Free A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang Page B

TV screen, but his mouth twitched. “Something we’ll have to remedy, no doubt,” he said dryly, pulling the bottle of whiskey from between my knees. His eye rolled toward me as he took a swig. His lashes seemed impossibly long. “You should go to bed.”
    “Care to join me?” I leered, giggling as he coughed into his fist. The fact that I was half serious didn’t occur to me until I’d actually said the words, even if it was a bad idea. After all, he was my bodyguard. And Moria’s brother. And a Faery prince, for all that he seemed to have his own secrets about it. Still, given the way things were going, I wasn’t sure it could be any worse. And I hadn’t gotten laid since …
    … since Brystion left.
    The thought sobered me and I sighed. “Guess that’s a no.” I swayed slightly as I stood up and shut off the TV.
    Staggering to the kitchen, I threw my dishes into the sink before finding my way to the hall. Probably would have a killer hangover in the morning. A few hours from now. Whatever.
    “You didn’t actually give me a chance to answer the question.” Talivar emerged from the kitchen to lean against the door jamb.
    A wave of heat flushed through my cheeks. “Erm. Was that a yes?” I couldn’t help the wistful tone of my voice, though I wanted to retract the words immediately. Served me right for being such a lush.
    “No.” He stared at me a moment longer, something about him hesitant. One hand reached up and brushed the bangs from my eyes. “Ask me again when you’re sober.”
    The floor shifted beneath me and wobbled forward. I caught his arm to steady myself, only to find myself pressed against the wall. “God, I’m a mess.”
    His mouth met mine for a surprised instant, pulling away before I had a chance to react. I caught a fleeting taste of warmth sparking against my lips. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, his head lowering so that his hair fell forward to shield his eyes. His fingers stroked shyly down my cheek, sliding beneath to cup my chin, which I took to be an invitation of another sort.
    I didn’t wait to be asked twice, arching on tiptoe to find him again, the whiskey hot on his breath as he groaned. He trapped me against the wall, his arms bent on either side of my face.
    “You don’t seem that sorry.”
    “Mayhap I’m not,” he agreed, coming up for air a moment later. “You just seemed so … sad.”
    “And the prescription for sadness in Faerie is kisses?”
    A smile tugged at his mouth. “When you have nearly forever to live, lovemaking becomes a rather extended endeavor. Plus we bore easy.” His hand slid down my neck, lingering where it met my shoulder.
    I fought the urge to writhe beneath it, all too aware of the heat of his body. “You’ve got a strange way of saying no.”
    I said it playfully, but the moment was gone the second the words left my mouth. “Of course,” he sighed, sliding to the other side of the hall, his own cheeks flushed. “You are right. Forgive me for overstepping. It has been a long day.”
    I sucked in a deep breath, trying to coax my pulse into something that didn’t resemble that of an oversexed rabbit. A tiny part of me wailed that he’d actually retreated so quickly, even though it was for the best. “I know … you had to take pity. I get it. I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier.” My fingers drummed against the wall, agitation and anger at myself playing a toccata on the doorjamb. “I don’t like that she saw me like that. That you saw me like that.”
    He tapped his eye patch with a wry chuckle. “We all have our flaws. And there is no shame in what you cannot control.”
    “Maybe. I still feel like an ass, though.”
    He cocked his head at me. “Did you know you limp when you walk?”
    I blinked. “Uh, maybe a little. Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
    “Yes.” His gaze strolled down my hips to my bad knee, pointing to it. “This one. It’s not always evident, but there’s a roll of your