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Valerie had to stem the urge to puff her cheeks in anger. He was beginning to get under her skin, and she fought to keep her cold face she preferred to wear.

“I do not toy with you, but perhaps I should,” she answered before she pushed him hard enough that he backed away. “I wish to leave.”

“I am not done speaking with you.”

Just a moment before, Valerie had felt warm and soft for this man. Now, she was just annoyed and feeling spiteful.I will truly play a game with him, and he can come to learn the difference in my actions.

“If you had asked me directly, Lord Geryon, rather than command me” – she narrowed her eyes in his direction, giving him a cruel glare – “I would have come to your bedchamber.”

His head reared back at her admission, his anger fading. His brows furrowed, his lips ever so slightly pouting.

“Instead, I do not know whose I will end up in, but it will definitely not be yours.”

His eyes widened in shock as Valerie swiftly unlocked the door. She left before he could get the chance to stop her.

She’d always believed in retaliation for actions and words.Karma is a wonderful medicine for those who are deserving of it.She would teach Geryon she wasn’t some submissive woman. No, she was a vicious one. He often referred to her as a soft creature. She would show him she was not prey, but rather, a predator of her own.

I am a wolf among sheep.

She wished she was in private so she could kick something.Why must I feel desire for such an arrogant man?Even now, she was tempted to go back on her words, to go to him this eve.

His cock had felt good.Perhaps he knew once she felt it, she would be partial to feeling it again.

And then there are those lips.Those firm, wicked lips that she couldn’t resist kissing back.What power do they have over me?She feared if he were to kiss her out in the open, where others could see, she would lose her senses and kiss him back.

Ugh! He is too handsome for his own good!

“Lady Cecily!” she heard Victoria exclaim as she ran down the hall. “I have been searching for you.”

“My apologies. I realised I grabbed the wrong book and quickly ran back to the library. I was afraid to keep King Bradwick waiting by delaying myself for your return.”

“That was a good idea,” she nodded, then handed her a white lacy umbrella. “I was just outside, and he is returning now with Lady Savannah.”

Either she or Wyetta would be taken from court next to go on a stroll for a few hours.

She was surprised to see Geryon walking with the king when he returned. He gave her a glare, and she turned her chin up at him.

“I hope you do not believe I think less of you by selecting you last,” Bradwick said as she held his arm.

They were walking the grounds when he directed her into the shade of the forest. Geryon was following behind them, and she made it a point to ignore him completely.

“Not at all. I am sure it must be difficult to make such choices.”

He shook his head. “No, I did not find the choice difficult.” He patted her hand in a caring gesture. “I did not want to make you stroll in the heat again. Your skin is rather pale. I did not realise the sun would overcome you so easily.”

“Well, that is rather sweet of you, your Highness.” She held his arm tighter, giving him a large, warm smile – one she had to force. “Not all men are so... considerate. Not only are you handsome, but you are chivalrous as well.”

He gave a laugh. “No, many of us can be quite brutish!”

She’d been complimenting the king regularly, more so than usual. She was also forcing more pleasant emotions to incite the king to be more affectionate.

Not far away, Valerie could see a blanket and basket laid out just on the outskirts of the forest. They could see the grounds and the palace with ease in the shadow of a large willow tree.

“I organised a picnic for us,” he told her, gesturing his hand to it.

“What a lovely place for a picnic. Did you choose it?” He helped her kneel on the blanket, holding out his hand. “If so, you have quite the taste for a view.”

Unfortunately, their seats put Geryon directly in her line of sight. He leaned up against a tree with his arms folded, staring at the grounds rather than at them.