Page 56 of Crave Me

But his wrist buzzed again, disturbing the moment and making him take a few steps back. He looked at the screen and muttered a curse.

“I’m going to need to do damage control for the evening, which will include meeting with several of my advisors from the various regions. Word is going to spread quickly of what you are to me, which I’d hoped to avoid. But my…possessiveness… overruled my strategic senses.”

Possessiveness, I repeated to myself, considering the word. “Is that why you changed your mind?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes. One of my men tried to attack you. I… reacted.”

“And this?” I asked, gesturing at myself and the tree behind me. “Another possessive reaction?”

“Hearing you discuss another man’s…” He trailed off, his gaze narrowing. “I don’t share.”

“As you’ve said.” But I didn’t bother pointing out that we didn’t belong to each other yet because it clearly didn’t matter to him. Despite fracturing the bond between us, he was still feeling verypossessiveover me as his mate.

And if I swapped our roles, I found myself understanding why.

Because if the elf had been naked in his room, I would not have been pleased. “Interesting,” I murmured. “I don’t believe I’ve ever felt this way before.”

Just thinking about it had me wanting to shoot the elf myself.

Poor creature,I thought. “I wonder if he’ll survive.”

Vesperus arched a brow. “I suppose that depends on what type of elf he was.”

I shrugged. “You would have to ask Lissa that. She wished for him.”

“Hmm.” He considered it for a moment. “You know, I think I’ll give Kaspian that task since he seems so willing to take over my role in this territory.”

“I wasn’t taking over your role, just saving you from making an emotional decision,” the male in question drawled as he appeared a few steps away. “But it seems I was too late for that, as word has already begun to spread about the goddess being your fated mate.”

Vesperus clenched his jaw. “Raymond tried to shoot her. That’s unacceptable.”

“I agree,” Kaspian replied without missing a beat. “But he had no idea who she was. All he saw was a powerful being in his mate’s shop trying to seduce her with some naked elf. He reacted. I imagine it’s similar to how you want to react now.”

Vesperus’s hands clenched into fists. “Just keep him away from me for a few days.”

“Consider it done.”

“I also need to gather the various leaders in the territory to tell them about Nyx.”

“Cara is already working on that,” Kaspian replied. “She’ll have them here by tomorrow.”

Vesperus nodded, his hand rubbing over his jaw. “I want to talk to them before I tell the other monarchs.”

“Our territory is loyal. Word of your mating won’t spread. But her power…”

“Was felt around the globe,” Vesperus finished for him. “Yes, I know.” He silenced yet another incoming call. “I’m going to be fielding complaints all night.”

“Then perhaps draft a statement and send it to all of them at once,” Kaspian suggested. “And handle your allies separately.”

I glanced between them, curious about their dynamic.

It seemed clear that Vesperus considered Kaspian to be his advisor, and the way he nodded now told me that he often listened to the other man, too. Given the sound advice he’d just provided, I understood why. But it was refreshing to see a monarch actually listen to those around him and make joint decisions rather than individual ones.

He’s definitely a good leader,I decided as he glanced at me.

“Have you eaten today?”

I blinked at him. “No.”