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It’s also a sign of good faith to let your soulmate know they’re making an ass out of themselves.

“And also,” I say before Des has a chance to address that thought of mine, “unrelated but equally important, why thefuckis it so miserably hot here?” I gather up my hair and use it to fan the back of my neck. “Next body of water I see, I’m hopping in. Dead serious.”

Des points at a nearby archway. “That way leads to one of the royal bathhouses.”

“Oh my God, take me there.”

One perk of being inebriated—walking is no longer so hellacious. I mean, thatmightbe because halfway to the pool Des gets tired of me tripping over my own feet and decides to carry me, but what are details?

I lean back in Des’s arms and stare up at him.

“Hi.”

He glances down at me, his white hair framing his face. “Hi, cherub.”

“You’re kinda cute,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow.

I reach up and trace his lips. “I wouldn’t mind having little mini Des’s running around. Someday, that is. Not today, but you know, in-the-future—hey, if I’mcherub, what would you call our kids? Is there a name for baby-baby angels?”

“Hmm,” he says, assessing me with his bedroom eyes, “I’m sure I’d call them something different, love. Now, eager as I am to have this conversation, I’m not going to make any plans with you until I know you’ll be able to remember them.”

My head lolls a little. “You want to have baaaabies with me,” I sing. “Lots and lots and lots of … baaaabies with me.” I kick my legs a little as I say the words, my skin brightening and dimming.

This alcohol is really laying into me now that I’m free of that boring meeting.

I flash the Bargainer a cheesy smile, reaching up to play with his hair.

He gives the ceiling of the bathhouse a long-suffering look. You’d almost think time had rewound eight years ago, back when I was striking deals …

I sit up a little straighter in his arms. “Hey!” I hiccup. “Let’s make a d—”

“No.”

“But—”

He quiets me with a kiss. A long, drawn out kiss that causes my toes to curl and my skin to flare to life. My siren surges through me, and suddenly the kiss has 110 percent of my focus. I wrap a hand around the back of Des’s neck and fall into the taste of him.

So damn hot. Him, this room, the kiss, this kingdom in general. All of it.

Before I have a chance to turn the kiss into something deeper, it ends.

I stare up at him. “I still have to pee really, really badly.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Callie, the Killer of Moments.”

“Hey! You’re the Moment Killer.”

“Am I now?” he says.

He sounds amused.

“That’s because Iamamused,” he replies.

“Ugh,whenwill this alcohol wear off?”

“Probably not for a while—you drank a lot of it.”