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The arrogance on his face made her want to punch him. “Because I’m so weak.”

“Oh, no, my heart.” This time, his finger trailed down the side of her neck. “Because you’re too strong. I would die to keep you from suffering from that strength.”

With the remnants of past horrors clinging to her like the musty air, she could hardly countenance his words. “My muscles are still trembling from the memories of this place. You found me curled up on the floor.”

“And yet, you came here.” He leaned closer, both hands cupping her face as he caught her gaze. “Meekness is a disguise you’ve worn for survival, but it isn’t your nature. No matter the cost, you’ll run straight into the darkest night to accomplish your goal. Like tonight. That you’ve confronted this horror on my behalf…”

What was he saying? She wasn’t so formidable as that.

“I should have confronted these fears long ago,” Tes argued. “If I had, perhaps I could have confrontedher. My…my nanny. She’s probably out there tormenting some poor noble’s child, and I…”

A harshness glinted in his eyes. “She’d have to try it from the darkest corners of the afterlife.”

She peered at him, suspicion tightening her throat. “What do you know?”

“I know the insufficient pleasure of her terrified expression after I nudged her at the top of Lady Yerah’s staircase during a house party. About fifty or sixty years ago, I suppose.” A slow, wicked smile twisted his lips. “Such a shame that it took so long to find a healer.”

He’d…? Oh, gods. Heat flushed through her, dispelling the lingering chill from the drafty room. He’d killed her formernanny. Her tormentor. And not long after Tes’s confession about the beatings she’d suffered and the days she’d spent locked in the alcove, if she recalled the timing right.

Should she be horrified that her husband showed satisfaction rather than remorse as he admitted to murder? Maybe. But instead of horror, she felt…she couldn’t define what she felt. Mostly gratitude and relief, though perhaps that should shame her.

It didn’t.

His warm hand enfolded hers, and she couldn’t pull her gaze away as he brushed a kiss across her palm. “I told you I would kill for you, my love. Even myself, as you’ve seen. No one will ever hurt you like that and live.”

Her breath hitched, and every bit of that earlier heat darted directly between her thighs. He'd said such fierce things before, but she’d believed the words to be an exaggeration. Now, she could feel the full force of his sincerity. And gods help her, but it set her body aflame.

He was a semi-treacherous bastard. Arrogant. High-handed. A trickster she’d often wondered if she could trust. But more than all of that?

He was hers.

Ber couldn’t resist nippingthe heel of her palm before he released her hand. Her low, helpless moan told him how much she loved it—as he’d known she would. But he hadn’t anticipated the force of that appreciation. Before he could blink, Tes’s mouth was on his. Consuming. Thought-claiming.

She straddled his lap, her fingers diving into his hair, and his cock hardened instantly. Ber hummed his approval and grippedthe back of her dress in his hands. Instinct prodded him—rip away any clothes in the way and impale her on his length—but he ignored the urge. He’d fucked her almost brutally against the wall last time.

If she wanted him this time, it would be at a slower pace.

Tes scrambled for the hem of her skirt, but Ber trapped her hand in his. “What…?” she gasped.

Still holding her hand, he tumbled her to her back. The blue light glowed around her like a dream, highlighting her kiss-bruised lips and rumpled hair. Her eyes had shot wide from the shift in position, but he detected no fear.

Good.

Pinning her hand over her head, he bent over her. “Tes?”

She licked her lips. “What?”

“Check to see if the sound-suppressing magic still works.”

Her tongue swiped over her lips again, and she gave a jerky nod. Her magic hummed around them for a moment before she nodded once more. “It does.”

Ber smiled at her breathy tone.

She knew his intentions.

Wordlessly, he slid her dress upward, stopping to kiss or caress as he wished. He’d barely been able to appreciate the changes in her body before, but though the light was still dim, he could better see. His mouth went drier with every bit of skin he revealed. By the time he tossed her dress aside, he wasn’t sure he could swallow. Her fuller hips invited his hands to grip them, and her breasts… Groaning, he ran his tongue over one luscious tip. Then he teased it ever-so-softly with his teeth.

Tes twitched. “Donotnibble. I still nurse at times, and—”