He shrugged. "I wasn't sure what you liked."
I grinned at him and pulled out a grape, popping it into my mouth. "I love it."
He stared at me as I licked my lips. "You're so beautiful."
I blushed and looked away, but not before I saw the heat in his eyes. "Thank you."
He reached over and took my hand, curling our fingers together. "I'm glad we're doing this."
"Me too. I've been wanting to talk to you about something."
"Anything." He poured the wine into two clear, plastic cups.
"Riley." I kind of hoped he'd jump in and tell me he knew exactly what I was talking about and that he'd explain it all in great detail.
He didn't. "Yes?"
"You allowed a hunting party to go after her." I took the cup of wine from him and ate a grape.
"I had no choice in that. As for the way they went after her, nearly killing all of them in the process, that was unsanctioned." He shrugged one shoulder. "Since she didn't end up getting hurt, it turned out to be a big help to us on the council. The council member who ordered them to attack her is no longer on the council. We were able to remove a bad seed."
"What about the whole breeding her thing?" I asked.
His face darkened. "The old council would've done it without thought. My father would have." He sighed. "I wouldn't allow it. That was quite the argument we had."
"What happened?" I prompted when he didn't continue.
He waved the question off. "Same old story. Luckily, the majority of the council voted that Riley would be given a choice and kept safe until we could figure out what kind of Unseen creature she was. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if they hadn’t. Some sort of coup, I suppose. Not very democratic, but some things I can’t let slide. Of course, now it's all a moot point, but at the time, we didn't know. And not knowing is something we all agree is bad. We need to know what's out there."
"I see." I nibbled on a piece of cheese. "And what about the people who attacked her? Have they been punished?"
"They were all removed from their hunting parties and banned from ever going out on one again. They've also been heavily fined."
He shrugged. "It's the best we could do without starting a war. They were doing as their council bade them. It wasn't entirely their fault."
I nodded, understanding his dilemma. They'd just been good soldiers. As I ate, I thought about Zander's actions. "You're a good man,” I whispered.
He looked at me, his eyes soft. "Thank you."
Reaching over, he brushed a piece of hair out of my face. I turned my head and kissed the palm of his hand. He stared at me for a heartbeat before he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I forgot all about Riley and the Sárkány as he kissed me with a fierceness that made my entire body tingle. His arms were so big that they now wrapped around me from behind as well as in front, pinning me to him. I felt completely surrounded by him like there was no place safer in the universe. I wanted more and pressed my belly against his hard cock. He groaned and dropped his hands to my ass, cupping my cheeks and pulling me tighter against him.
I panted with desire as he broke the kiss slowly. "Wait," I breathed. "What about the blanket?"
He smiled down at me, his blue eyes darkening. "Once I get started, I don't think we're going to be worrying about the blanket." He took a deep breath and tensed. Then he seemed to make a decision. "Speaking of getting started," he said suddenly and reached into the basket. Pulling out a small package, he held it out for me to take.
I stared at it for a minute, then decided it was easier not to ask questions. I took it from him and slipped my finger under the flap and tore it open, revealing a silver four-cluster ruby bracelet. It was beautiful, but I thought surely there'd been some sort of mistake until Zander picked up something else out of the basket and gave it to me as well.
The signet ring had four little red rubies set into it. "What... what are these for?"
He pressed my hand back into my lap when I reached up to touch the ring. Then he leaned over me, one arm on either side of my head while he kissed me again—this time hard and fast. "I want you to be mine. Be ours. That's why there are four stones. This isn't a proposal, that we need everyone here for. It’s just a promise." He slid the ring on my finger, then clasped the bracelet. "A token of love."
"Thank you," I whispered. Looking around, I hesitated before saying, "Are we really secluded here?"
He winked. "I told the guards to make sure nobody came out here. There's only one land access to this spot, and it’s from the castle gardens."
"What about the water?" I nodded, pointing my head toward the ocean.
"We'll just have to risk it," he said with a growl in his tone. A shiver ran through me.
