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“Unlikely, but I also can’t leave you, so it’s a no-win situation for me.” He clasps his other hand over mine and places it against his chest, where it’s warm. We both shuffle closer, and I don’t want to argue with him, so I change the topic.

“Back in the palace, what was the deal with the coin you gave the king?” I ask.

“Your father gave me that coin, saying if I ever get in trouble, to give it to King Slate, and he’ll understand.”

I wish I remembered my father, as he made sure to protect me not only that night but even now. “What was my father like?”

“From the few encounters I had with him, he always seemed like a fair man, but no one was perfect, Dawn. He made mistakes too, upset many in the other courts and even his own people. But that night he came to see me, I saw a terrified version of him. And he wasn’t scared for himself, but of ensuring you had a future. He loved you.”

We stare at each other, and I tell myself that maybe I ought to cry, to feel something other than anger that I missed out on knowing my family.

“What would you be doing if you were still in Grimvale and he never came to your door?” I ask.

“Hmm.” He strokes the back of my hand, then lifts it to his lips. “I really can’t say. I was in a bad place and had lost all hope. I had no family left, and I struggled with that for a long time. So his request for help inadvertently rescued me too.”

I cup his face and stare into his beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” he murmurs. “I’m no longer that Kazak.”

We inch closer, my knees brushing his.

“You want a fact about Lian and Corvin?” he says, changing topics.

“Do I even need to say it? Of course!”

“Well, they’re actually half brothers.”

I blink, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “Are you serious?”

“Mm. Lian’s mother had an affair with Corvin’s father and fell pregnant with Corvin. Once the truth got out, the hatred between them grew,” he whispers. “Lian’s father wanted to get rid of the baby, as it wasn’t his, so his mother gave him to Corvin’s father to raise. It’s Grimvale’s dirty secret that everyone knows about.”

“Shit! That’s awful, and talk about messing them up. Their hatred makes so much more sense.”

“When she died from a horrible riding accident, her death pushed the two royal families even farther apart.”

I pinch my lip, hurting for them both. Kazak lost his family, as have I, and we’re a lot more alike than I realized. Is that why we all found each other?

“It’s all right.” Kazak strokes my cheek with his fingertip. “It was years ago.”

“I know, but it’s still heartbreaking.”

“The reason I’m fighting so hard to hold on to you is because I can’t lose you, Dawn,” he says softly and his voice wavers.

His touch is so tender that I move even closer to him until we’re inches apart.

Before I can think, his lips touch mine, and I can’t help but kiss him back, taking his lower lip into my mouth, loving the way he tastes. It’s a sweetness I’m starved for. His hand slides through my hair, and he drags me closer. He slips his other arm under my pillow so our bodies are flush. His monster dick presses up against my stomach.

“You’re so perfect, Dawn.” Then we’re kissing again, but it’s heavier now, hungrier.

I slip my hand down between us and wrap my fingers around his erection, remembering how turned on I had been during our first time, and I start to dip under the blanket. But he groans and pulls me back up against him, face-to-face.

“You can suck my cock later, but what I’ve been dreaming about is fucking your pussy.”

His words leave me trembling, almost killing me. He already tugs at my shirt, and I help him pull it up and over my head. His huge hand grabs my breast and squeezes before he ducks his head and takes a nipple into his mouth.

I’m instantly wet, my body rocking against him as he hastily pushes down on my shorts until they vanish somewhere at the bottom of the bed.

When his hand slides between my thighs, I spread my legs for him, and he growls. “Fuck, Dawn, you’re soaking for me, so perfect.”