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He chuckled, looping his arms around my neck. “What do you mean?”

I pulled back to look at him. “I mean let’s take advantage of being in this stupid palace with an entire army of staff who will get us anything and everything we could ever want. Except…” Heat rushed to my face, but I powered through. “I want to wait on you. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll feed you by hand and bathe you and wash your hair and…”

Vince blinked in shock, then slowly grinned. His voice was lower and huskier when he rasped, “And…?”

My blush deepened. “And I’ll… I’ll just do anything you want. Anything.”

His grin widened and grew a little evil. “You’ll do anything I want anyway.” Before I could huff at that, despite how true it was, he leaned in and gave me a soft kiss, adding, “My little slut.”

My cock twitched, but Vince was stepping back again and eyeing the opulent room with a faintly amused expression. Then he grinned at me and shrugged.

“Fuck it. Sure. I can pretend to be all fancy for one day.”

I laughed, which made his grin widen as he leaned in to kiss my smiling mouth. My chest cracked open, and it felt like something warm and terrifying and utterly exhilarating rushed in to fill all the gaps. My stomach spasmed when I remembered what I’d blurted out to Ianthe. What I’d admitted.

What I felt for Vince.

My mouth trembled as we ended the kiss. I knew my emotions were a little wild at the moment, but I couldn’t stop myself from resting my forehead against his and shakily saying, “Thank you for coming with me.”

He paused, then cupped my cheek and kissed me again. “Of course. I wouldn’t let you do this on your own.”

My heart clenched. What did that mean? Did that mean he felt something for me too? Something stronger than just lust and physical attraction?

As if he could sense how unsettled I was, he stepped back and said, “That sounds like a great way to distract ourselves today. Let’s order all the food we can think of, and I’m sure you have a fucking ridiculous bathtub somewhere in here, huh?”

I managed a smile, shaking off some of the wild emotions churning in my gut. “Yes. Of course.”

“Nice.” He casually nodded at the four-poster bed. “And I hope that bed isn’t too old or creaky, because we’ll be fucking like animals in it for most of the night.”

My breath caught. “I—It actually does creak somewhat.”

A wicked grin stretched his mouth. “Then I guess some people might find out what a hard-working butler I am, huh?”

I burst out laughing. “Except I’m going to be doing the hard work, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” His grin widened. “I haven’t forgotten, your highness.”

—

An hour later, Vince was lounging back in the enormous bathtub filled with rose-oil-scented hot water and drinking champagne from a pale pink crystal coupe while I hand-fed him figs drizzled in honey, spiced nuts, an assortment of berries imported from the Summer Court and rhubarb stewed in rose water and sprinkled with pistachios.

When he said he was full, I set down the platter and topped up his glass, which made him grin. He’d been stiff and uncomfortable at first while I’d run the bath for him, ordered the food and champagne and insisted on undressing him myself. But once he got in the tub, it hadn’t taken long for him to relax.

In fact, I could tell that he was enjoying himself immensely.

“It’s a little too easy to start getting used to this kinda treatment,” he admitted with a chuckle, reaching over to grab another strawberry off the plate and bite into it. As he chewed, his lips tilted into a smirk and he held out the rest of the fruit until I obediently leaned forward and ate it.

“Is there anything I can do for you now?” I asked after swallowing, resisting the urge to trail my fingertips over his bare, pale skin, gleaming with oil.

“You can get naked and get in the tub with me.”

My belly lurched with pleasure, and then heat rushed to my face as I stood to obey, because waiting on him hand and foot had made my cock achingly stiff, and he was going to see it.

He already could.

His smirk widened as his dark eyes locked on the erection jutting under my trousers while I retracted my wings and fumbled to take off my tunic. I breathed a sigh of relief after I got the stiff fabric away from my skin, because I’d begun to sweat from the steamy air in the bathroom. When I pulled down my trousers and stepped out of them, my cock bobbed, already leaking. I was almost unbearably aroused from being at his beck and call. From doing whatever he wanted without question.

It made me wonder what, exactly, he was going to get me to do.