If a siren businesswoman was what it took to make sure her cafes continued spreading and succeeding, while also providing her more time, that was what I would get her.
My eyes trailed over the curve of her ass as she made herself a large cup of coffee. We needed to get going, but I didn't particularly care if we were late. Pissing off a few more members of the Cabinet wasn't the end of the world. I was already on everyone's bad side.They didn’t answer to me because of love. Fear was responsible for that.
I was only the public leader of the Cabinet, anyway. We all knew Merrily was really in charge.
"Want a cup?" Kat asked, glancing over her shoulder at me.
She looked a little dazed from the meeting, which I was fairly confident was the only reason she was offering.
I considered it a good sign anyway.She would accept that we were going to be sharing our lives soon. She would have to.
"Sure." Coffee wasn't something I particularly enjoyed, but she enjoyed it, so I'd trained myself not to hate the bitter beverage in the years we’d spent apart.
"What's your drink of choice?"
"You won't like the answer."
Her lips curved slightly. "You stalked me closely enough to know what drinks I prefer?"
"There were a handful of articles about your favorite drinks. Two of them are still on the menu at a few of your locations."
She looked surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Let me guess, you take it with as little actual coffee as possible?"
"You guess correctly."
"Any preference on the flavors? I saw the syrups in your fridge?"
"I don’t like hazelnut, but I’m fine with anything else."
I watched her work from my chair. The sway of her hips and slight bounce in her step was hypnotic.
My cock ached for her long before she slid me a steaming mug.
The pain in my hands, arms, and chest flared, forcing me to stay completely still in an attempt to get it under control rather than pick up the cup.
"I figure you don't take it iced like I do. Seems like you have enough cold in your life," she said, not seeming to notice my stillness.
"Without question."
"Does it get old?"
"I was tired of the pain before I was old enough to understand why I felt it."
"And the cold?"
"It’s easier to cope with, but not enjoyable."
"Why aren't any of the other royals mated yet, if you all deal with stuff like this?" She gestured toward me, clearly talking about my magic."If you can find someone like me who could reduce the impact of your magic, couldn’t they do the same?"
A full answer to that question would require a conversation I wasn’t ready to have yet.
"Immortality is a long time to spend with someone, and finding a person who affects us the way you affect me is both rare and individualized." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie.
"Why does my touch stop your pain?"
I said nothing.
There was no way to answer the question without straight-up lying to her, and I wasn’t interested in that. After the mate bond was sealed, I would have no choice but to tell her the truth.
