The Shadow Princess (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 6)

Bastien watched in terror as Thalia hit the ground and rolled. His heart stopped as she went right over the cliff’s edge.

He was there no more than a second or two after Thalia went over, jumping from Greta before he even came to a full halt. He ran the last few steps and dropped to his knees at the edge to look over.

Bastien expected to see Thalia’s mangled body on the rocks below, but was shocked to see her face grinning at him no more than a foot away as she held on to a vine.

“Fuck, Thalia!” he yelled as he braced himself with one hand on the ground and reached the other over to grip her wrist. “You gave me a gods-damned heart attack.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

“Of all the stupid… idiotic… dumb… stupid…” Bastien sputtered in both anger and relief as he straightened to pull her up.

“You already said stupid,” Thalia pointed out as she rose upward.

Bastien gave one more hard tug to bring her over the edge, and the momentum made him stumble. His heel clipped a rock, and he fell backward.

Thalia went right with him.

Bastien hit the ground hard. Thalia landed right on top of him.

And just like that, his anger and fear dissipated as he felt how soft Thalia’s body was, her entire length pressed against his. Her breasts mashed into his chest, and her face hovered inches above his with her dark hair spilling around them.

Thalia gazed intently at Bastien’s lips and sighed. “Are you sure you won’t give me a kissing lesson?”

It was difficult, but he managed to hold back a groan. He was not able to manage his body’s reaction, however, and he grew hard just by lying in this position with her and thinking about kissing. Bastien tried to think of anything that would take his mind off her soft body and her lush mouth—and his thickening erection.

Her father will kill you if you even think about kissing her, he told himself.

That didn’t make a difference. In fact, Bastien thought one kiss might be worth death.

Thalia shifted, the apex of her thighs rubbing against him in just the right place. A bolt of pure lust shot through Bastien, and that got him moving. He rolled and pushed Thalia off, jumping to his feet.

So damn awkward as he stood above her, the evidence of his desire right there for her to see.

And see she did, her eyes rounding, a blush staining her cheeks.

Bastien spun away and tried to rearrange himself, but he still needed to make sure she wasn’t hurt. “Are you okay, Thalia?”

“I am,” she said, and because she was the worst of imps, she asked, “Are you?”

Gods, he wanted to wring her neck for being foolish in the first place, scaring him half to death, and then for causing a physical reaction he’d have preferred she not witness.

But even though he was annoyed beyond belief, a realization swept through him like a tidal wave.

He was in love with Thalia Clairmont and had no idea what to do about it.

“Bastien.”

Thalia’s voice echoed through the bathroom door, and he felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him. He’d been so deep in the memory of that moment when he realized he’d loved her, and at that point, they hadn’t even shared a kiss.

Setting the bread knife down, Bastien moved through the small house to the bedroom. The bathroom door was still cracked, and he moved to it, lending his voice without looking inside. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, opening the door. Her head was wet, and she had a towel wrapped around her body. “I was hoping you could put salve on the abrasion before I get dressed.”

He should have turned around to get the healing supplies.

He should have averted his eyes.

But he could not help looking at her. He ran his gaze from her head to her toes. He grimaced at a bruise at her temple he hadn’t noticed before and the slight redness from the collar. Thalia clutched the towel closed at her chest, but he scanned to where it ended just below her hips, exposing a lot of leg.

His jaw locked, teeth gritted, and his vision narrowed as he saw the bruises on her thighs. “What the fuck happened?” he growled, his eyes snapping up to meet Thalia’s. “Did he… did that monster…?”

Had that fucker raped her and she didn’t tell him?

Thalia’s hand pressed against Bastien’s chest, and his head dropped to stare at it blankly. He could feel his heart thundering against the slight pressure of her touch.

Thalia whispered, “He didn’t rape me, Bastien.”

He lifted his head, staring at her beseechingly. He had to see the truth there, not just hear it from her lips.

She nodded. “Those bruises he gave me while we were riding. He kept pinching me there. Well, all over, really.”