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“Thank you, I—” I stop mid-sentence, look down at it, and laugh. “Sweetie, this is a key.”
“Technically speaking, sure,” he says, skeptical. “It’s ridiculous. So you’ll have to shove it in the hole, and no, I’m not making a joke. Then you turn—”
“I know how to use a key, stupid.”
“Earth is so primitive.”
But I don’t stop to listen to any more of his comedic commentary. I simply roll my eyes and whirl away from him.
I have a husband to interrogate.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MAK
I’ve always prided myself on the fact that through everything the universe saw fit to throw at me, I found ways to face the difficulties head on.
Yet here I am, hiding from my own wife.
I survey the old room that was once a private bathing chamber. The tub inset into the floor is empty, perhaps once pumped full of hot water from the natural springs just a room away. All that remains at the bottom is a pile of rotting vines that once wormed their way through the grates. There’s a bench in the center, a wide, sturdy one that I lay down on, breathing out a pitiful groan as I do.
It was difficult to push her away when she looked at me with bright, eager eyes and told me she wanted to be alone with me. But it would be more difficult to control myself around her right now.
I stare up at the windowed ceiling and debate whether jerking off would even help my situation.
Maybe it would be better to wait until the warriors in the baths clear out to join the banquet and dancing and then soak myself in scalding hot water until the erection subsides.
But then, how could it subside when the image of her emerging from the pool is replaying behind my eyes over and over, cycling me through a spike and drop of amma’ka?
The sound of metal scraping perks my ears. I curse, throwing a towel over my cock, as the locking mechanism of the ancient door clicks open. With a squeal from rusted hinges, it swings open, and Frankie stomps over the threshold.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, her displeasure immediately evident.
“We need to talk about this,” she says, closing the door behind her.
“About what?” This is what I get for entrusting Viro with distracting Frankie. There are those among my guard that are loyal to me with every bone in their body. So why did I choose that slippery ruthead, only to have him become putty in her hands?
“You can drop the act, because I know you’re still upset with me and the last thing I want to do is take steps back when everything was going well,” she starts blurting. “We need to communicate because I can’t think or breathe when you and I aren’t on the same page.”
“First, I am not upset at you,” I say, oddly flattered by the latter sentiment of her tirade.
“Then why are you in here hiding when you should be with me? Whether you want to be alone or surrounded by people—I don’t care, I want to be by your side right now. So why push me away?”
Her eyes are shiny. It makes me want to rush to her and wipe the wetness away before any tears could drop. But if I move, she’ll have a full frontal view of my raging erection. Even now, the bunched-up towel is barely disguising it.
“It’s for your own good. Please believe that. I promise if you go enjoy yourself for a while out there, I will come find you before the night is over.”
“Was it that difficult to watch me?” she asks, her lower lip trembling. “Maybe I did put you through too much worry, and I’m sorry for that. I know you’ve seen the ones you love suffer too much. I’ll make that promise to stay out of troub—”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” I say. “It wasn’t difficult to watch you. You were beautiful, like a goddess. When you came out of the water, I nearly lost my mind, ti kori.”
She blinks at me. “Hm?”
The wet fabric clings to Francesca’s curves, drawing my eyes from her face in a moment when I should be present in the conversation.
“The reason I can’t be around you right now,” I grit out, “is that ever since I saw you drenched and smiling with all that shining water dripping off your curves, I’ve wanted to drag you off somewhere and hump you like a rutting kaia in the thick of mating season.”
“Oh,” she squeaks, her arms dropping to her sides. She finally notices the suspicious lump of towel in my lap that I’ve been hunched over all this time. “You could’ve told me you were horny.”
