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I didn’t know what I looked like, but it must have been bad because his skin still held pallor. He adjusted himself upright, his bare chest exposed, his golden waves teasing his shoulders. I wanted to run my hands all over that big, broad chest, but found myself bringing a strip of bacon to his mouth instead.

He took a bite, not breaking eye contact with me. I smiled, taking a bite next.

“I’m glad to see you feeling better,” he said.

My hunger vanished in an instant. Admiring his handsome, yet still worn out, face reminded me why he looked that way. Why I’d fallen ill, and caused him heartache. He saw the shift in my disposition. I hadn’t tried to hide it.

“What’s wrong?” He stretched his hand across the soft sheets, reaching for mine.

I pulled it away before he could, staring down at my knees, barely covered by the silken nightgown. “Nick, I love you so much, but I have something to tell you.” Pounding in my head returned, but not from any poison, only my nervous coursing blood.

“Tell me,” he said, focus fully fixed on me, though I wanted to hide.

“You know how I felt about you before I knew you. It made me…get involved with some bad people. I thought what we were doing would be for the greater good, and I tried to stop it, but—”

My hands wrung the nightgown, twisting and bunching the thin fabric. When I gathered courage to drag my gaze to meet his, tears lined my eyes. Shame, regret, fear, all pooling my vision. “This is my fault, Nicholas. I was willing to take you from this world. A good man, with a loyal heart, who cares about his people. I was blinded for so long, blaming you and this place for the loss of my father, for the pains and hardships of everyone without wealth. It festered, mutated into something willing to hurt people. I’m no better than those monsters who stole Melody. I never expected to know you. I never expected to love you. I can’t undo it. I tried.” My lower lip trembled.

Not once did he look away, or show any of his thoughts on his face. Whatever he said or did or thought, I deserved it. Even if I was sent to rot in the dungeons, or meet the executioner’s block for conspiring to kill the prince, it seemed preferable to looking at his hurting state.

The tears spilled, darkening my nightgown. Silence surrounded us, save the crackling fire. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, or let me off the hook, but I just… I couldn’t have you look at me the way you do, not knowing who looked back.”

His throat bobbed, the only move he’d made since I began confessing. “If you think I didn’t know your fierceness, your dedication, your determination, then I must have failed you.”

I blinked away some of the pooling tears still lining my eyes.

“It doesn’t thrill me to hear you plotted my death, but I understood your hatred of me, of who you thought I was.”

“I’m sorry,” I blubbered, a new batch of tears replacing the old.

“Nora, I think I fell for you that night you threw a dagger at my head. I’ve known who you are this whole time, saw those passionate parts of you.”

I laughed, using the back of my hand to wipe away my runny nose.

“Even so, I don’t think there’s anyone I trust more than you. And watching you stumble into our engagement lunch, on the brink of death, with concern for saving the rest of us, that is everything I need to know. That is who you are.” He leaned forward, placing his palms against my cheeks and swiping his thumbs under my eyes. I held his hands against me, sobbing.

“I thought you would hate me,” I whispered.

His lips pressed against my forehead, and he pulled me back down with him, securing me to his side.

“I would die for you, Nora. Of course, I’d rather you not be the one to do it,” he teased. I smacked his chest before burying my face in it.

Lunch had been cleared by the staff, who I thanked endlessly for all they’d done to take care of me. To the last one on her way out, I hinted that we should be left undisturbed for the next couple hours. She blushed, but nodded in confirmation before slipping out.

I shut the door, clicking the lock in place, then turned to face Nick. He’d just changed into new pants after bathing, and when he reached for his shirt, I stopped him.

“Ah ah,” I tutted.

He stopped, drawing his stare to me.

Like a lion stalking toward her prey, my strides were graceful. Smooth, but direct. The shirt fell to the floor. I placed myself before him. “Get on the bed,” I essentially growled, my voice low with anticipation.

His lip twitched, but he merely dipped his chin and obeyed. Shirtless, I had a clear view of him in the daylight. Lovely golden skin, primed with cutting muscle and the lightest coat of hair across his beautiful bare chest. He looked sculpted from clay, not one mark or imperfection painted his complexion.

I closed the distance between us, running my fingers through his hair and gripping the strands tight. He exhaled in submission, angling his face up as I tugged down. Bringing my lips until they hovered over his, I said, “I am wholly yours.”

His hands gently slid along my hips, upwards until he settled on my ribs. The touch of this man ignited my core. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to bite me, dragging his bottom teeth softly against my bottom lip. I teased, lifting away with the tiniest of movements.

A dance, a game of temptation. A display of power requiring submission. I was his, but would only give myself when I saw fit. I’d already picked up on how much he liked me taking charge and bossing him around. His fingers dug into my skin with desperate anticipation.