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Argument commencing in three...two...
“I’m sorry,” he barked, as if he’d held on to the words too long. As if his lucidity clung by a thread. “I shouldn’t have left without kissing you goodbye. Without saying the word at least.”
Well, he’d definitely taken a different approach than her past boyfriends.
The outburst shocked her. But his misery shocked her more. “No, you shouldn’t have,” she said, deflating. So much for yelling at him. She sighed. His entire life revolved around war. Did she really want the same for their relationship? He deserved at least one safe space. Besides, Rome wasn’t conquered in a day. “You hurt me,” she admitted softly. She deserved a safe space, too.
He flinched, true anguish contorting his expression. “I never wished to hurt you. Only to bring you smiles and laughter.” His gaze beseeched her. “Tell me you forgive me.”
She didn’t tell him. “You endangered me, Kaysar.”
He flinched harder. “That is my greatest sin, and I will never forgive myself.” Thrusting both of his arms forward, he presented her with a magnificent tiara made of sharp crystals. “This is for you. Your first crown as Queen of the Dusklands. A mere token of my great affections.”
A bribe? “This changes nothing,” she griped, even as she tripped over to snatch her prize. She petted and admired the dazzling accessory before setting it on the nightstand. “Fine. It doesn’t hurt your cause, either. Consider yourself seventy percent, bordering on seventy-five percent forgiven. And for your information, I expect you to forgive yourself when I do, okay? That is nonnegotiable. No caveats.”
He relaxed some. “How can I get to one hundred?”
Letting all of her heartbreak glimmer in her eyes, she smiled sadly. “You do better next time. One minute, you claimed to want me, the next you cast me aside. You abandoned me, exactly as you abandoned these lands. You were my dream, until you became my nightmare.”
He opened and closed his fists, determination hardening his muscles. “I will do better, I swear it. You are my most precious treasure, and I’ll never abandon you again.”
The headiness of his promise took her breath away. “Fine. You’re at ninety-five percent.” Most precious treasure? How could she deny this man anything? “Do you ever tire of the constant war? Or long to be free of your tie to the king?”
“Never.” His vehemence...hurt.
With their relationship hanging in the balance, she might as well be brutally honest with him. “I won’t ever be satisfied in second place. I’m not wired that way. When I play, I go for gold, always. That’s what I want with you. To give you my best. But I expect your best, too. I won’t accept a repeat of my childhood. Waiting and waiting for my turn to matter.”
“You matter,” he burst out, taking a step toward her. “More than anyone else in the world, you matter to me.”
Cookie pushed the hurt aside. “I’ll give you a chance to prove your feelings for me...while I try to prove my feelings to you.” She toyed with the sash of her robe, his hot gaze tracking every movement, driving her need for him higher. When her nipples drew tight, he sucked in air. Even that turned her on. “Would you like that?”
“Would love that.”
His intensity lured her closer...
“Did you think of me while you hunted your foes?” Already humming with desire, she molded her body to his.
“I thought of you constantly.” He gripped her waist, shackling her in place, then parted her legs with an insistent knee, ensuring her aching, empty core balanced on his thigh. He smoldered at her. “The moon rose and set, and I thought of your eyes. Every pink flower reminded me of your hair. The scent of poisonvine drove me mad.”
Her pulse raced, the confession heady. She traced her nails over his stubbled jawline. When she reached a spot near his ear, she grew thorns and pierced his skin ever so slightly. Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You will not leave me so abruptly again.”
His pupils exploded over his irises, lust sizzling in their depths. “I will not.”
The fervent vow pleased her, the next stroke tapering into the gentlest caress. “I think you just topped ninety-eight percent.”
His nostrils flared. Cupping her nape with a trembling hand, he bent his head and pressed his forehead to hers. “I pleasured myself to thoughts of you. Did you pleasure yourself?”
“I did,” she replied with a smile. “I thought of you almost every time.”
“Minx,” he said, and nipped at her bottom lip. “I want inside you. Tell me you’re ready.”
Their problems hadn’t been fully solved, but she couldn’t deny him the truth. “I’m ready, Kaysar.” She’d decided to win him. So Cookie would have him. All of him. “I want to take you deep.”
“Yes,” he hissed. “I will pour myself into you, and you will love it.” His fingers closed in her hair as he backed her into the nearest wall, where he ground against her. “Does my sweetling want to come all over me?” he asked, grinding harder. Faster.
