He pushed away from the wall, smoothly shifting toward me along the glass floor.
“It’s been better than good, dear Maren,” he said softly. “Ever since you came into my life. You make my days brighter and turn even the darkest of nights wonderful.”
His voice dropped suggestively. His smile turned wicked. And I knew he was talking about the part of the night before the monsters showed up. The part when I let him see me through the glass screen.
I’d been having sex for over a decade now. I’d long stopped blushing when talking on all possible topics with men. Yet I felt my skin heating in the wake of his intense gaze that was exploring my face.
“I enjoyed it immensely,” he murmured, not taking his radiant eyes from me. “You gave me the biggest joy I’ve had in over a century and possibly in my whole life. Thank you.”
He spoke the last two words so softly, I could barely hear them. I sensed the king wasn’t used to saying “thank you” often or to many people. The emotion in his voice, however, made those two words sound even more poignant, especially when combined with that intense stare of his.
“I...I had fun too,” I mumbled, blushing violently despite my best intentions.
“We shall do it again soon,” he added in a more upbeat tone, then got up to his feet in one fluid movement. “Breakfast is being served outside this morning. Ready when you are.”
KYE INSISTED ON ELINAdressing me outside on the patio that morning, too, as far away from the treacherous pools of thepalace as possible. Even during the day, he didn’t entirely trust the ocean, not when my safety was concerned.
Our old dining room hadn’t been damaged during last night’s attack. But Kye didn’t want to take any chances here either, ordering the table and our chairs moved out to the patio too.
Over breakfast, Kye jested and shamelessly flirted with me, making me laugh and further lifting my spirits.
“What would you like to do today?” I asked, smiling at him over the rim of my glass of jasmine iced tea. “I don’t think I have much more to teach you as far as swimming goes. You’re doing great on your own now, but we can still go in for a dip?”
With his elbows on the table, he rested his chin on his steepled fingers and met my gaze across the table.
“Tempting,” he said. “I haven’t seen your naked body for a few hours now, and I’m beginning to despise that dress for hiding it from me.”
At his words, my skin tingled under the light material of my pink dress. I imagined all that could happen when I got naked with him in the ocean again. My thighs clenched in anticipation, and my heart sped up. Yet no matter what we did and how far I let it go, it would still not be enough.
How could it ever be enough with Kye if I couldn’t even touch him?
A guard exited to the patio, but stayed close to the doorway, ready to flee at the first sign of danger from his king’s murderous touch.
“Your Majesty, the glass has been cleared in the great hall and the bedroom. Would you like us to replace the broken floors in both rooms?”
Kye ran a hand over his face. When he removed his hand, it appeared as if his palm had wiped away his smile, replacing it with a weary expression.
“No,” he sighed. “There’s no point. Just leave it as is for now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The guard bowed, turning to leave, but I stopped him.
“How are Seraphine and Enric doing today?” I asked.
The guard stared at me as if shocked to discover that I could speak. It wasn’t entirely unexpected on his part. Other than with Elina, I didn’t normally talk to anyone in the palace. Since my stay here was only temporary, I hadn’t made much effort to interact with the people of Lyrei. But Seraphine and Enric were hurt last night while protecting me, and I wanted to make sure they were okay.
“They’re with healers and recovering well,” Kye replied instead of the guard who remained speechless while blinking at me. “I checked on them both earlier this morning. They will be fine, Maren.”
I nodded in reply, and Kye pushed away from the table, getting up.
“On second thought,” he said to the guard, “let me see what the floor looks like. Is there enough of it left for the guards and the servants to move around safely?”
I got up too and followed him into the dining room. With a glance over his shoulder, he saw me and stopped.
“I’d rather you stay outside, butterfly. It’s safer there.”
“You said the Abyss creatures don’t come up to the surface during the day,” I reminded.
“Yes, but they also never came to the surface twice in one week before. There is simply no way to predict what they’ll do next.”
