“No, Ru.” The King took my hand. “You won it. My people treated you poorly, and this is the least you are due. This isyourgift. You're the one who shared it.”
I used his hand to pull him closer. “When that guard turned me away, I thought you might have orchestrated it.”
“What?” the King growled, his light expression turning dark.
“I quickly remembered you aren't like that, but there was still a moment of doubt. Of fear.”
“Fear?” he whispered.
“Yes. I thought I had done something idiotic, and violated one of the first rules of thieving.”
Cyn's lips twitched. “There are rules of thieving?”
“Of course.” I moved closer, close enough that the fog of our breath mingled. “One of the biggest rules is that once you have a treasure in your hands, you don't put it down until you're somewhere safe. I walked away from you. It was a huge mistake.”
“You think I'm a treasure?” His face went soft, his gaze going tender.
“That is not an opinion, Your Majesty. It's fact.”
“Call me Cyn,” King Cyn whispered as he bent his head to mine.
And I kissed the King of Darimar right there, in the dirty snow, amid my celebrating clan, in the Forgotten. I was certain it was noticed and noted, but I didn't care. I had my treasure back in my hands, and I wasn't ever letting go. A weaker man might have entertained doubts in that magical, romantic moment, but not me. I make my reality, and the knowledge that Dragons have mates—people they bond with forever and never stray from, people they are destined to find and cling to—didn't worry me. I didn't fucking care if I wasn't Cyn's mate. Chances were, I wasn't. But he was still mine. I saved his life, he claimed me, and I claimed him back. That's it, as far as a thief is concerned.
So, all I thought about during our passionate kiss was how incredible Cyn was. How kind and generous. How he kissed like a scoundrel but spoke like a poet. How he faced everything, even death, with bravery, calm, and humor. And how, as much as I had him, he wasn't mine completely. There was still one thing left to steal—his heart.
Step one was done; I had the Dragon King's interest.
Step two was to gain his love.
Step three? That was to fight off anyone who tried to take my treasure away.
You know, as one does.
As I eased back from our kiss and the King lifted his head to smile at me, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, the way my clan looked at us. It wasn't in the way I expected. They weren't wary of our relationship or excited about what I could steal from the King. Not exactly. When I turned to look more fully upon them, they quickly looked away, but I caught the hope and awe in their eyes, and then I knew. The Dragon King wasn't a mark to them. He was a way out of the mud. A chance to elevate Raltven from the status of lowlife criminals. If the King of Darimar fell in love with me, life would improve for all the Raltven in the kingdom. Alliances were as important to us as they were to royalty. Maybe even more so.
Fuck, there was a lot more resting on this relationship than I'd thought.
“What's wrong?” Cyn asked me.
Shit. When had I stopped thinking of him as the King and started thinking of him as Cyn?
“Nothing.” I slid my arms aroundthe Dragon Kingand snuggled in against his warmth, his cloak folding around me. “I'm just cold.”
“Take my heat.” Cyn lifted his hood, then tucked his head over mine. Suddenly, his body temperature increased.
“Holy fuck!” I eased back a little to look up at him. “Did you just get hotter?”
“I believe I've already warned you that as your affection for me grew, so would your attraction to me,” he said with a wry grin.
I snorted a laugh. “You know that's not what I meant. But now that you've mentioned it, you have gotten even more attractive. I don't think it has anything to do with the way I feel for you, though. More likely, you finally finished healing.”
“Or both?” Cyn asked hopefully.
Something inside my chest melted, and it had nothing to do with his body heat. “Could be.”
The Dragon King grinned brightly and nuzzled my forehead.
“But back to your body heat,” I said.
