at him. I stare deep into his midnight irises. I know better than to be here, to allow him to make me comfortable, warm, and content. I lived the last eight days as an Unfortunate should, and he lived his as a Fortunate should. We didn't intertwine, not for a second.

And it was the loneliest eight days of my life.

Irritation flickers in my chest. How dare he groom me. How dare he make it so my life is mundane and miserable without him? How dare he make me crave his company and his touch.

I lift myself a little higher, moving my face in line with his. I glance at his mouth, then back to his eyes. They flash, igniting a fire in the pit of my belly.

"Careful, Unfortunate. You shouldn't tease the man who's spent the last seven nights fucking you in his mind."

My ears burn, and I can't help myself. I kiss him. I glide my hands around his neck and move into his lap. I wrap my legs