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The sensation was strange enough that I wrestled my eyes open just a crack, turning my head to see who was in my room.
I blinked when I saw the gorgeous king sliding beneath my blankets, wearing only a pair of tight shorts that hid absolutely nothing. He looked clean and fresh, his soft hair smelling yummy and masculine, tied up in a simple bun at the top of his head.
“Fuck me,” I whispered.
His eyes met mine, and his lips curved upward wickedly as he signed, “Ask again when you’re really awake.”
I gave him a sleepy groan and rolled away from him again, until I caught a whiff of something that smelled a hell of a lot like baked goods.
My eyes were opening and my body turning back before I could even finish processing the smell.
He was still smirking when he handed me a simple paper container with the fae version of a cinnamon roll inside it. Though it was shaped the same as a human one, the spices inside the layers of dough were much different, and a lot hotter. They melded perfectly with the creamy icing, though.
I pulled a piece off with my fingers, and groaned when it met my tongue.
Zoran chuckled, brushing a few strands of wild, tangled hair out of my eyes as I ate with all the grace of a starving, wild animal.
The hair sprang back to where it had been before, and he caught the strands, dragging them behind my face.
A stream of water floated through the air, carrying my shampoo and conditioner with it. While we ate, my king washed my hair.
It was mundane and simple, but nice.
Extremely nice.
He handed me a second roll when I’d finished the first, not even batting an eye at the fact that I was still hungry. His own box of food was a hell of a lot bigger than either of mine, so I figured he had no room for judging.
Especially after everything in the Aboa.
I still hadn’t really worked through much of it. Oranyof it. There would probably be tears, and stress. Nightmares, too.
But I was too exhausted to feel any of those things in the moment, and that felt like a blessing.
My hair hung around my shoulders, clean, dry, and loose as I finished the second not-cinnamon roll, feeling absolutely stuffed. I studied a few of the natural waves in the strands, envying how easily Zoran made them look good. I’d never managed to make my hair work with me on Earth or in Bluhm.
Apparently, my mate was the key to attractive hair. Who knew, right?
“Thanks,” I said, brushing hair back from my eyes with my clean hand as I reached past Zoran to put the empty box on the nightstand with the other. Warm water brushed my fingers, taking care of any mess I’d left on them. “You’re a useful steam engine,” I murmured to him, snuggling back under the blankets while rolling onto my side for comfort. “And I don’t remember inviting you into my bed. We can argue about it when we wake up.”
He chuckled, sliding closer to me and tilting his body so he spooned me from behind. He probably had no idea what I was talking about, but I was too out of it to know either. It was from some cartoon I’d seen as a kid—something with a train in it, maybe?
“You make a good big spoon,” I added.
Zoran’s hand spread over my belly, using the grip to pull my back tighter to his chest. His lips brushed my temple once, and then again, and he murmured something I couldn’t understand as I drifted off.
Chapter10
Zoran was still sleepingwhen I woke up.
It was disorienting as hell to find myself in my own bed with the king who had been avoiding me for months before he dragged me into the Aboa with him.
I was just going to pretend none of the steamy stuff we’d done had happened, though, for the sake of my sanity. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t know what to do if I acknowledged all of… that.
So I carefully maneuvered myself away from Zoran, managing not to wake him up by some miracle. After tugging a dress on, I slipped out of my house and headed toward the big marketplace that many of the fae’s lives revolved around.
I hadn’t been there in a while, and I didn’t have money, but it was the next step on the failing kingdom-friendshipping plan I was still clinging to as if it was the key to remaining sane.
The sand and sandstone streets felt strange on my feet after so much time on the Aboa’s smooth, slick floors. I walked past a fae woman who nodded at me, and my eyebrows shot upward as I nodded back.
