Dancer rolled his eyes before he faced her. “I have been sent by Her Fae Highness to retrieve her mother so that she can show you her room. She has very specific ideas on how she wants it decorated, and Mari and Ture aren’t helping. They want you to knock out a portion of the roof and grow a tree or some weird shit like that.”

She laughed at his baffled expression. “Oh joy. I can’t wait.”

“Hmm… and she wants her own Vik, too.”

“Lovely. Let me go mitigate the damage before Eleron short-circuits.”

He picked Sumi up and carried her toward the stairs.

Sighing, she laid her head down on his shoulder and buried her hand in his braids, while she savored the scent of his warm skin. Her other arm was wrapped around his back so that she could draw circles against his spine.

Hauk slowed as he relished the tenderness of being held like this. Gods, it was incredible.

“Is something wrong?”

He tightened his arms around her. “No, mia.” He placed a kiss to her forehead as he carried her upstairs.

She trailed her hand from his hair to his jaw and then to his goatee that she fingered before she moved to trace his lips. “How can such a fierce, sexy beast be so incredibly sweet?”

“My enemies would beg to differ on the topic of my sweetness.”

“Then I’m glad I’m not your enemy, for I would hate to miss seeing this side of you.”

The redness of his eyes deepened before he dipped his head to kiss her.

Sumi moaned at the taste of him as he slowly lowered her legs and pulled her against him. She fisted her hands in his hair and shivered at the sensation of his fangs brushing against her tongue. He was always so careful not to hurt her.

His breathing ragged, he cupped her head in his hands and explored every inch of her mouth. Every hormone inside her fired as she ached to strip him naked.

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! You have to come see this.”

Pulling back, she looked up to see Dancer pouting.

He placed a tender kiss to the tip of her nose. “Our daughter is summoning you, munatara.” He stepped back and released her to Kalea’s custody.

When she reached the door to Kalea’s room, she glanced back to see Dancer watching them. Eleron appeared by his side and whispered something to him.

He tilted his head as anger sparked in his eyes. Without a word, he spun on his heels and headed back to the stairs with a furious stride.

Sumi had no idea what had just happened, but she could tell it wasn’t good. She was dying to follow after him, but Kalea was insistent she join her.

CHAPTER 34