“Sure.” I sigh, watching him sway. “Go sit down. I’ll get you some water.”
He stumbles to the bed, kicks off his boots, and flops backward like a starfish—legs dangling off the edge. Not quite sure what I meant, but sure.
I return with water to find him sitting up, head in his hands. I hold the glass out in front of him. “Here.”
He lifts his gaze to mine and takes the glass, draining it in one gulp before handing it back. “Do you want more?” I ask with an arched brow.
He shakes his head, and I place the glass down on the nightstand before stepping back in front of him. “Why are you here, Korithax?”
He looks up, eyes bleary but soft. “I like it when you say my name.”
I blink, heat creeping across my cheeks.
“And when you blush,” he adds with a soft smile. “You look like a pretty flower. My pretty little flower,” he slurs to himself.
My brows furrow. Yeah, he’s definitely wasted. His hands grip my hips, pulling me closer between his knees. His thumbs stroke softly across the silk of my nightgown.
“You don’t have to marry me, Daisy,” he murmurs, eyes trained on the floor.
“What?” I gasp.
He looks up from the floor, yet still he has to look down at me. Even sitting, he’s still towering.
“I said, you don’t have to marry me. I’ll void the contract. I’ll even let you stay in Zeriavoss so you don’t have to go back to that miserable world.”
I pull away from his grip, pacing across the room, biting the nail of my thumb. A mixture of emotions runs through me, but not a single one of them is relief.
“You hate me that much?” I snap, anger forcing its way to the surface. “You’d rather void the contract than marry me?”
“What?” His head snaps to me sharply. “No. That’s not what I?—”
“You show up here at nearly midnight, slurring words, drunk off your ass after a full day of ignoring me, and now you’re saying you don’t want to marry me?”
“I didn’t say that.” His voice grows sharper.
“You basically did!” I yell.
He stands, crossing the room in two strides, backing me against the door. His chest heaves with every breath as he braces his hands at either side of my head.
“I said you don’t have to marry me. Not that I don’t want to,” he growls.
I stare up into those endless black eyes, his shadow draping over me like a blanket of night. “Then why are you offering me a way out?” My voice trembles. “You literally pinned me down this morning and told me I had no choice.”
“Because I don’t want to force you.” His voice softens, breaking just slightly. “I want you to—” He sighs, “I want you to choose me.”
My breath catches at his confession. “What?”
He turns away from me, walking back toward the bed. “Forget it. I’m giving you a choice. That’s all.”
I follow, grabbing his arm—my hand barely spanning his wrist. God, this man was huge.
“You seem to forget… I did choose to marry you, Korithax.”
“You did it out of desperation,” he mutters. “To escape your old life.”
“I wanted to be tied to you!” I almost scream. But I don’t. I can’t. Not when he’s looking at me like this. Not after how he treated me this morning. I can’t allow myself to be vulnerable with him again because it never ends well.
“I’ll still marry you,” I say instead, keeping my face passive. “I made a deal.”
