Page 37

“Virgins bleed after their first time, Naia.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

She was aware, but hadn’t thought of it.

After experiencing her first menstruation, Naia studied everything from women’s health to sexuality for a deeper understanding of the way her body operated. She could recall reading the facts of a woman losing their virginity, what to expect, and the pain one may feel.

She stared at the side of Solaris’s profile, noticing the way he purposefully avoided her gaze.

“Are you a virgin?” she asked him.

He scratched at his nape, turning his head in the opposite direction of her. “Yes—I am.”

It was refreshing to see him fidgety and uncomfortable for once when he was regularly confident with his words.

Naia bit her lip back to hide her grin.

“I was thinking we could cut your hand or something and let you bleed on the sheets,” he said.

She nudged his arm with her elbow, impressed. “What a brilliant idea.”

Solaris nodded once, stiff, still avoiding her. “I am going to remove my clothes. Except for my undergarments. In case Raksa returns, we need to appear convincing.”

“Okay,” she said.

He stripped from his tunic. Naia watched the muscles on the side of his torso roll beneath his dark skin as he pulled the material over his head.

Solaris was precarious as ever. Though, the formality of what they were doing did nothing to calm the staggering stride of her heart rate as he flung his trousers onto the floor.

She brought her hand up to her chest to steady her pulse.

Pull yourself together.

He was right. They had to look the part in case Raksa eavesdropped on them.

Naia didn’t think too hard about what she was doing as she undressed from her nightgown. If she did, she would feel self-conscious about the small roll of her stomach sticking out in the current sitting position she was in.

She expected Solaris’s eyes to wander, the way hers were, but he respectfully kept his line of sight directed away from her.

“I am going beneath the blankets,” he told her.

She nodded in approval.

His body heat was like a summer gust, warming her skin.

Solaris rested back on his pillow and closed his eyes, his attitude casual—not at all bothered they were half naked and in such proximity to one another. Naia wasn’t sure whether to be offended by his lack of interest in her, or to find his respect for her endearing.

Despite their long acquaintance, it was the first time she saw him in an intimate light—his bare chest, the ridges of hard muscles etched down his abdomen, the landscape of his skin, the shade of a walnut. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, despite being painfully aware of it. Solaris was handsome. Everywhere he ventured to in the kingdom, the eyes of others followed him. He was like the magnificent sunrises that captivated her each morning during her walk on her favorite cove.

“Solaris,” she whispered.

He tilted his head a little, his eyes still closed. “Hm?”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you, love.”

Her stomach fluttered.