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Ruslan guided me to a chair, then proceeded to pile my plate with eggs, bacon, and a miniature cinnamon roll topped with white frosting, lightly torched to harden it. It smelled heavenly, the cinnamon and vanilla joining in a perfect union. Ruslan sat opposite me as I pinched the small pastry in between my fingers, taking half of it in one bite. The light crunch of the hardenedfrosting offset the warm, fluffy texture of the roll, creating a symphony of flavor and sensation in my mouth. I groaned automatically, unable to help myself, and shoved the rest into my mouth. I didn’t care how unqueenly I looked, this was the good shit.
Ruslan’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he placed another on my plate. “You need to eat some meat if you want energy to last all day.”
“Fine,” I sighed, then tucked into the eggs and bacon before finishing off three more heavenly pastries.
Ruslan plucked one of the delectable rolls from the center of the table before piling double my helping of eggs and bacon onto his own plate.
That must have been how he got so big.
He wore a short-sleeved tunic that was tight on his arms, his tattooed biceps flexing and rolling as he lifted his fork to his mouth. The rest of the tunic left nothing to the imagination, and I drank in the muscle on top of muscle that spread across the planes of his chest and shoulders.
He winked when he noticed my scrutiny, and his eyes pooled with a smoldering darkness that sent heat to my core. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was the most alluring female to grace this world, and I was his only reason for living, his next breath determined by me alone. It should have scared me, how intensely he desired me, but instead, my toes curled against the fur of his slippers, and thoughts of his tongue on my folds slipped into my mind.
His nostrils flared, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward. He poured two steaming glasses of tea into mugs, then handed one to me.
“What’s this?” I sniffed the slightly green liquid, but there was no scent.
His brows shot up his forehead. “You don’t know?”
I placed the mug on the table and pushed it away from me as if it were something poisonous. “Know what?”
“It’s a contraceptive tea. To prevent pregnancy. You haven’t had it before?”
My fingers curled into my palms in my lap.
Why had Kazimir never given me this, especially after I told him how I felt about children?
I snatched the mug and gulped it down, disregarding the burn on my tongue.
Ruslan’s warm hand pulled the mug away from my face, his brows dipping together. “Woah, what’s going on here?”
“I’ve never had it before. Never even heard of it. And more than anything, I do not want children.”
Another item on the list of interactions with Kazimir that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
A muscle worked in Ruslan’s jaw, and this time I knew it was not because of my actions. “We only have to take them once a month, since Fae cycles are longer than Shifter or Mage cycles. The tea will prevent any unwanted pregnancies. I will make sure you always have it on time, Izidora.”
“Thank you.” The words came out bitter, but my harshness was not directed at him.
He seemed to understand, because his eyes did not flash at my tone. “For what it’s worth, I do not want children either. After everything that happened to me…” He trailed off, and I did not need him to finish his sentence to empathize with him, because it mirrored my own beliefs.
“How will I know… what are the signs…” I began, unsure how to finish my question.
“That you’re pregnant?” Ruslan cracked his knuckles, hands shaking with barely contained rage.
I nodded, head falling to my chest, but a finger lifted my chin, and his expression was a stormy mix of anger and pity.
“I hate that I am the one telling you this. Fuck! I hate thathe–” Ruslan’s teeth clenched on that word, “did not take care of you in this way. You are so young and yet your soul is aged beyond its years. You have the most beautiful soul, Izidora, and I hope you know that my desire for you goes far beyond the physical.” He released a sigh with his confession. “If you aren’t throwing up every morning, you aren’t pregnant.”
My chest eased with his words, and a hand fluttered over my heart. “Thank you, Ruslan, for not hiding anything from me.”
He only nodded and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. He took three deep breaths before reopening his iron eyes.
With an itch to change the subject and discover more about the realm, I asked, “How will we get to wherever it is that Rares does his work?”
“We’ll go to Ryza Citadel on horseback. It’s beneath it, for protection.”
I swallowed my nerves. “And to get down to the stables we have to take the… lift?”
