Touch (Touched by the Fae 3)

“The Summer King, the ruler of all Faerie, but especially the Light Fae. He ruled for centuries because no one else was strong enough to take the throne from him until Melisandre charmed the crown right from his head.”

I can see that. As much as I hate her, with her glamour, there’s no denying that the Fae Queen is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s absolute perfection; with her innocent act, she must have been catnip to the king of Faerie.

There’s only one thing I don’t understand. Well, okay. That’s an understatement. When it comes to the fae, there are so many things that I don’t get. But, if there’s one huge difference when it comes to Nine being my Shadow Man and my soul mate, it’s that I can finally ask all my questions and he’s actually feeling generous enough to answer them.

“Born to be the Summer King,” I repeat. “How was Oberon born to be the king?”

And how can we find someone else to take on Melisandre? If Oberon is long gone, maybe there’s another fae that can do exactly what she did and steal the crown so that I can finish the Shadow Prophecy once and for all without becoming a murderer.

Nine runs his fingers through my hair again, massaging my scalp with his fingertips. “He bore the mark of the Summer Court, the mark that makes him different from the rest of the Seelie. The Light Fae all have similar features. You know that. Gold hair. Gold eyes. Gold skin. Oberon did, too, except for his eyes.”

When it comes to the fae, the eyes are the biggest clue that they’re not like humans. What kind did Oberon have if even he was set apart from the rest of the Light Fae?

“What was up with his eyes?”

“They were green.”

I almost choke.

No way.

No fucking way.

I scramble away from him, climbing out of Nine’s embrace before rising up on my knees, grabbing Nine’s arm in excitement.

He gives it a tug, shifting my center of gravity as he rolls to his back. I tumble on top of him and, normally, I’d be perfectly okay with that. But not right now. This is important.

I push up, straddling him, bracing myself with my hands flush against his bare chest.

His eyes zero in on my tits. I smack him.

“Yes?”

“I know someone with green eyes.” Nine’s eyebrows rise and, okay, I get it. Lots of people have green eyes. “I mean, someone who knows about the fae.”

And, with him watching my face now, I tell him all about the homeless man with the green eyes. Nine doesn’t say anything as I explain. Once or twice, his shadowed gaze dips down to my boobs again.

Great. I’ve created a monster.

When I’m done, I ask him excitedly, “What if that’s him? What if that’s Oberon?”

“What if it isn’t?” counters Nine.

I can’t let myself think that. All along, I wondered what was up with that strange, mysterious man. The way he seemed to appear and disappear so suddenly, how he always seemed to be around when I was—unless I was looking for him, of course. And then there was how he knew about the Shadow Prophecy...

“We have to go find him. Now.”

“No.” Nine sets his jaw. “Later.”

What? No.

I start to slide off of him.

His cool hand laying gently over mine stops me. I look back at him. “What?”

“I’ll go with you. I’ll help you find him if that’s what you want. But, right now, I just want to lie here with you. Can I do that?”

My heart stutters in my chest.