Serpent's Touch (Serpent's Touch 1)

He stroked her knuckles with his thumb as she went quiet again. After a while, her breathing evened out.

His eyelids dropped closed, too.

“Are you too tired to tell me a story, Kyllen?” she asked, making him open his eyes again.

He stifled a yawn. “Maybe a short one? What do you want me to tell you about?”

“I want to know more about that woman. The lady-in-waiting who took your virginity.”

“Um…” The request rendered him speechless. That encounter happened too long ago and obviously hadn’t been that impressive since he didn’t remember much. “Why? What do you want to know about her?”

“Did you love her?”

“What? No.” He shifted uneasily, the stiff sheets chafing against his skin uncomfortably. “Listen, how about a nice funny story about me learning to shoot a bow instead?”

She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Okay,” she agreed, thankfully not insisting on a “love story” from him. “Can you shoot a bow?”

“I can if I have to, but it’s not my favorite choice of weapon. Let me tell you why.”

They both were tired and needed some rest. It had to be a very short story. Thankfully, it wouldn’t take him long to tell her how he had accidentally shot his very snotty aunt in her backside. The woman had so many skirts on, the arrowhead had never even pierced through them all. That didn’t stop his father from punishing Kyllen by locking him in his room for two days straight, which would’ve been a real torture had he not climbed out of his window the minute the door had been locked.

“Under one condition,” he warned.

“What condition?” She sounded so adorably sleepy.

“You’ll have to cuddle with me,” he said and added quickly, “For warmth. It’s freezing in here and, you know—”

She chuckled, not letting him finish, and lifted her arm in an inviting gesture. “Come here, Kyllen.”

He hugged her, and she snuggled into his chest, their arms around each other. He under the covers. She on top of them. He in the nude. She fully clothed.

And he already knew this night was about to beat his old record for his best night in this world.