In this scene, Raik and King Orix are in her chamber. She's confessed that she's embarrassed by her own hands, which are so unlike the beautiful queen's.
Such a ridiculous truth
"I love you, Vhalgenn." When I tried to turn away, Orix set the tip of a finger beneath my chin and lifted my face. "And your hands. Why do they bother you so much?"
"Because they'll never be pretty." I pressed my lips shut, hating my own mouth for telling him such a ridiculous truth.
He set his fingers beneath my chin, and turned my face up to his. "You're more than pretty. You're magnificent. She's never once sat near the fire with me and talked."
It had been our nightly ritual. "Never?"
"Never." He brushed my hair back from my face. "I've learned to get along with her, Vhalgenn, but I never had to learn anything with you. We grew up with one another. You were my partner in everything I did. My lover, my shield-sister, my sparring partner, my best friend. My everything."
His mouth came down on mine. A feverish chill coursed through me at his touch. I'd wanted his mouth from the moment I saw him on that throne. Orix could not help but be languid and sultry and hot. Desire emanated from him like heat from an open oven. It scorched my face and I drew in a shallow breath, afraid of being burnt.
Resisting him was something I had never done, except in play. He thought I meant it that way now and made as if to pressure me, until he saw my eyes were brimming.
"Please, Orix. Don't." I pushed myself away from him. "I can't."
He frowned, confused. For him, life was simple. A need? Fulfill it. Thirsty? Drink. Hungry? Eat. Lusty? Love.
"Half the palace must know I'm here. Do you think Dahr will let this go unnoticed? She'll have someone in here to check on me before the night's through and I won't be thrown out again, Orix. I couldn't bear it."
"Vhalgenn, I promise. She'll never know."
"No!" I backed away from him. "She's no fool. She's your queen and she's risking her life to have your child. The least you can do is be faithful."
The look of horror on his face tore out a piece of my heart. Then I realized he was looking past me.
His pregnant queen stood in the darkness, right outside the door.
Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative blog hop hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
