“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” a servant called out.
“Leave us,” I said.
Thankfully, she obeyed, scurrying away. I needed to be alone right now, as alone as possible while stilltaking responsibilityfor the alpha.
I led Rourke to the large, warmed pool built into the floor. The baths always smelled fragrant, almost to the point of excess. The perfumed air added to my agitation.
“Strip,” I commanded.
Rourke opened his mouth, then closed it. He removed his clothes without complaint and placed them rather neatly in a pile. I didn’t look directly at his body. It felt like there was a wall between us, one I didn’t want to approach right now. He wasn’t Rourke the alpha, the man who belonged to me—right now he was just a man. A beast.
“Get in the water.”
As Rourke slipped quietly into the water, ripples moved across the pool’s surface. I threw a bar of goat milk soap at the tiled floor right behind him. Rourke flinched, then tentatively picked it up, assuming correctly that it was for his use. He slowly began to lather himself, all while carefully watching me from the corner of his eye. The fact that he was acting like a kicked dog was irritating me further.
My temper got the best of me and I snapped, “You didn’t act this way at the market.”
Rourke’s dark eyes widened slowly. There was a sense of thoughtfulness in his slight frown. I hated the fact that he seemed calmer than I was right now.
“I thought the King’s knights were going to kill me,” Rourke admitted.
So that was why he’d gone berserk. I felt myself relax a bit, the tension easing in my shoulders.
“I see,” I said.
Rourke looked into my face, almost as if examining me. “Were you scared?”
“No.”
I was an excellent liar, but my words couldn’t cover up the evidence. I still couldn’t shake some of the leftover trembling in my hands. I put them out of sight behind my back and hoped Rourke hadn’t noticed.
“I’m… sorry if I freaked you out,” Rourke mumbled, turning his gaze on the water. A few soap bubbles popped gently around him. “I was fighting for my life, until I realized the knights weren’t very strong. Then just getting them off my case was good enough.”
Not very strong?The words came as a shock. The knights in our palace and on royal grounds were the best-trained betas in Lacehaven. Though I supposed all the training in the world wouldn’t compare to the raw, primal strength of a cornered alpha.
My gaze strayed over to Rourke’s shoulders. They were broad and muscular. A thick neck held up his head. That brown hair I had liked so much when I first saw him was damp now, plastered to his forehead. The top half of his pecs were visible above the water. The rest of his battle-worn, scraped body lay beneath the surface.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” I asked suddenly.
Rourke seemed confused by my question. His brow furrowed as he let out a long sigh. “I don’t like seeing that look on people’s faces.”
“What look?”
“The one that tells me they’re afraid of me just because of what I am.WhoI am.”
The chamber fell into silence. Steam rose from the bath, dancing around Rourke’s face. The fragrant scent of soap and incense was making me feel light-headed. I blew out a breath.
“I’m not afraid of you, Rourke,” I said.
He gave a half shrug, like he didn’t care either way. I bristled.
“Don’t listen to my father,” I said. “He’s just upset things didn’t go his way.”
“Then you don’t think I’m a beast?” Rourke asked it with a hint of sarcasm. He already knew my answer.
“I think you could use some training,” I said mildly.
That was why I purchased him in the first place,I thought. Even though it happened only recently, it felt like ages had passed since then. Perhaps I was more tired than I thought.
