The Archer (The Blood Realm Series Book 3)(128)

She stared at him for a long time. Then, slowly, she draped her arms around his neck, pulled his head down to hers. He tasted like home.

“Get out,” Herne said, his voice thick with disgust. “All of you. Get out of my court.”





Chapter Twenty-Six



“Oak leaf, cypress needle, rowan.”

Robin held his breath, watching Marian’s bare breasts shift as she drew back her arrow. The moonlight bathed her pale skin in the most becoming, come-hither way. It wasn’t the glow of a sidhe’s skin, but somehow the extra brush of shadows only seemed to outline every curve, create interesting little patterns that just begged for more…focused attention.

He sat up from where he’d been lying in the grass, edged closer to the large rock that was currently serving as his wife’s perch for tonight’s archery face-off. The cool grey stone was a shock against the growing heat of his skin, but he ignored it. He braced one hand on the rock and stretched out the other to trace one particularly promising slash of shadow—#p#分页标题#e#

The bottom curve of Marian’s bow jerked sharply in his direction, making sudden and painful contact with his temple. The nerves on his scalp shrieked in protest and he snatched his hand back, nearly slipping off the rock in the process. He recovered his balance and fixed his wife with a reproachful glare.

“What was that for?” he demanded.

Marian narrowed her eyes, already settling her bow and arrow back into position to take her shot. “Were you even listening?”

No. “Yes, but it’s awfully hard to hear you when you’re mumbling and facing the opposite direction.”

The arch of one red eyebrow told him just how much water his excuse held, but he didn’t let being caught in a lie affect his confidence. He eyed her bare breasts again, tilting his head as he noticed the way she worked her right arm, trying to get the bow at the perfect angle despite the pressing curve of her breast.

“It never occurred to me they might get in the way.”

Marian let out a frustrated huff and looked down at him, her bow sagging. “What?”

“Your breasts. That one’s a bit in the way when you fire the bow.” He nodded absent-mindedly. “Makes your aim even more impressive.”

“Good enough to beat you,” she agreed. “Now, as I said, oak leaf, cypress needle, rowan.”

Robin settled down on the rock, then jerked up with a hiss. Cold stone against his hand was one thing. Cold stone against his naked lower half was something else. “And how will you know if the arrow passed through the cypress before the rowan?” He eyed Marian’s pants, his usual appreciation for the way they outlined her body mitigated by the fact that she shouldn’t be wearing them at all. “I still think I was robbed of that last shot.”

“Are you questioning my nose?” Marian looked down the shaft of her arrow, lining up her shot. “I can tell. Now if you could try to quit hissing like some great dragon, that would be grand.”

“Well excuse me if I was a bit startled to feel cold stone pressing against areas of my body that should never be pressed against stone,” he grumbled. “Or cold.”

“You’re the one who decided to strip your pants off first.”

Robin crossed his arms, renewing his glare at her pants as if he could somehow will them away. “If I’d known you’d stick to the game this long, perhaps I would have made a different choice.” He plucked his pants from the ground and laid them over the rock, protecting vulnerable skin from another unfortunate stab of cold lest the stone ruin his plans for the night. “When I suggested this game, I expected the disrobing to interest you more than the archery.”

“You’re just mad because I’m winning.”

“Says who?” He struggled to keep the thread of the conversation in his mind as his gaze hungrily devoured the smooth curves of Marian’s shoulders, the swells of her breasts, and the tempting muscles of her stomach.

“I still have pants, socks, and boots. You’re down to just a shirt.”

“And bracers,” he murmured.

Marian had just let go of her arrow, the faint hiss of the projectile through the trees the only sound in the still night air. She whirled on him as soon as the feathers left her fingertips, her eyes wide with disbelief. “What? You’re wearing bracers?”

“Yes. Why do you think I kept the shirt on?”

“That’s cheating!”

“You never said not to wear bracers and you never asked me if I was wearing them. It’s not my fault you’re new to this game.” He groped for his bow, his eyes unwilling to leave Marian’s bare skin a second sooner than he had to. “Oak, cypress, rowan you said?”#p#分页标题#e#