Chapter Twenty-Three

I wore a new set of clothes to dinner that night—a new set sent by the King earlier that evening. I was grateful to have another option in the style of Latur. And the lighter fabrics were simply more comfortable in the warmer weather. Really, I should have gone into Enleran and purchased some clothes myself. I”d been there long enough. But I hadn”t thought of it. And I couldn”t have afforded garments like those gifted to me by Shale anyway. The new tunic was teal, with silver designs around the cuffs. Teal like the King”s eyes. Was this his way of marking me? He hardly had to resort to such measures. As soon as the court saw me dining with him, they”d back off again. Except for maybe the Eljaffnas.

I grinned when I thought of them. They”d been cast into a dark light by their King”s actions, but they didn”t blame him. And they made the most of it. I admired that.

After entering the dining hall, I sought out Lord Casu. He was standing with his people, and they all welcomed me. I didn”t want to shock them or lose this welcome, so I decided to warn them.

“The King and I have spoken,” I said.

They went silent.

“Has he rethought his stance on . . .” Casu waved a hand at me.

“Yes,” I said. “I”ll be dining with him tonight. Hopefully, that will continue for a while, but who knows?” I snorted. “I may enrage him again.”

“Even rage is an improvement,” one of the women, Lady Hinla, said. “To see him come alive is, well, inspiring, Master Sebastian. I”m overjoyed that he has decided to continue his relationship with you.”

“Thank you, Lady Hinla,” I said. “I”m pretty happy myself.”

“And here he is,” Lord Casu whispered.

Our group turned in the direction Casu was looking and bowed to the King. Even the women bowed in Latur. No curtsying.

The King inclined his head to his courtiers, then held his hand out to me. I hurried to take it. Gripping me firmly, King Shaleros led me up the steps to his table, but when I tried to let go of his hand and take the couch beside his, he kept pulling until I stood before his royal seat. He sat down, then gave another tug on my hand.

“Here?” I whispered. “You want me to sit on your throne with you?”

“It”s not a throne, Sebastian,” Shaleros said. “And it”s made this size so I may invite whomever I wish to sit beside me. Be they honored guest or . . .”

“Lover?” I smirked.

“Sit. Down.”

I sat. Awkwardly. At the edge. Then I looked up to find the court gaping at me. So I pulled an armrest pillow over from the side of the seat and put it between the King and me.

He removed it and set it back where it had been, leaning across me to do so. As he leaned, he turned toward me to press our chests together, angled his head, and whispered, “You”re mine now. We”re past these games.”

“I wasn”t trying to play with you,” I whispered back. “The court is shocked, so I . . .”

He straightened and smirked. “You thought that putting a pillow between us would alleviate their shock?”

I shrugged, still reeling from his “You”re mine,” declaration. That one had sent my belly into tumbles. Good, happy tumbles.

“I have never cared what my court thinks, and I”m not about to start now.” Shale waved at a servant, and dinner service started.

“In that case, why don”t you just bend me over this table and fuck me right here, Your Majesty?”

He set a firm stare on me. “Do not tempt me, Sebastian.”

I blushed. I actually blushed.

And Shale was pleased with himself.

For a second.

Then it was as if he remembered something. The King focused on the food as it arrived, filling his plate. I waited for him to take what he wanted, then filled my plate. Shale was already eating by the time I picked up my fork.

I watched him for a second before I took a bite. He wasn”t completely there yet, and that was to be expected. This would take time, maybe years. Shale had a lot to get over. But he was trying, and that felt magical to me. As Lady Hinla said, even rage was an improvement. He may not have cut off all of his emotions, but they”d certainly been buried under layers of thick apathy. That apathy was gone now.

I had done that.

I pulled my plate closer and ate with gusto.

Shale watched me surreptitiously. Then he stared openly. I stared back. The meal became erotic. Every bite he took taunted me. He licked his lips far too much. Savored the flavors ridiculously. He even moaned.

“Are you trying to torture me?” I finally asked.

Shale lifted his brows. “How?”

“All that moaning and licking and closing your eyes.” I waved at him with my fork.

“I”m enjoying my meal.”

“Yes, I”ve noticed. Funny that I”ve never noticed you enjoy food so much before.”

Shale chuckled. “I will enjoy you just as thoroughly later.”

“That confirms it,” I said. “You are trying to torture me.” I fluffed the edge of my tunic so it hid my erection.

“You deserve punishment.”

“Excuse me?”

“After taunting me for days.”

“All right, that”s enough of that shit,” I growled. “I didn”t know you were watching me, and I certainly wasn”t trying to taunt you by sticking my ass in the air. You should know I”m not that subtle.”

Shale narrowed his eyes at me.

“I swear,” I said. “Remember that time I, uh, you know. In the garden.”

“Masturbated?”

“Yes, that. I knew you were watching then. That”s how I seduce. Full on, naked me, stroking one out. I don”t just twitch my ass and hope someone is watching.”

Shale frowned and looked away.

“What”s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he murmured. “I guess I overreacted.”

“No shit.”

He grimaced as he turned back toward me. “You will need to be more respectful. Especially in public.”

“Or what?” I grinned.

“Or I will have something real to punish you for.”

Breathless, I asked, “And how will you punish me, Your Majesty?”

“Maybe I”ll lock you in my bedroom and make you submit to me for a week. I have amazing stamina. You can forget about sleep.”

I shivered. “I think I”m about to be a very bad boy.”

His lips twitched. “You don”t have to act out. After a century and a half, my need is great. I will be a very demanding lover. I hope you”re prepared to satisfy me.”

“Oh, I am looking forward to it.” Then I remembered the whole blood loss thing. “But, uh, could you not take so much blood next time?”

Shale paled. “I will never drink from you again.”

“That”s not what I”m asking.” I laid a hand on his arm. “I enjoyed it. A lot. We just have to be more careful.”

“There”s no we, Sebastian. It was me. I nearly killed you. It was one of the reasons I . . .”

“One of the reasons you walked away from me?” I whispered. “Damn it. I wish I”d known that. I would have told you, it”s all right.”

“It”s not all right. I will not be drinking from you again.”

“Yes, you will! I loved it. You can control yourself. I know you can. You”ve buried your emotions for years, you can—”

“Enough!” He jerked his arm so my hand fell away. “I said, no.”

“You”re not going to hurt me.”

The King”s face twitched. “You don”t know that.”

“Yes, I do. I trust you, Shale.”

“Not in public.”

“Your Majesty,” I amended and rolled my eyes. “Fuck. Can”t we go an hour without getting into an argument?”

Shaleros leaned back and regarded me. He let out a long breath. But I didn”t relax. He was like a canon on a Neraky pirate ship, just waiting to be lit.

“I want you to drink from me. It was fucking incredible. And I know you can stop when you need to.” I grinned sheepishly. “You”ll have other things you can focus on.”

He just stared at me.

“Please, Your Majesty?”

Finally, Shale said, “Very well. I will be more careful with you next time.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I”m sorry that I”m human.”

Shale let out a huff of air, grimaced, and shook his head. “I wish you weren”t, but not because I view your race as inferior.”

I lifted a brow.

“All right. You are inferior, that”s a fact. But I don”t need you to be stronger than me or have magic. It”s your frailty that concerns me.”

“And the fact that I will die,” I whispered.

He met my stare and something winced in his expression. “Yes.”

“We may not have as much time as we”d like, or we may only desire each other for a few months. Maybe we will end things before the garden is finished. Gods know you”re inclined to do so. But whatever time we have, I will savor it. I hope you will too, and that one day, you”ll be happy, maybe with an immortal lover, and you will fondly look back on your time with the human who helped you remember how to live.”

Shale stared at me. His throat worked.

“Your Majesty?”

“Great fuck, Sebastian!” he cursed. “That was dark. Beautiful, but dark.”

I burst out laughing.

The Dragon King smiled softly at me, then took my hand. I thought he was going to say something sweet. But no.

“Yes, the thought of you dying has crossed my mind, and it is not a pleasant thought. But I can”t love you. You must remember that. I don”t want to watch you die or even grow old. So when the time comes, be it in two months or two decades, I will end this, and I will be fine. Will you be fine, Sebastian? If not, perhaps we—”

“I”ll be fine,” I cut him off. Not because my words were true but because I couldn”t hear him talk so casually about ending us. Because I wouldn”t be fine.

I was falling in love with the Dragon King.