Why is that oddly attractive?She shook the thoughts from her head and jumped off his lap on wobbly legs. “You bit me.”
He rose to his feet, his wide body dwarfing hers.
“And I’ll do it again.” He brushed his thumb over the wound. “I now understand why animals mark their territory.”
She slapped at his hand and left the room to clean up, throwing over her shoulder, “Don’t bite me again.”
Rennick followed her into the bathroom with a smile that said hewouldbite her again, and she narrowed her eyes at him. He maneuvered her to stand in front of the mirror, wet a washcloth, and tenderly cleaned her broken flesh. “I can’t wear my necklace now,” she complained, inspecting the set of perfect teeth marks blemishing her skin.
He frowned and glared at the bite mark like it wasn’t his doing. “I can buy you a matching bracelet.”
“No, that’s okay,” she rushed, then cleared her throat, aiming for a more casual demeanor when she said, “I can wear it when this heals.”
A yelp escaped her as he lifted her off the ground, carried her to the massive bath, and lowered her feet to the bottom of the porcelain tub before turning on the water. The water warmed quickly, and he ran the wet rag over the inside of her thighs.
“I can clean myself,” she protested weakly.
He rinsed the cloth and tilted his head to look at her. “I can either clean you with this cloth or with my tongue, but either way, I will clean you.”
“The cloth is fine,” she muttered, knowing if she chose the latter, they’d never leave their rooms again.
As he washed her legs, she had a sudden realization of how surreal her life was. She could remember his first letter like it was yesterday. To think she’d thought the strange note was a joke.
“What are you thinking about, love?”
Her lips twisted to the side to prevent herself from laughing at the memory of a thirteen-year-old boy trying to woo a girl he didn’t know. “Do you remember the different pet names you tried out in your first letters? You always marked them out, but I could read them, anyway.”
“Yes.” He laughed lightly. “I was nervous because I wanted it to be perfect.”
“It was.” She paused before asking him, “What made you decide on ‘love?’”
Depositing the cloth into a nearby pail used for dirty linens, he grabbed a fresh towel and held it out for her. “It’s what my father called my mother when I was young.” He cleared his throat and shrugged a shoulder. “I wanted a relationship like theirs. It felt right.”
A ball of emotion clogged Amelia’s throat. “I love it.”
27
Rennick clapped one of his generals on the shoulder and wove his way through the tables in the massive dining hall. Staff and warriors were welcome to enjoy free meals at the palace if they desired, something his mother had started years ago.
The tables for royals and other high-ranking officials sat at the back of the room on a podium overlooking the others. He approached the head table and pulled out the chair next to his for Amelia, who chatted with an older maid as they set the tables.
Charlie sat faithfully at her heels, earning a few astonished looks from the staff, but those looks turned curious after other staff members leaned toward them and whispered something, likely informing them of the earlier announcement that Charlie was her pet.
Amelia and the maid laughed like old friends, even though Amelia had only been at the palace for two days. Every interaction she had with their staff put him more at ease that his people would accept her without much pushback. Everyone loved her.
“What’s on the menu this evening?” an unfortunately familiar voice queried from the bottom of the podium.
Finn shot Rennick a knowing look and glanced between Oraand Amelia with a taunting smile. “Roast,” he told her, offering nothing else. Her lip curled slightly at his tone.
Amelia’s eyes turned to slits from the far side of the table where she still stood with the maid. “Hello again,” she greeted Ora with a tight smile. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight. Do you live here as part of the staff?”
One of the warriors nearby choked, and the room fell silent.
Ora stiffened and narrowed her eyes briefly before gliding across the podium with a fake laugh. “My father is a council member, but sometimes it feels like I live here.” Her hand went to her silver necklace, one Rennick recognized well. It was a gift he’d given her for her eighteenth birthday as a thank you for helping him with Amelia’s gifts. “But I do have my own rooms for the nights we stay up too late.”
She winked at Rennick, and he wanted to rip her eyelids off.
Finn stopped chewing and glanced quickly at Amelia. Rennick felt his mate struggle to keep her anger in check, and he made to move toward her, but stopped when Ora gasped.
