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More than just for that day, too.
A lot more.
The crowd in the area leading toward what used to be a restaurant—and now was again—was a bit overwhelming, but the fae parted for us, making room. Their voices lowered to whispers as Espen and I made our way through the center of the crowd, and there was something behind the hushed words that felt like… respect.
I had never felt respected, before.
Pitied and hated, yes.
But respected?
That was entirely different.
And I found my chin raising, my shoulders moving back as I stood straighter. I wasn’t perfect, but I was worthy of their respect.
The place was packed full when we reached the front of the line, but one of the fae immediately ushered us to an empty table in a back corner, and I saw him remove a sign that said, “Reserved for the king” before he gestured for us to sit down. It was a decently large booth, and the walls and backs of the chairs pretty much closed the space off completely, making it as private as I thought was possible in such a public place.
There were enough seats for two or three more fae around Espen’s size, or four or five my size. Despite that, we sat down next to each other, our hands still connected and our sides pressed together.
“We’ll have your food out shortly,” the other fae told us, bowing his head in our direction before he slipped away.
“Well, this is easier than I thought it would be,” I teased Espen lightly.
His lips curved upward a bit. “Agreed.”
Knowing he couldn’t talk much, I leaned my head against him. His arm wrapped around my back, his hand finding my hip and carefully dragging me closer.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against my hair.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” I closed my eyes, letting my body relax against him.
Stars, if that was what life felt like after a full night’s sleep, I was never going to sleep alone again. I’d stick to Espen like glue. My shoulders were relaxed, and I could breathe so much deeper than before. I felt… new.
And whole.
As if, for the first time in my life, everything was right in the world.
The feeling was so foreign to me, but incredible too.
My eyes opened as the fae from earlier returned and set some kind of appetizer down on our table. I smiled a bit and thanked him, picking up a piece of something that seemed to be fried and eyeing it.
“Tonillas,” Espen murmured. “A starchy vegetable, delicious fried. You’ll like them.”
I shrugged and bit into the food, my eyes closing as the flavors hit my tongue. “Fuck,” I moaned, my mouth full.
A chuckle escaped my king, and he took one for himself, taking a quick bite. “You taste better,” he remarked.
My body flushed with the reminder of his face between my legs, his tongue on my most sensitive bits.
Shit.
“We could go back to our room,” he murmured to me. “Play another round of our game.”
“What game is that?” Namir drawled.
Both of our heads jerked toward the opening in our little private area, and I saw Diora slip past her mate. “Can we sit?” she checked, though she was already slipping into the booth.
When she flashed me a grin, I found myself returning the expression.
