Yet again, he froze, afraid of spoiling the moment if he so much as dared to breathe. Her fingers were gentle as they combed through his hair, carefully mussing the strands. Her fingernails scraped against his scalp with each pass. He fought hard against letting his eye close. Against luxuriating in the moment like a cat lounging in a bit of sun.
He swallowed, his throat growing thick.
No one had touched him like this—ever. Not since he was a boy.
“That’s enough, I think,” he rasped, gently catching her wrists in his grip.
Her eyes met his, and her lips curved into a small smile—a wonderfully mischievous smile. “I won’t cut up your clothing,” she whispered, as if they were two children sharing a secret, “becauseI’mnot a barbarian.”
“That’s fair,” he breathed back.
He rather liked this Sera—impish rather than infuriating. Her smile turned a touch shy, a little unsure, as his one-eyed gaze lingered on hers.
Clearing his throat, he released her wrists and took a step back. “Here, let me get you a cloak so you don’t have to wander the halls feeling naked.” He busied himself with that task, letting it distract him from how…normal all of this felt, ridiculous as it was. The silence now growing between them was almost companionable, even.
He should have known it was too good to last.
By the time he had found his cloak and turned back to face his kirei, her face was contorted into some odd mixture of confusionand anger she leveled straight at him with a fresh glare—another barbed arrow she sought to lodge into his flesh.
Into his heart.
“I just don’t understand you, Aldric,” she seethed, rising to her feet and snatching the cloak from his hands.
He blinked at her, endeavoring not to react. To not let her bait him into another pointless fight. Slowly, he asked, “What’s there to not understand?”
Her mouth worked again as her hands fumbled with the cloak. After a time, she finally managed to fling it over her shoulders. On her, it was more like a capelet. But it would at least obscure the ruined back of her dress from view.
“Here you are, acting…almostplayfulwith me, when…” Her voice trailed off. Her face fell.
Brow furrowing, he waited for her to finish.
But she didn’t. She just turned away from him and briskly marched toward the door. Under her breath, she uttered that word he hated above all others: “Never mind.”
A growl rumbled low in his chest as he chased after her. “I have doneeverythingyou asked today, Sera.Everything. Like a trained monkey.” The words were bile in his throat. Acid on his tongue. He had done everything for her, and still she wasn’t pleased.
Nothinghe did was ever good enough for her.
She wrenched open the door, startling the Queensguard waiting for her on the other side.
But his hand closed around her wrist, pinning her in place. Refusing to let her go until she gave him some answers. “So tellme,Your Majesty, how have I refused to meet your expectations this time?”
She shot him a look full of hurt, though he hadn’t grabbed her with any force at all. “Let me go, Aldric.”
“Not until you tell me what I’ve done.”
Her discomfort was palpable. Her humiliation doubly so. No doubt his kirei was mortified that they had a captive audience for their latest row, just as they had for their last.
But perhaps she should have thought about that before opening the door.
Words burned in her eyes. Words he knew she so desperately wanted to fling in his face. And yet she didn’t. For some reason, she was still holding something back.Why?
The not knowing was driving him mad.
Blinking rapidly, Sera retreated by a full step, stepping out into the corridor. He let her go, his hand slipping free from her wrist and falling back to his side. Limp. Useless. He was growing tired of these games. This push and pull. This hot and cold.
They were both too old for such things.
Her gaze slipped away from his. Her stance shifted to something closed off. Defensive. Finally, she whispered, “I just…don’t understand about the ring. My wedding ring, I mean.”
