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She threw her napkin in her lap. “No.” She pushed back from the table.
“I asked. That was what you wanted, isn’t it?” I dropped my fork and walked over to her.
She spun to face me. “Asking is not supposed to be an afterthought, Damon. If you don’t see that, then I don’t see how I can keep doing this.”
“I don’t have time to consider what everyone wants. That’s not a luxury I have. I have many others, but not time.” I pressed my gaze into hers. “I need you to be safe.”
That was all that mattered. Her safety. Her wellbeing. How else could I guarantee any kind of normalcy for her in Freychon if she didn’t have security? She wasn’t thinking clearly.
Her eyes fell to the floor. “This has all been amazing. Beautiful really. But I can’t be with a man who thinks I’m a treat. A trinket to carry around in his pocket.” Her blue eyes lifted and I saw the mist along her lashes. “You can tell Sutcliffe he doesn’t have to worry about damage control.”
She gathered her train and started for the door. I grabbed her arm, spinning her to my chest.
“No, Molly.”
Her eyes landed on mine. “You were right that first night. It was a fantasy.”
My ribs crushed against my lungs, squeezing the air into tight and uncomfortable places.
I didn’t want to let her go. I had no intention of letting her through that door, but I had never begged. Fuck. What was this woman doing to me?
26
Molly
I didn’t know I had that kind of resolve, but the words
flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to fully consider the consequences of breaking up with the king. I didn’t want to go, but it was the only way I could survive this without letting him shatter every part of me.
I got it. He was a king. People jumped when he snapped. But I couldn’t be discounted so easily. I had let myself fall for the fantasy. Believe that beneath the cool exterior, he was as insane about me as I was about him. That when it came to decisions, he would be the knight in shining armor. The romantic. The Prince Charming I was a fool to believe in.
I wiped the first heavy tear with my thumb. I refused to fall apart in front of him. I tried to break for the door a second time, but Damon’s grip was forceful.
“Stay, Molly.” It was the first time I didn’t hear command in his voice. “Please, stay.”
It wouldn’t be that easy.
“I could,” I answered. “But it will happen again. You’ll demand I do something. You’ll make a decision without asking. Not because you’re trying to be a dick, but because you don’t know how to do this relationship thing any other way.”
“Did you just call me a dick?”
I pressed my lips. That might have gone too far. “Yes. When we’re alone, and it’s you and me. No titles. None of the royal bullshit, yes, you can be a dick. No other man would think it was even an option to just decide things the way you do. You plan without asking. You dictate. You’re a dick. I said it.”
I didn’t expect him to laugh. His deep voice carried through the dining room.
“I’m being serious.” But the more I tried to prove my sincerity, the harder he laughed. “Fine. I’ll find a state room, and wait until we dock,” I warned. “You think it’s funny. I don’t.”
“No, Molly. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He stepped in front of me. “This goes both ways you know. No one treats me with such royal disdain as you do.” He arched his eyebrows.
“I respect you.” I folded my arms.
“My customs? Culture? Traditions?”
I twisted my lips together. I didn’t think it was the same thing. The parallel was a stretch. I had slighted his authority as Galona’s king multiple times, but how did that equal the way he made decisions without asking me?
“All right. I don’t agree with everything Galonian. I’ll admit that. But I do respect you, Damon. You, the person. What you’re thinking. Feeling. I don’t ignore it. I don’t try to rule your life like it’s a hobby.”
He clasped my hands between his. “Then, teach me. Show me. You’re not my hobby. Fuck, that’s the last thing I want you to think.”
