Page 29 of Dragon King’s Duty Bride

And then there was Sia.

She stood near the long reception table, helping his mother adjust the girls’ dresses while laughing softly as the youngest spun in circles. Sia wore pale blue and it clung just enough to remind him she was not simply “help.” Not simply “temporary.”

She was warm and kind. And beautiful. He had to crush down the feeling he got when he saw her as a woman instead of a necessity.

He didn’t like that word.

They danced later when someone goaded them into it. His mother also insisted and the girls shrieked that Papa had to dance. Lucas hadn’t danced in years and suddenly he had several times since his new marriage.

Her smile was steady, but up close he saw the fine tension in it. There was nervousness in her eyes and something else, something quieter and heavier. A sadness he did not understand.

The band shifted into something slow and he held out his hand. Sia moved closer and Lucas placed his hand at her waist. He hesitated only a fraction of a second before pulling her closer than he ever had before.

He felt the exact moment she noticed. Her breath changed, just barely. But he felt it.

The room seemed to recede. The laughter, the clink of glasses, the swirl of silk and suits. It all faded to a blur at the edges. He had forgotten what it was like to hold a woman who leaned into him with trust.

Trust.

Sia fit against him as though she had always known how. She smelled faintly of something light and floral, something that didn’t demand attention but lingered all the same.

She tilted her head up to say something and stopped. Their faces were too close and the world narrowed to her mouth.

His thumb pressed slightly into the curve of her back as her fingers tightened at his shoulder.

It would have been so easy. One breath closer and he could taste those beautiful, full lips. He hadn’t kissed anyone since Dian. He hadn’t wanted to.

Until now.

The realization hit like cold water. This was not supposed to happen. This marriage was an arrangement. Stability for his daughters. Continuity for the crown. A practical solution born of necessity.

It was not meant to stir heat beneath his skin or make his body recognize her warmth as something to move toward. Maybe he should have contemplated the situation when she offered herself to him.

Sia’s gaze flicked to his mouth. Then back to his eyes. “Are you all right?” she asked quietly.

The question was soft and concerned, and it irritated him.

“I’m fine,” he said.

Her brows drew together slightly. “You don’t look fine.”

“I assure you, I am.” The coolness in his tone was deliberate. A boundary.

She noticed it. He felt her straighten and step back to put space between them. “You don’t have to hold me as though I’m a porcelain doll,” she murmured, a flicker of steel beneath the gentleness. “I won’t shatter.”

His jaw tightened. “I’m aware.”

“Then stop acting like you’re afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

Her eyes searched his. “No? You’re afraid of something.”

The music swelled around them and Lucas looked away, unable to hold her gaze.

Across the floor, Luna and Stella were spinning in dizzy circles with Pavel and their laughter pealed through the hall. Stella nearly tripped over her hem and Pavel scooped her up with exaggerated drama which made both girls shriek with delight.

And Celeste. Lucas's chest tightened.