“I'll take that as a no.”
“I've never thought much about them.” He shrugged.
“Dalondines for remorse,” I said. “Those are the little yellow ones.”
The Dragon King cocked his head.
“Hyacinth for earnestness and honesty, to tell you my intentions are pure. Those are purple.”
His lips parted.
“Jacrus for sexual desire. Obvious, but I couldn't send you flowers without including them. Those are the red ones.”
He blinked.
“And rocradi for joy. They're the white ones. That is what I wish for you, Your Majesty. Joy.”
The King stared at me, his eyes searching mine. Finally, he said, “That was a lot to express with just a few flowers.”
“I had a lot to say.” I licked my lips. “And you deserve to hear the words too. I truly am sorry about what happened last night. I didn't want to upset you.”
“No. I'm the one who should apologize. You were only being yourself. You made me laugh, and that was a great gift. But I wasn't prepared for it.”
“I wasn't aware you needed to prepare yourself to laugh. In fact, I'm pretty sure laughter is best when spontaneous.”
The King sighed deeply before saying, “It's been a long time since I've gotten as angry as I did last night.”
“Has it?” I asked and looked away. This was his issue, and he'd be able to deal with it better if I wasn't staring at him.
“Yes,” he whispered. “You . . . have a strange effect on me.”
Suddenly my throat was dry. All my jokes vanished. My heart raced as it had the first time I'd seen him. Slowly, I turned my head and met his stare. It shouldn't have been possible for that bright teal to look hot, but it did. His eyes burned.
I swallowed, wetting my throat enough to say, “I think you know the effect you have on me.”
The King's expression tightened, then it released. “I came to apologize for my behavior. Nothing more.”
I nodded and looked away. “Apology accepted. It's kind of you to offer one, though unnecessary. I pushed you too far. It was your smile. I've wanted to see you smile. You know that. It's been a goal of mine. And I was instantly addicted. I wanted to make you smile again. Then you laughed, and it was like sunshine.” I waved my hand out at the bright garden. “My excitement wiped out my common sense. Despite how I behaved and what I said last night, I know who I am.” I looked back at him. “I know who I can never be. You don't have to say anything more, Your Majesty.”
“I don't believe in limitations. Anyone can achieve anything. The only restrictions are those which we impose on ourselves.”
“Easy for you to say.” I grinned. “You're a Dragon.”
“And you're a human who has risen to the status of master,” he shot back. “You've already proven my words.”
My grin softened. “Yeah, I guess I have. But it was rough.”
The King took another cookie, contemplated its buttery goodness, the said, “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
He looked up from his cookie. “Tell me what you went through to earn your degree.”
“You don't want to hear about that,” I scoffed. “Some guy whining about his success. That's boring.”
“I have nothing to do today.” He took a bite, chewed, and looked out upon the garden. “Tell me your boring story, Sebastian Dahl.”
Great Gods, I loved the way he said my name. It sent shivers down my spine. Fuck, everything he did made me shiver. It was a miracle I wasn't a quivering puddle at his feet.
