“Are you certain I can’t just take off my clothes? You told me no man alive could resist me when I was naked.”
His eyes lit up with interest. “I wouldn’t advise it. Anyone could walk in. And I wouldn’t want my third act as king to be murdering the man who saw you that way.”
His words infused me, giving me strength. Challenging me. I never could back down from a challenge. I started disarming myself. It wouldn’t be a successful attempt if I accidentally stabbed him.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Removing my weapons.”
“You possess others,” he said, his gaze hotly raking over my body. “Ones you cannot discard.”
“I am how the goddess made me. You can’t blame me for that.”
“I don’t. I praise her for it. Hurry.”
The shivers had already started and we weren’t even touching yet. “Be patient,” I scolded him.
“You have no idea how patient I am.” His words were heavy and thick with desire, and I again had to worry about my ability to stay upright.
“Take off your weapons,” I told him in a soft voice. I felt awkward. I was no seductress.
But he watched me like I was the most enchanting thing he’d ever seen. “Should I be worried?”
“About?”
“Our contract is ended, and as I recall, you did swear that you would kill me. Perhaps you disarm me now to carry through with your promise.” The mischievous smile on his face let me know that he was teasing.
“You are perfectly safe.”
He shook his head. “You have that look where I can’t tell if you’re planning on kissing me or stabbing me.”
“Maybe I haven’t decided yet.”
That smile turned into a grin as he continued to take off knives and daggers and dropped them onto the floor. “You’ve both kissed me and stabbed me before, so you should know which one you want more.”
“I’ve never stabbed you,” I said.
“I still have the scar on my throat.”
“That was your fault,” I reminded him. “You pushed against my blade.”
“So that I could kiss you. Of your options, I know which one I prefer.” He held his hands out to show me that he was weapon-free.
Summoning all the courage I possessed, I moved closer to him. His gaze felt weighted, like he was touching me.
Then he did touch me, as if he couldn’t help himself. He reached out and ran his fingers along the length of my hair. “You never did tell me how you got your long hair back.”
“I woke up the day of our wedding and it was like this,” I said. “I don’t know how to explain it. Io thought it was a sign.”
“A sign of what?”
That we were meant to be together. I couldn’t tell him that. “She thought the goddess was blessing our marriage.”
His expression shifted, as if considering my words. I didn’t want to talk about signs or anything like that. I just wanted to be with him.
Grateful that I wore one of my training tunics, I climbed up into his lap and straddled him.
Heat coursed through me when we made contact, my soft and warm places against his hard ones. Xander hissed a curse as I settled. His hands went to my hips, his fingers digging into my curves.
