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“Give me something better to stare at, you mean?” He flashed me a teasing grin.
“Obviously.” I winked at him before slipping out of his room.
My lips were curled up in a smile that I had no desire at all to fight.
Chapter12
The next weekpassed by quickly, and quietly. There were a lot of advisors for Diora and the others to follow, and I stayed close to Espen to make his responsibilities easier to bear. The moon didn’t fall again—though it got close once when I forgot to put clothes on before answering the door again—and Espen seemed to relax more with every day that I didn’t run off.
The more time I spent with him, the more time Iwantedto spend with him, which was somewhat comforting and somewhat concerning as well.
The second week passed similarly, but that week, Espen and I started discussing how we would slowly remove the power from Horvis. Since we’d spent sufficient time together, we knew people wouldn’t have a hard time believing that we were madly in love or that Espen, thedistractedking, would put most of his power in my hands.
So on the first day of the third week, Espen and I made our way down to the throne room. I hung on to his elbow, my chest brushing his arm as we moved together. I was definitely gaining weight, my body’s edges growing softer and thicker by what seemed like the hour. Though I was fairly sure I would get much squishier by the time I’d recovered from my decades in prison, it was progress.
And honestly, I was starting to enjoy everything more now that I was spending so much time with Espen.
Retaking the power from Horvis sounded like a tremendous amount of fun to me.
Diora and Lavee met me at the bottom of the stairs, Diora dressed in a luxurious golden slip that couldn’t have made her look poor—or less pregnant—if she cut the damn thing in half. Lavee wore silver, her dress clearly just as expensive as Diora’s. Both of them wore their long hair down, Diora’s in waves and Lav’s in braids, and both grinned at me when they saw me.
Espen released me with a kiss to the cheek and a flashed grin, but I caught sight of a group of guards entering the room from the hallway.
I gave them a minute to fill in, and then stepped closer to Espen and wrapped my hands around his face. Going up on my tiptoes, I tilted his head down and mine backward as I stretched upward so our mouths could meet.
It was our first kiss—but it couldn’t look like a first, which I knew.
So rather than taking it slow, I slid my tongue between his lips and dragged it over his.
His hands found my hips, and he lifted my feet up off the ground. My dress hung to the floor, its white train dragging on the glittering, light tiles as our chests pressed together.
Our mouths melded, our bodies practically glued together as he held me to him and our tongues made love. It didn’t feel like a kiss, or a fake sign of our relationship.
It felt like love.
But of course, I knew better than to assume that was what it meant.
It was fake—not just for him, but for me too.
I was a panting puddle of lust when his lips finally released mine, our eyes remaining locked together.
“You’re even more delicious than I imagined,” Espen murmured against my lips, as he lowered my feet back to the floor. The tile was warmer than usual against them, and my toes curled in response to its heat.
Espen’sheat.
His magic was the one keeping the castle warm, after all. Or rather, his portion of the kingdom’s magic. I held the part he’d been born with, and it was almost constantly cold.
“Flattery doesn’t work on me,” I breathed back, letting my lips curve upward. He’d feel the smile as much as he’d see it—and his erection against my belly told me he was already enjoying me and everything I’d offered him.
Even though it was fake.
His lips curved upward just as much as mine did. “I’m glad the facts flatter you, Queen Akari.”
My lips were still curved upward as I stepped away from him. “I’ll be back in a bit. Enjoy your peace and quiet.”
“I’ll enjoy everything much more when you’re at my side once again,” he called after me. “Don’t look at any other men.”
“Don’t be so possessive,” I called back, earning wicked grins from the other women as they laced their arms through mine.
