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‘You mean with you falling asleep because you’re exhausted?’ She shook her head. ‘I want more than that, Tiberius, and I think you owe it to me. I’ve given you everything you asked for. I haven’t denied you a thing. So don’t you think it’s time for me to ask something of you?’
‘I’ve just agreed to give you a couple of hours—’
‘To teach me about being a queen, yes. I’m talking about us being together as husband and wife. Not me being the mistress you come to every night and leave before she wakes up every morning.’
He did not like that, it was clear. His whole body was tense. His hands had dropped to his sides and were clenched into fists. A week ago the signs of his anger would have terrified her, but since then she’d discovered the steel inside her—and besides, she knew he’d never hurt her.
‘Guinevere,’ he said roughly. ‘You…make me unable to think. I cannot concentrate on anything else when you kiss me. How can I be expected to give the taxation system the proper amount of attention when all I can think about is taking you to bed?’
It was heady, having this power over him. In fact, it was surprising how much she liked it.
She smiled at him. ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something.’
His expression darkened. ‘I do not appreciate you using sex to manipulate me.’
Sometimes she could tease him and sometimes she couldn’t. Now was clearly one of the times she couldn’t.
‘I’m not trying to manipulate you,’ she said, letting her smile fade to show him how serious she was. ‘Marriage is a two-way street. This whole time it’s been about you, and now I want something for me. I want to feel like a wife, not a mistress.’
‘You already are a wife.’
‘Yes, but you don’t treat me like one,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m not your partner—I’m your comfort object. Your toy. You play with me when you feel like it, then put me away when you’re done. I’m tired of it, Tiberius. You were the one who wanted to marry me, so I married you. Now I’m saying I want our marriage to be more than sex at night and public appearances.’
His gaze was fierce, his temper flaming, but she only stared back at him.
She wasn’t afraid of him and she wasn’t afraid of his temper. He would never do anything to hurt her, never do anything she didn’t want. She knew that. In fact, the thing she was perhaps a little anxious about was that he might do something shedidwant—in which case her determination not to give in on this point might be undermined.
But he didn’t move. Then like a door being shut on a fire, the heat in his gaze vanished, the light, crystalline grey becoming frosty.
‘Very well,’ he said, his tone as cool as his gaze. ‘Perhaps we can discuss this during your instruction.’
Then, before she could say another word, he turned on his heel and went out.
CHAPTER NINE
Tiberius went tohis taxation meeting angry, and as he’d feared he found it difficult to concentrate. His body refused to go back to sleep, his hunger for his wife invading his every thought. He couldn’t let his mind wander—not even for a second. Because if he did, it would return to the feel of her against him, the warmth of her hips beneath his palms. The soft brush of her mouth against his.
The determination in her blue eyes as she refused him.
He was beginning to both love and hate that determination of hers.
Love it because she was stubborn, and there was a strength in her that he found both fascinating and devastatingly attractive.
Hate it because he couldn’t argue with her about the way he was treating her.
Hewasusing her like a mistress or a toy. Coming to her at night, hungry and desperate for the sweet oblivion only she could give him, and then falling asleep in her arms. He’d never slept so well as in the past couple of weeks with her. But he always woke before she did, and then he’d leave the bed, driven by his need to keep progressing with his country’s rebuild.
She wanted more than that from him. And, given the terrible childhood she’d suffered at the hands of her father and brothers, she deserved more. But he wasn’t sure he could give her more. There was only so much of him to go around, and Kasimir needed him more than she did.
Still, her denial shouldn’t have put him in such a vile temper. It was only sex, and he’d always been able to control his urges with ease. Except he was still furious about it. And he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe it was about her demanding his time to teach her about being a queen—time he could ill afford. Then again, he hadn’t liked the idea of someone else handling it. What she’d said about it being in his interest to do the teaching himself made sense—really, who better to teach her about being a queen than her king?
You like the idea. Admit it.
That was true. The idea of teaching her, spending a couple of hours a day in her presence that weren’t about sex was…attractive. And he was curious about what kind of queen she would make. He had his own ideas about that, but he wanted to see if he was right.
He thought about it all evening, and as usual went to bed late that night, his body already waking, coming to aching, hungry life in anticipation of the pleasure to come.