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I had the strength to lift my head an inch. Lucian was leaning at the entrance, two cups in hand.

"Hm?" was all I said.

"I was rough. This should help." He sat on the side of the bed closest to me and handed me one of the cups.

The moment he approached, Zazel hissed and scampered away, making me laugh.

"No apology necessary. A girl occasionally loves to be fucked into next week."With great effort, I made myself sit up and take the drink. "Something for aches?" I guessed by the smell.

He nodded. "And contraception. I wasn't actually joking about Pan wreaking havoc on fertility."

"Oh." I was sincerely mortified by the fact that Iwasn'tcompletely horrified by the prospect of getting knocked up.

Lucian's gaze dropped to my lips as I took a sip, then he stood up. "I'll be in Theke when you're up. I made breakfast."

Emboldened by the fact that I was sore in parts of my body heretofore untouched, I decided to push. "Were you going to kiss me earlier?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "Do you question every man who tries to kiss you?"

I didn't miss a beat."Yes. There's usually a pop quiz."

"You sucked my cock and I fucked you half a dozen times, love. So, I suppose I thought about it. But kissing's rather different from sex, isn't it?"He ran his hand through his hair—his nervous move, just like when I twisted my own hair into braids.

It was. Far more intimate, for one. At least, amongst sorcerers. On Ostara and Dionysia, and other festivals, any of us could end up fucking casually, no strings attached. No one ever kissed for any reason other than wanting to.

"I don't know what your line is," he told me. "And I'm inclined to take more than I should."

I noticed him twirling this signet ring with his thumb. "What's the deal with your ring?"

He folded his hands behind his back.

"There's something, isn't there?" I pressed."I'll find out."

That made him snort. "The Hall of Truce's books would be of little help to you about founding families’ whims and fancies. We keep them to ourselves."

"So tell me," I insisted.

He shook his head. "You'd make a fuss."

"I'm making a fuss already," I whined.

"Barely. If I told you, I'd expect twenty questions, foot stomping, and potentially a curse or two."

That did nothing but increase my curiosity. "I will ask Ronan."

"He wouldn't tell you," he said confidently.

"Yes he would, to annoy you."

Lucian opened his mouth to protest, then saw the truth in my words."Fine," he snapped. "But you're going to remain on the bed, on this side of the room. And no cursing allowed."

He moved towards the door to put some distance between us.

My eyes widen. "That bad?"

He nodded, looking at the ring on his hand again. "It's a precaution. That's all."

I snorted. "If that were all, you would not look like you're considering jumping out the window."