Viciously Yours (Fae Kings of Eden Book 1)

Rennick clapped one of his generals on the shoulder and wove his way through the tables in the massive dining hall. Staff and warriors were welcome to enjoy free meals at the palace if they desired, something his mother had started years ago.

The tables for royals and other high-ranking officials sat at the back of the room on a podium overlooking the others. He approached the head table and pulled out the chair next to his for Amelia, who chatted with an older maid as they set the tables.

Charlie sat faithfully at her heels, earning a few astonished looks from the staff, but those looks turned curious after other staff members leaned toward them and whispered something, likely informing them of the earlier announcement that Charlie was her pet.

Amelia and the maid laughed like old friends, even though Amelia had only been at the palace for two days. Every interaction she had with their staff put him more at ease that his people would accept her without much pushback. Everyone loved her.

“What’s on the menu this evening?” an unfortunately familiar voice queried from the bottom of the podium.

Finn shot Rennick a knowing look and glanced between Ora and Amelia with a taunting smile. “Roast,” he told her, offering nothing else. Her lip curled slightly at his tone.

Amelia’s eyes turned to slits from the far side of the table where she still stood with the maid. “Hello again,” she greeted Ora with a tight smile. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight. Do you live here as part of the staff?”

One of the warriors nearby choked, and the room fell silent.

Ora stiffened and narrowed her eyes briefly before gliding across the podium with a fake laugh. “My father is a council member, but sometimes it feels like I live here.” Her hand went to her silver necklace, one Rennick recognized well. It was a gift he’d given her for her eighteenth birthday as a thank you for helping him with Amelia’s gifts. “But I do have my own rooms for the nights we stay up too late.”

She winked at Rennick, and he wanted to rip her eyelids off.

Finn stopped chewing and glanced quickly at Amelia. Rennick felt his mate struggle to keep her anger in check, and he made to move toward her, but stopped when Ora gasped.

“Oh no!” She looked pitifully down at the necklace in her hands. Her face was the picture of distraught when she turned to him and said, “It caught on my finger and broke.”

More like she broke it on purpose. Oh, fuck, he thought when her intention clicked.

Before he could stop her, she said to Amelia, “The necklace was a gift from Ren for my eighteenth birthday.” Ora smiled fondly. “He said it made him think of me.”

He heard a few murmurs from the room and hated that so many bore witness to the scene, but his options were limited to hauling Amelia away, killing Ora, or forcefully removing the latter. “It was a thank you for your help,” he amended through gritted teeth.

Ora ignored him and lifted the necklace—a silver chain holding a heart with an arrow through it. “Isn’t it pretty?”

She’d picked the damned thing out herself, but he’d been a stupid boy, not realizing it could be construed another way. He realized it now. He corrected her again, with a warning in his tone. “You picked it out.”

Amelia’s hand touched the base of her throat where her trout necklace usually lay, and Rennick could feel her anger building. He readied himself for her to flee or turn her hard eyes on him, but she did neither. Instead, a sigh escaped her, and her eyes filled with false pity.

“Silver is a cheap metal.” She turned to Rennick and shook her head. “She deserved better than a weak silver chain for all the help she gave you in picking out my gifts.” She pushed her hair over her shoulder, exposing his bite mark to everyone, and Rennick covered his mouth to hide his smile.

The whispers around the room grew as Amelia stared at Ora with a silent challenge. A feeling of sly satisfaction flowed from Amelia to him as she walked closer, with Charlie at her side. If the lynx decided to rip Ora’s throat out, Rennick would let him.

His mate touched his arm over his still healing scab. A claim. Even if no one else knew, they did. “Shame on you,” she chided him, biting back a coy smile.

Rennick leaned down and kissed the top of her head, not caring if everyone saw. He would marry her in secret as soon as possible to ensure her safety.

He’d wanted her to adjust to the fae world first, but he couldn’t wait any longer. A guard he trusted would be assigned to her when he wasn’t around to prevent anyone from trying to touch her.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said loudly. “I didn’t give it much thought.”

The chair he’d pulled out for Amelia moved beneath his hand, startling him. Breaking his attention on Amelia, he turned to find Ora beaming up at him from the chair.

“Sit,” she said, nodding toward his chair and looking at the rest of those on the podium. “Everyone eat up before the food gets cold.”

She addressed the others like a queen, and he’d not stand for it. People around the room exchanged nervous glances, but did as she said, which pissed Rennick off more. How did I not notice her antics until now?

“That’s Amelia’s seat,” he said coolly, deciding not to kill her in front of everyone. He’d do that out of sight of prying eyes.

Ora leaned forward and looked around him at Amelia. “I’ve always sat here. You don’t mind, do you?”

Another challenge. Everyone knew the queen sat on the king’s right. It’s true she’d always sat there, but he thought it was so she could talk with him and Finn during meals.

His mate bared her teeth in a dangerous smile but kept her voice pleasant. “Not at all.”

His face darkened, ready to rip Ora out of the chair, but Amelia subtly squeezed his arm.

He raised a brow at her. What are you planning, little mate?

She gestured for him to sit down. With growing curiosity over her intentions, he obeyed. Amelia stopped him from scooting his chair under the table and lowered herself onto his lap, giving Ora her back with her legs pointed at Finn.

A few people in the room laughed, including Finn, who tried to cover it with a cough.

Rennick banded an arm around Amelia’s middle and tugged her snugly against him to brush a kiss against her cheek.

Completely ignoring the daggers Ora threw her way, Amelia smiled at the older maid, who placed a plate in front of her. “Thank you, Birdie.”

Birdie smirked, and the two traded a knowing look. “You’re welcome, dear.” She shot Ora a look of loathing and walked off.

Amelia filled Rennick’s plate, not bothering to ask what he liked, but he knew it was a power move. Even if he hated what she’d served, which he didn’t, he would eat with a smile on his face.

Ora looked ready to spit nails and diverted her attention to Finn. “What happened to your hair?”

A few murmurs from the crowd didn’t escape Rennick’s attention, nor did the perturbed looks from a few of the bald fae.

“Our friend decided blond hair was offensive,” he replied before tucking more potatoes into his mouth.

Amelia side-eyed Rennick but said nothing, and Ora’s eyes gleamed as they scanned Amelia’s blonde braid. “That makes sense. Rennick used to say he hoped his mate had dark hair.”

Gods. He wanted to tell Ora to leave right then, but he knew his mate wanted to prove a point, something he would fuck her for later.

“Is that so?” Amelia asked, rotating her body to look at the other woman.

“Oh, yes,” Ora went on smugly. “He tried to imagine what she looked like. Do you remember what you said, Ren?”

He did, and he wished he could take the words back and shove them down her throat.

“Ora,” Finn warned, but she was like a dog with a bone.

“He wanted someone with dark hair and light eyes.” She twisted her own dark hair around her finger and batted her light blue eyes at him. “And short.” She giggled and pointedly scanned Amelia’s tall form. “He wanted her short enough to carry on his shoulders. Isn’t that adorable?”

“We were fourteen,” Finn interjected with a level of venom that surprised Rennick. “He thought a tall girl would kick his balls. If he mated a short girl now, he’d look like an inchworm trying to kiss her.”

Amelia’s hand clapped over her mouth to stifle a laugh, and Rennick was so thankful that he almost felt bad for making Finn shave his head.

Almost.

Amelia reached for the glass of wine on the table and took a long drink. “That’s all very cute,” she agreed, followed by the fakest yawn Rennick had ever seen in his life. Her hazel eyes, his new favorite color, slipped to his. “Can we go back to our rooms? I’m exhausted from earlier.” She gave him a flirtatious smile that couldn’t be interpreted as anything other than the insinuation it was.

Ora’s silverware clanged against her plate, but he ignored her. “Of course, love. Birdie,” he called the maid serving their table, “please have our food delivered to our rooms.”

“Your rooms?” Ora asked in disbelief. “Ren, you can’t be serious! What about your mate?”

The mood in the room shifted, and every person paused, waiting for his answer.

He turned eerily slow to look at the woman he’d considered a friend for most of his life. “Yes. Our rooms. Now, if everyone would excuse us.”

He tipped his head to the room and the others on the podium as Amelia slid off his lap so he could stand.

With his hands on Amelia’s shoulders, Rennick moved her toward the wall at the back of the podium, her back facing everyone in the room.

“Hold the front of your skirts above your waist,” he whispered in her ear. She flashed him a curious smile and leaned over to gather the long fabric. He moved in front of her and squatted down, with his back to her and one knee on the floor. “Get on, love.”

Laughter bubbled out of her. “What?”

“Grab one of my hands and place the other on my head to climb onto my shoulders.”

Directly behind him, a chair scraped loudly, followed by the echo of angry stomps down the podium steps. Finn muttered something under his breath, but all Rennick focused on was Amelia hoisting herself up and tossing one leg over his shoulder.

He helped maneuver her other leg in place and secured her thighs on either side of his head.

Standing with ease, he looked up at her as she looked down. “I’m going to let go of your hands to grab your legs. Hold on to my hair if you need to.”

They turned, and the room stared unabashedly as he carefully descended from the podium and left the dining hall, with Charlie trailing behind.

Their laughter bounced off the palace walls as he carried her the long way back to their rooms to show her just how much he loved blonde hair, hazel eyes, and long legs more than anything else in the world.

Rennick lowered Amelia to the ground outside of their rooms and opened the door to usher her inside while telling Charlie to find something else to do. A cart with their dinner sat near the small breakfast table, but she knew they wouldn’t be eating anytime soon.

At least not food.

“You like dark hair, huh?” she teased.

His hand reached around and fisted her hair, yanking her head back. “Blonde looks better around my hand,” he replied roughly. His other hand slid down the front of her dress to cup her pussy. “And around my cock.” Oh.

The words heated her from the inside out. “What color are my lips?”

His brows bent slightly. “Which ones?”

Her breath hitched, and she wordlessly tapped her mouth.

“I don’t know what the color is called.” He focused on her lips and ran his thumb softly across them. “They’re slightly darker than your skin. A little pink, too.”

She tilted her head slightly and bit her lip with a smile. “Does that color look good around your cock?”

If she couldn’t hear his heart beating wildly in his chest, she would’ve thought him a corpse with how stiff he went. Wild green eyes met hers. “The only color that looks prettier around my cock than your barely pink lips is your red, swollen pussy.”

A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine, lighting every nerve she had on fire. “I think we need to compare before we make that decision,” she taunted breathlessly and reached for his pants.

Clothes went flying. Sinking to her knees, Amelia caught Rennick’s eye and licked her hand to wrap around the base of his shaft.

She sank her nails into the flesh of his backside and slid her mouth over the head of his cock. Rennick groaned like a tortured soul, his hands twitching at his sides. As she worked her hand and mouth together, he lost the fight and threaded a hand into her hair, pushing her head down farther.

“Let me hear you gag.” He thrust his hips forward. It wasn’t hard, and she could have easily pulled back, but she didn’t.

She prayed she wouldn’t puke when she gagged, but if she did, it was his fault for shoving himself to the back of her throat. He eased back for her to catch her breath, then pushed his cock down her throat again.

Suddenly, he pulled out and hauled her over his shoulder, getting to their bedroom in record time. He set her on her feet facing the end of the bed, moved her hands to the bedpost, and said, “Bend over and hold on, love.”

She obliged, wondering what tricks he’d learned over the years, and squirmed when his fingers swiped through her arousal. “If I’d known my cock between your lips made you this wet, I would have fucked your mouth our first night together.”

And then his mouth was on her.

She moaned and pushed back against his face as he ravaged her relentlessly with his tongue. “You’re perfect,” he said, pushing a finger inside of her.

Her legs shook, and when her inner walls spasmed, he removed his finger and stood.

Amelia cried out in protest, but the feel of his dick nudging her entrance made her swallow her words. Without warning, he slammed into her, and she understood why he’d told her to hold on, because without the bedpost, she would have tumbled headfirst onto the mattress.

He set a bruising pace, and she was already sensitive from his teasing. His fingers brushed against her clit, sending her over the edge. They both moaned and, seconds later, he pumped strings of cum inside of her for what felt like forever.

“I knew the first time I felt you come on my cock would be exquisite,” he murmured, kissing her back.

Cum dripped down her legs when he pulled out of her, and she bowed them, peering down. Waddling wasn’t the sexiest thing in the world, but she didn’t want to get cum on the expensive rug. She clamped her thighs together and shuffled toward the bare stone floor.

Strong arms scooped her up and lifted her to rest against a warm chest. “Where are you going, little mate?”

“I was trying to move off of the rug, so I didn’t ruin it with your bodily fluids.”

He threw his head back with a booming laugh. “I don’t think so.” Laying her on the plush rug, he moved his hand to her pussy and swiped through the cum on her legs to push it back inside of her. “Your cunt will soak in every bit of me.”

Oh my.

Once he was satisfied, he crawled over her and latched on to her nipple, sucking it into his mouth. “I have something I’d like to try,” he murmured. “If you’re okay with it.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “What?”

He stood. “Don’t move.”

Rennick disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a wooden box. He flipped the lid open and pulled something out. It was made of the same material as her fake cocks, but this possessed a pointed tip, bulbous middle, and a wide, flat base.

“What is that for?”

“I want to fill every hole you have.” His gaze trailed to her spread legs. “These are to help prepare you.”

Her eyes flared. “These?”

He opened the box again and showed her the contents. It contained similar objects to the one in his hand, but in different sizes. “It will feel odd at first, but you’ll get used to them, and once you’re ready, your ass will take my cock as well as your greedy little cunt.”

She gaped at him, but intrigue kept her from objecting. “What if it hurts?”

“That’s the purpose of these.” He gestured to the box. “I would never hurt you.”

“On purpose,” she countered.

“Ever.” He bent down next to her. “Anyone who says they’re scared of hurting you on purpose is warning you.” After setting the box down, he pulled a small jar of oil out and slathered in on the plug in his hand. “I know I won’t, accident or not.”

She nodded and waited expectantly.

“Get on your hands and knees, love.”

Once in position, she looked over her shoulder at him, but he was staring at her backside, biting his lip. “Fuck. Every inch of you is stunning.”

He ran an oiled finger over the area he’d later fill, pressing the tip of it against her tightness. “I know it’s difficult, but relax.”

“I don’t know how.” She was nervous.

“Close your eyes and breathe in deep, then focus on loosening your body as you release it.”

She tried, gods, she tried, but her anticipation kept her drawn up tight.

His other hand found her clit and moved in lazy circles. “Oh,” she whimpered, dropping her head forward.

“Keep breathing,” he encouraged softly. “I won’t hurt you.” With every breath and stroke, she felt her muscles loosen. “Bear down as if using the latrine.”

“What?” She turned to him. “You can’t mean…” Embarrassment colored her face.

His mouth twitched. “Never be embarrassed around me. Everyone does it. It will help.”

He cannot be serious. “What if I go?” she sputtered.

He shrugged. “I will wash you, and we’ll try again.”

“Oh, my gods.”

His fingers still worked her clit, and the other caressed her backside lovingly. “Please?”

Closing her eyes, she nodded. “Okay.”

She did as he asked, focusing on staying loose, and to her surprise, his finger slipped inside. “Good girl.” He continued to push inside and moved his finger in a circular motion. She jerked at the new sensation. “You’re doing great, love.”

Her breathing grew heavy when he slipped his thumb into her pussy, while his other finger still worked on her clit. There was a lot going on down there, and everything spiraled. He pulled out his finger from her backside but maintained a steady rhythm with his other hand.

“Bear down, love.”

She breathed too hard to answer, but tried to do as he said. The tip of the plug pressed against her, and Rennick wiggled it gently. Eventually, her body accepted it with a soft pop, and the fullness took her by surprise, sending her into an intense climax.

Her cries echoed around their bedroom, and Rennick’s lips found her supple cheek. She rocked back against his hand with the intensity of her orgasm until the sensations ebbed.

He removed his hand and held her hips. “Come here.”

Pushing up to her knees, she allowed him to pull her into his lap and laid her head against his shoulder.

“I love you,” he murmured. “Thank you for doing this.”

“I love you too, and I have a feeling I’ll enjoy it as much as you.” She pressed a kiss to his chest. “How long do I need to wear it?”

His hand stroked her stomach. “A few hours to start.”

She balked. Hours? To start?

“Let me wash you, and then we’ll eat,” Rennick proposed.

She nodded, feeling the exhaustion, and spoke against his neck. “Only if I can wash you, too.”

Later that night, as they lay in bed with Amelia tucked snuggly under Rennick’s arm, he brought up the one name she’d rather never hear again. “We need to talk about Ora.”

Her irritation rose at the thought. “I’m not sorry for how I acted.”

“You shouldn’t be. I would have forced her out of the palace already, but I didn’t want to take that opportunity away from you.”

On the one hand, Amelia appreciated him honoring their agreement about telling Ora together, but on the other hand, it would have been intoxicating to see her disgraced in front of the entire dining hall after her thinly veiled attempts to usurp her.

Amelia tipped her head up to see Rennick’s face. “We’re meeting her tomorrow at four, correct?”

“Yes, after my meetings. Do you know what you want to say?”

“I thought ‘Get the fuck out of our home’ would suffice.” She craned her neck more to gauge his reaction and grinned when he laughed with abandon.

His fingers ran a soothing path down the length of her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “Let me know where you’ll be tomorrow, and I’ll walk you to my study when my meetings are over.”

It was cute, seeing a hulking fae king who killed people because he felt like it want to walk her somewhere like a teenage schoolboy. An unexpected pang soured her stomach at everything they’d missed out on because she was human.

“If I were fae and grew up in one of the fae kingdoms, would we have met sooner?”

For the longest time, he said nothing, and she worried she’d asked a stupid question. Finally, he exhaled loudly. “When a royal hears their mate’s name, they locate them and, if they are from a different kingdom, the mate and their family move to the royal’s kingdom, but not always.”

“It doesn’t seem fair to ask them to uproot their lives when they can’t marry until they’re twenty-five, anyway.”

“Twenty-two,” he corrected. “Most royals marry their mates when they turn twenty-two.”

Another hit. “Either way, asking someone to leave their friends and other family isn’t fair.”

“It’s not,” he agreed, “but it’s for their own safety and the preservation of the royal bloodlines.”

Right. Because royal mates possessed a strong magical bond needed to create stronger heirs.

So much had happened in one day, which made her realize it’d only been a handful of days since meeting Rennick in person. She didn’t even know what his father looked like. She didn’t feel the bond, yet she loved him from years of letters and the days they’d spent together since. But he’d had no way of falling in love with her as a person over the years. Watching her sometimes didn’t give him insight into anything about her other than her looks and daily routine.

He tugged lightly on her hair. “What’s wrong?”

She swallowed, not wanting to sound pathetic. What sane person complained that a beautiful fae king was obsessed with them, magic or not? “I hate that we missed out on being together for the last twelve years.”

Soft lips brushed against hers. “We have plenty of time to make up for it. Tell me about your friend, Clover,” he said, switching the subject fast enough to be suspicious, but she didn’t want to think too hard about why.

Maybe he’d liked not having her breathing down his neck during his teenage years.

“What do you want to know?”

He adjusted them into a more comfortable position and ran his fingers through her hair. “Did you two grow up together?”

“No.” A memory of the first day she met Clover surfaced. “She didn’t come to the orphanage until after I turned thirteen. I remember thinking how pretty she was and hoping she wasn’t terrible, like Ana and Farrah.”

“Who are Ana and Farrah?”

“Two girls who don’t matter, but Clover is nothing like them. She’s painfully shy and quiet. I thought she didn’t like me at first.” A smile spread across her face. “I wore her down.” The night Clover showed her the paragraph had turned the tide of their friendship, and she would always treasure it. “You might not remember this, but in one of your first letters, you said you felt me laugh.”

“I do,” he murmured. “I’d been eating dinner when I felt it. I remember laughing too, as though I was in on the joke.”

“It was Clover. I didn’t have any friends then.” She plucked at a string on the comforter. “Most of my schoolmates were nice, but when I was younger, I preferred to keep to myself.” She shrugged. “But Clover liked to hide away and read too. That night you felt me. She’d showed me that she wanted a friend too.”

“You said Clover had no family?”

“That’s right, and no other friends that I knew of.” Amelia frowned. “I don’t know why she lied to her boss or where she really went.”

“I can send for her.” Rennick shifted. “She can live in the palace, or in a house of her choosing here in the Mountain Kingdom if she’d like.”

Amelia sat up and twisted to look down at him with stinging eyes over how readily he jumped at the chance to make her happy without a second thought. “I don’t deserve you.”

“You’re right.” Her stomach plummeted. “You deserve better, and I’ll try to be that for you.”

“Are you joking?” She couldn’t tell.

“I don’t joke,” he replied with a straight face, his voice void of humor.

She laughed at his serious expression, but the laugh died quickly. “You deserve more than I can give you. Look at you.” She swept her hand over his body. “You should be with a powerful fae who can fight alongside you and support you in every way.

“I can train until I’m blue in the face and I still wouldn’t be as strong as the weakest fae. Half of the fae, if not more, won’t respect a human queen. You and I both know it. If it weren’t for the bond, you wouldn’t have looked at me twice.”

He sat up so fast that she fell back with a squeak. She’d only felt his emotions once, but she felt them now, and he was pissed. “You are everything I need and better than anything I ever wanted.” Words escaped her at the fierceness in his declaration. “You think I give a fuck that you’re physically weak?”

She frowned. She didn’t say she was weak, just weaker than fae.

“I couldn’t care less what shape your ears are or what kingdom you’re from. You are good and kind and everything I’m not.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “I once watched you set your pile of books in the snow to open a door for a woman juggling three children. You took in a pet fox, for fuck’s sake.” With each word, her mouth opened more until she stared at him slack-jawed, like the trout on her necklace. “You thought I might not come for you, yet you learned to cook my favorite dish, anyway.”

Hearing the conviction in his words took her breath away.

“If we weren’t mates, I’d pray our paths never crossed.” She flinched, his words inflicting physical pain. “My fated mate wouldn’t have stood a chance. No bond could compare to how you make me feel. Don’t ever question my loyalty and love for you again.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her eyes blurred with tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. She didn’t see herself the way he did, and no one in her life knew her well enough to see her that way, either.

Warmth encircled her waist, and he dragged her into his lap. “Don’t be sorry, love, but don’t doubt me again.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I won’t, I promise.” She finally met his gaze. “I know I’m not the best at showing it, but I love you, and I don’t want you to doubt that either.”

“Marry me,” he murmured, staring at her with more intensity than she’d ever seen from him.

“I thought that was the plan,” she joked, loving the way his mouth tugged into a crooked smile.

“We were to wed at the coronation celebration in six days’ time for everyone to bear witness to the blood exchange, but I don’t want to wait. I want to marry you sooner.”

“What coronation celebration? Blood exchange?” She felt woozy.

He smirked. “Which answer would you like first?”

Neither. “The blood exchange.”

“When fae marry, they do the holy blood exchange. After agreeing to the marriage, the royal officiant spreads holy oil on your skin here.” His finger skimmed over the side of her neck. “We’ll take turns making a small cut over the oil on each other’s skin and then lick it clean.”

The room spun, and Amelia grasped Rennick’s arm tightly. “Is there another way? I can’t lick your blood.”

“You must ingest the other’s blood, love, but it will be quick.”

She licked her lips and swallowed the saliva collecting in her mouth. “Okay.” Closing her eyes, she blew out a long breath. “Tell me about the celebration.” Anything to get her mind off consuming someone’s blood.

“The coronation celebration is a big party to celebrate my becoming king with the other royal families and council members. I’ve acted in my father’s stead for years, but I wasn’t officially crowned until a few days ago, upon our twenty-fifth birthday. My father and I decided to postpone the celebration until after I brought you home.”

The blood drained from her face. “All of the royal families are coming for our wedding in six days?”

“They think they’re only coming to celebrate my coronation.” He smoothed her hair back lovingly. “No one knows I’ve found my mate.”

“You said royals hear the name of their mates.”

He looked amused. “We do.”

“Then what excuse did you give when you didn’t marry yours when you turned twenty-two?”

“My father gave excuses to no one other than his closest advisors and swore them to secrecy. The other kingdoms’ rulers likely think I’m an asshole who refused to marry my mate or that my mate died.” He shrugged like people thinking less of him was nothing.

“What are the coronations and weddings like?”

“I couldn’t leave my kingdom until I turned twenty-five and took the throne,” he reminded her. “I’ve never been to one, but even if I could leave, none of the other three heirs have married yet, either.”

“Are they all young?”

He shook his head, and her lips pinched together. “The Desert King is twenty-five, and the Garden King is twenty-six. The Tropical King is twenty-four.”

“I thought they had to marry when they were twenty-two?”

“They don’t have to, but it’s tradition.”

“That doesn’t seem suspicious to you? What are the odds that none of the heirs have married?”

Rennick thought for a moment. “All four heirs not marrying at twenty-two is unheard of.” He held on to her and laid them back against the pillows. “The Tropical King is too young to leave his kingdom, but the Garden King and Desert King will be here for my coronation celebration. You can ask them yourself.”

She blanched. “I’m not going to ask a stranger why they’re not married!”

He laughed, rolled them over, and hovered above her. “Marry me. I can’t wait another week.”

She leaned up and kissed him softly. “I’d love to.”