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A sincere offer, if a hollow one. For she was right: a woman in Quareh was more powerless than even two bedraggled princes on the run, and yet it made it all the more dangerous for her to be helping us.
Her and Abril, for the servant stood at her side with a pile of clean clothes in her arms. We hadn’t been set upon by guards nor delivered to the local constabulary, so I guessed they’d decided their loyalties lay other than with the Lukian man declaring himself Quareh’s king and the treacherous, sly councillor at his side. Although it sounded as though that had already been proved when they’d offered shelter to Ren’s servants.
“You’ve done more than enough,” I assured them, taking the clothes from Abril and trying not to wince as she carved her sharp fingernails across my wrist, unseen by the others under the thick fabrics. It seemed that even if she wasn’t turning us in, she didn’t appreciate me stealing her erstwhile lover from her. “We will repay you for this kindness when we can, I swear it.”
“The royal suite has been made up for you, my prince,” Abril said, flashing Ren a dazzling smile that held a great deal of eyelash fluttering. “I’d be happy to escort you to it.”
“There’s no need for that, nor is it wise,” I protested. “Space in the servants’ quarters will be fine.”
“The servants’ quarters are full of servants,” she rebuked sharply, and then dropped her gaze when Ren lightly growled his disapproval. “With respect, Prince Nathanael,” she added, clearly intending none of it.
“Abril’s right,” Lady Martinez said apologetically, in a much softer tone. “The royal suite is on the second floor and away from prying eyes. Go. Rest up. We can talk more later.”
The servant gestured for Ren to follow her, deliberately treading on my foot when she shifted to face him. The heel of her boot ground down onto my toes, and I glowered at the back of her head.
“Are you going to let her bully you all night?” Ren murmured to me as we crept carefully up the main stairway, moving into the shadows of the upstairs corridor. “That’s not like you.”
“I don’t want to cause a scene.”
“Also highly unusual. You know you’re mine, right? No one else’s?”
“I don’t think it’s me she’s after,” I said wryly.
“Which means I’m yours,” the prince continued without missing a beat, bumping his shoulder against mine. “And when in doubt, ask yourself this: what would Ren do?”
I slowed, staring at his back as he followed Abril through the door into the royal suite.
What would Ren do? Something entirely petty, possessive, and inappropriate, for sure. Not a difficult guess considering that described him most of the time, but did I have that in me?
Yet when Abrilaccidentallyknocked off the pile of clothes I deposited onto the dresser so that she could pick them up off the floor, brushing against the prince and wiggling her ass so he couldn’t possibly miss how tightly it was stuffed into a dress made for someone half her size, I realised thatyes, I really did.
I reached for Ren and shoved him back against the nearest wall. The breath left his lungs in a sharp, surprised exhale that I captured with my own mouth, running my hands through his hair, down his narrow waist, and resting them on his hips before thinkingwhat the helland sliding them around to his ass. The prince ground himself against me, curling a leg around mine and drawing a moan from my lips. His reaction spurred me on, and I fought through the discomfort of having an audience to deepen the kiss.
“Your Highnesses,” Abril said loudly and pointedly.
I ignored her, tilting my head so I could explore his mouth from a different angle, revelling in the buried citrus taste of him despite him not having eaten oranges for days. He was soft and sharp all at once, his contrary tender assertiveness showing in every brush of his lips and tongue.
Ren bit down and his teeth sank harshly into my bottom lip. I felt the sting of the skin splitting, the tang of blood in my mouth and the thrill that brought with it. When I drew back, letting go of him with reluctance, he moaned his protest.
“We-”
“We’re alone,mi amor,” he murmured, and I glanced around to see he was right. Abril must have left without my noticing, and if that brought a tiny twinge of guilt at instigating the public display of wantonness, it was extinguished by the pleased look I found on Ren’s face, eyes bright and gaze adoring. His lower lip was smeared with my blood, and why was that so hot?
“In that case,” I said, and eagerly pushed him back to the wall, pressing myself close until he was flattened against it. I wrapped one hand around his nape of his neck and let the other drop down between us to cup the solid bulge in his trousers. Ren’s teeth flashed in a broad grin, his head falling back against the wall as I nosed at his neck and delivered kisses down his throat, relishing the way he responded to each one, so hard and warm in my hand.
“I can’t decide what my favourite thing is, Mathias,” the prince said against my mouth when I moved to capture his lips once more, and he playfully nipped at my bitten lip to reignite the prick of pain. “You throwing me against the wall and kissing the fuck out of me…or the fact that you did ittwice.”
I gave a soft laugh, backing up as I heard footsteps in the corridor. Abril appeared at the doorway with a huffy scowl and a tray in her hands that bore two plates of food, a bottle of wine, and two glasses. When I thanked her – there was no need to be rude even if she needed to learn to keep her fucking hands and eyes off my man – and made to take one of the identical plates, she deftly spun the tray to put it out of reach of my fingers.
“That one’s yours,my prince,” she said, sickeningly sweet, and I stared at her with suspicion as she set the tray’s contents on the table, curtsied to Ren, and departed the suite, drawing the door closed behind her.
Ren made a delighted noise and pounced on the food with something akin to reverence.
“I expect she spat in mine,” I mused, still eying it dubiously. He wordlessly swapped our plates and began to shovel forkfuls into his mouth.
When I raised an eyebrow, the prince shrugged. “I don’t mind. Her and I have exchanged saliva more than once.”
I let out an annoyed hiss that was entirely involuntary. “I don’t...you didn’t need to...”
