Page 135 of Reign

How am I supposed to train her for another man after this?

The more useful question is whether I can keep her.

Keeping the Amato princess would require dealing with Angelo. He would object, interrogate my intentions, and turn the entire discussion into a negotiation involving ports, alliances, and whatever else he uses to disguise his need to control everyone around him.

Santo would threaten me. Probably more than once.

Adriana would interfere with tremendous enthusiasm.

Annoying.

Not impossible.

I look down at Elena again.

She hasn’t taken her eyes off me. Her cheeks are flushed and her breathing remains slightly uneven, but she holds my gaze because I asked her to.

Damn it.

She’s good.

Not practiced. Not polished. But honest in every reaction and determined to give me what I asked for even while she’s discovering what it costs.

Elena shifts beneath my attention without breaking position.

“Still green?” I ask.

Her brows pull together. “Yes. Are you going to check in every two minutes, consent king?”

A laugh slips out of me. “Probably.”

I step closer because I want to. Her breathing changes, but she stays where she is, watching my hand as I lift it.

My knuckles brush her cheek.

Her lashes lower, and her face eases into the touch before her pride can intervene. I let her eyes stay closed for another second.

This isn’t defiance. It’s instinct.

I want to learn every one of hers.

“Boss.”

Elena’s eyes snap open.

I turn my head.

Rafael stands at the entrance to the living room, his hand still on the doorframe and his gaze already cutting away from Elena as he catches sight of her and immediately turns his back.

“Sorry,” he says.

I move between her and the doorway, blocking Rafael’s view even though he’s already turned away.

“Hallway,” I tell him.

“Already going.”

He disappears beyond the entrance.