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“What? Nothing!” she replied with feigned brightness.
I pulled back and studied her beautiful, exotic features. She was tired, that much was evident, but so was I. This newfound power was taking too much out of both of us.
“What is this, Cade?” she asked me again, withdrawing from my arms to perch wearily on the edge of the round mattress.
I half-considered ordering her to take a nap, but the excitement of our evening stopped me. I vowed to have her home earlyish.
“Put on a pretty dress. We’re going out tonight,” I informed her.
To my surprise, her eyes brightened at the suggestion, and I realized that I’d made a good call. If she had shown even a hint of disappointment, I would have called the entire thing off and curled up with her to sleep the rest of the afternoon away.
“Is it a delegate dinner?” she asked, the spark dying at the thought.
I shook my head, joining her on the bed. “No. It’s a date. You and me, alone.”
Again, light colored her face, and she turned to me. “Really?”
“It’s not the honeymoon I promised you,” I sighed. “And frankly, I don’t know when that will happen. But tonight, we will forget about this place, about being king and queen, and just focus on being us… like we were before the coronation.”
Zephy released a relieved sigh and threw her arms around my neck, embracing me tightly, my arms encircling her waist.
“Yes,” she murmured.
A stab of worry touched me, but when I pulled back to look at her face, she jumped up to head toward the bathroom.
“Zephy…” She didn’t turn around.
“Yes?”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’ll be out in a minute,” she replied, slipping inside the bathroom and closing the door.
I frowned, unsure about her tone, but I didn’t pursue the issue, eager to prepare myself for our evening out together as well. We were both under stress because of the palace, but tonight, that was going to stay here.
Tonight, we were not Alpha King and Queen of Ironhelm. We were newlyweds on a night out in the city. I was going to show my mate all of my favorite places, like I should have from the start.
Zephy emerged from the bathroom in a fluffy, ebony towel, wrapped around her lithe frame a moment later, and I stood fully dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a freshly pressed button-down shirt.
She raised an eyebrow speculatively. “You don’t look very kingly,” she teased. “Will the residents of Ironhelm City even know who you are, dressed like that?”
“That’s the point,” I replied. “We’re going to blend in tonight.”
She chuckled lightly, allowing the towel to fall away, revealing the sweet curve of her ass, and I immediately responded to her, but I refrained from putting my hands on her. There would be time for that later, I promised myself. I would make time for it. First, I would romance Zephy as she so richly deserved.
“I suspect that the Royal Guards on our trail will blow our cover,” Zephy commented lightly. “Which reminds me—is it necessary to have Jasper follow me around everywhere still?”
I sighed deeply. “Let’s not discuss all that now. The entire purpose of this evening is to forget about palace business, yes?”
She glanced over her shoulder, her damp, black tresses spilling along her smooth, naked skin as she smiled. “Of course.”
“But…” I added. “Maywin doesn’t seem to mind Jasper following you about.”
Zephy made no comment as she removed a clinging, periwinkle dress from the depth of the closet, shutting the door before facing me.
“If they choose to pursue a relationship on their own time, that’s of little consequence to me,” she replied with unusual sharpness. “I would prefer they do it without Jasper or anyone else watching my every move.”
Again, my gaze honed on her face, the stress in her voice troubling me, but she turned away to dress quickly, changing the subject.
