“I’ve never heard you speak Iskvalandian,” he says suddenly. “Your Pendralian is so perfect. It’s hard to believe you weren’t born here.”
“My father has had us speaking both as long as I can remember. And I had Pendralian nannies and tutors.”
“Say something in Iskvalandian,” he says.
I tense. This is a test. This isn’t random. He knows exactly what he’s doing. I force a smile, then in perfect Iskvalandian, Isay,“It’s raining today and the weather is very gloomy. I miss the snow.”
Thankfully, my parents had insisted we learn Iskvalandian when we were young. We were so close to the border that there was ample time to practice. Some of our neighbors didn’t even speak Pendralian.
He smirks, then replies, in Iskvalandian, “You’re even more beautiful when you speak in your language.”
The compliment makes my stomach churn. I switch back to Pendralian. “I feel weird using it around here.”
“You can speak to me with it anytime,” he says.
When we finish eating, he calls servants to clear away the dinner things. They also build us a roaring fire. He sits on the couch that faces the fireplace, making himself at home.
My chest feels tight. He’s showing no indication of leaving my room anytime soon.
He sets a deck of cards on the table in front of the couch. “How about a round of poker? My father says it’s not a game for gentlemen, but I find it relaxing.”
I join him on the couch, careful to leave some space between us. “I’ve never played.”Lie.I am very good at this game. My brothers taught me far too young and conned me out of quite a lot of pocket money before our mother prohibited gambling in the house.
“I’ll teach you.” He shuffles, then deals, and goes through the task of teaching me how to play.
It’s a simple enough game, and I get the hang of it quickly. After our fourth round, he gathers the cards, shuffles, then sets the deck down without dealing.
Caiden moves closer and wraps his arms around me, his expression hungry. I smell wine on his breath as he moves closer to brush the hair away from my face. When he presses his lipsagainst my neck, my eyes widen. My insides are screaming and my skin crawls. It takes everything I have to maintain calm.
He pulls the collar of my dress aside, then kisses my shoulder before moving to my collarbone, then back up my neck to my chin.
“You’re so tense,” he says. “I know you’ve done this before.”
I want to slap him. Instead, I shift enough to give me a little space. “It’s different with you.”
His expression darkens. I offended him.
“You’re a prince.” I reach for his face. “A future emperor. My future husband. What if you’re disappointed by me?”
“I don’t think we’ll have that problem.” He leans closer to me and presses his lips to mine.
I kiss him back, eyes open. It’s repulsive and I bristle, my whole body tense. I feel like the walls are closing in on me. Like the ceiling is lowering. Any moment I’m going to be crushed to death. When he sweeps his tongue into my mouth it takes everything I have not to gag. I used to think kissing was the same, that feelings didn’t matter. I was wrong.
He slides his hand up my side and cups my breast. The added sensation is too much and I pull away abruptly. Panting and wide-eyed, I must look insane. I touch my lips, trying to make it seem like I’m overwhelmed in a good way.
“See? You have nothing to worry about,” he says.
“Except for pregnancy,” I say. It’s all I have left. The only way to talk him into keeping his trousers on. “If I fall pregnant before we’re wed, they’ll say I was unfaithful. I’ll be hanged. I sat through several lectures about waiting until after our wedding.”
“We’ll keep our clothes on.” He returns his lips to mine, and I try to go along with it.
He must sense my reluctance this time because he pulls away. “They really got in your head, didn’t they? I know how much you want this.”
“I guess it’s just been a while,” I say.
He releases me, then walks toward the table. I let out a shaky breath. Hopefully it’s over. Instead, he returns with my wineglass. They’d left our glasses and two more full bottles of wine behind after they cleared our dinner away.
“Here. It’ll take the edge off.” He hands me the glass.
