CHAPTER 194: INVITATION PT 2

SOREN

She froze the moment my fingers closed around her wrist.

Not pulling away. Not yet. Just... still, like she was calculating whether to burn my hand off or allow this momentary touch.

I made the decision for both of us.

Pulled her closer. Gentle but firm. Until she stood between my legs where I leaned against her desk, close enough that her heat washed over me in waves that had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with proximity.

"What are you doing?" Her voice came out sharper than I think she intended.

"You didn’t expect me to do this?"

She cursed at me. Something creative in Solmire’s dialect that probably translated to anatomically improbable suggestions about my parentage.

I chuckled, pulling her even closer, until I could bury my face in her chest and breathe in the scent of fire and something floral from whatever soap they’d given her. My breath came out cold against the warm fabric of her gown, and I felt her shiver.

Her hand came up, touched my hair. Light. Almost playful, though her expression probably didn’t show it.

I sighed into her breasts, letting myself have this moment of absolute indulgence. "I didn’t come here to plant my face in your breasts alone."

The words came out muffled against fabric and flesh.

"What did you say?"

I mumbled something else, still not lifting my head. Still enjoying this far too much.

Her fingers tightened in my hair, tugging upward with just enough force to make me look at her. "What?"

"I actually came for something else," I said, meeting her eyes.

"What?"

I hesitated. The question had been weighing on me for days, circling my thoughts like a shark I couldn’t quite bring myself to confront. But it needed asking.

"It’s about the wedding invitation." The words came slower now. Careful. "I wanted your opinion on whether I should send it to Caelen."

Her face flickered. Just for a second. Something passing across her expression too quickly to name before she smoothed it back into neutrality.

"Do whatever you see fit," she said, voice perfectly controlled. "There’s no need for my opinion."

"I don’t want to hurt you in any way." I dove back into her chest, needing the comfort of her warmth even as I spoke words that might wound. "Since Caelen was your..."

"You’re not hurting my feelings." Her voice came from above me, steady and sure. "Caelen no longer matters to me."

She might be lying. I knew she might be lying. But gods, I wanted it to be true. Wanted to believe that whatever she’d felt for him had burned away, leaving space for... for whatever this was between us.

My arms tightened around her waist. Three days of watching her work. Three days of seeing her bent over documents, completely absorbed in learning about my empire, barely sparing me a glance when I appeared for our brief morning meetings. Three days of patience fraying at the edges until I couldn’t take it anymore.

I kissed her neck. Soft at first. Then with more intent, teeth grazing skin, tongue following to soothe the sting. Trailing down to where her pulse hammered against my lips, tasting salt and heat and something uniquely Eris.

My hands remembered the weight of her breasts in the forest. The way they’d felt, full and perfect and utterly responsive to every touch. I kissed up to her chin, her jaw, found her ear and traced it with my tongue while she shivered and tried very hard to pretend she wasn’t affected.

The knock shattered everything.

"Lady Eris." Aldric’s voice carried through the door with perfect, terrible timing. "I need to discuss the ceremonial protocols for the wedding. Specifically the bridal preparation rituals."

Fuck.

I pulled back just enough to press one last kiss to Eris’s cheek. Lingering. Almost apologetic. My lips found the spot where her pulse still hammered, tasting the heat there one final time before reality intruded completely.

"Come in," Eris called, voice remarkably steady considering what had just been happening.

The door opened. Aldric stepped through, took one look at us me still far too close, Eris clearly flushed, the air between us thick enough to cut and stopped. His expression flickered between professionalism and the kind of resigned exasperation that suggested he’d walked in on this sort of thing before.

Which, to be fair, he had.

"My apologies." His tone remained perfectly neutral. "I can return later if—"

"No." Eris stepped back from me, putting proper distance between us. The loss of her warmth felt like being plunged into winter water. "You can stay. I was just about to return to my chambers. I’m tired."

My eyes tracked her as she moved. I couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop watching the way her gown shifted, the way her hair fell across her shoulders, the way she very deliberately did not look at me as she smoothed down her skirts.

"Goodnight your Majesty," I said.

The words came out heavier than intended. Weighted with everything we hadn’t finished. Everything I wanted to finish.

She didn’t respond. Just walked past both of us, spine straight, chin lifted, every inch the queen even in retreat.

The door closed behind her.

Silence fell.

I stayed leaning against her desk, watching the space where she’d been, still feeling the phantom warmth of her body against mine. Still tasting her skin on my tongue.

"Can you not be so shameless Your Majesty?" Aldric’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I turned to look at him. My oldest friend. My most trusted advisor. The man who’d seen me at my absolute worst and somehow still chose to stand beside me.

He looked... concerned. And exasperated. And something else I couldn’t quite name.

"You can’t understand the effect she has on me," I said simply.

Because it was true. How could I explain it? How could I make him understand that every moment away from her felt wrong somehow?

That three days of watching her work, seeing her brilliant mind had only made me want her more?

That I was absolutely, completely, Irrevocably obsessed with a woman who’d once been known as the greatest tyrant in Solmire’s history?