Page 16 of Ice & Steel

She sank back. “I get that. We’ve been dealing with an earache and a teething two year old. When I do get to lie down, I have this baby kicking me in the ribs every few minutes all night.”

“Do you have help with the kids?” I asked.

She nodded. “I like to do it myself. But I’m hiring a night nurse after this one comes.”

“I hired a full-time nanny when the twins were born,” I said. “Hugo had terrible sleep regression then. Lucien and I were so tired we were falling asleep standing up so I had someone care for the older boys so we could focus on the twins at night.”

Lucien sank into the seat beside me, cutting our conversation short. His hand curling possessively around my waist and his mouth brushed the top of my head briefly. Across the table, Peregrine took the seat beside his wife and slid his fingers through hers.

“Are you announcing anything today, Lucien?” Rosalia asked nervously. She had always been a little uneasy around my husband.

He shook his head.

“He’ll make a short speech today, talk about some broadly inclusive topics, and we’ll discuss things later,” Peregrine said.

“But…won’t everyone expect an announcement about the run for governor today?” Rosalia asked.

Lucien rose, releasing a short sigh. He pulled me with him, slipping his hand into mine.

“They won’t get one today,” he said. “I’ll announce in due time.”

I felt he was being a little brusque, but Lucien and I had an agreement not to contradict each other or fight publicly so I said nothing. He took my hand and led me to our table near the front of the room and pulled my chair out.

I glanced over the room, now filled with guests. Journalists lined up along the back wall with their cameras. My stomach fluttered and I turned to my husband for reassurance.

His icy, hazel gaze met mine.

“Chin up,” he said softly. “Shoulders back.”

Warmth stole through me like a familiar shadow and I obeyed. He took his seat beside me, surveying the room. Before I could react, he turned and bent to press a warm kiss to the side of my throat.

The kiss shot down my spine, right to my core.

“Lucien,” I breathed. “Behave yourself.”

His mouth brushed my ear. “Says the woman with a plug in her ass and her naked feet winding around mine under the table. Dirty. Little. Whore.”

I cleared my throat, shifting back. Trying to conceal the flush that burned up my neck to my cheeks. Someday I would get the better of him, but right now wasn’t the time.

So I played the part. I smiled and held his hand until he was called up to the front of the room to make his speech. While he spoke broadly of things I had little interest in, I watched him carefully. Taking in every tiny micro expression, every shift of his mood, every flicker of his eyelids. When he was done, he beckoned me and I went to stand beside him and wave for the cameras.

We were on our way out when Lucien’s phone rang. He put it to his ear and I heard him speaking French as he helped me into the car so it must have been Duran. He slid into the seat beside me and tapped the glass to signal to the driver.

“Alright,” he said, switching back to English as we pulled onto the street. “I’ll be there after I drop Liv off.”

He put his phone in his pocket. Disappointment rose in my chest and I swallowed hard, turning to look out the window. My lashes brushed my cheeks. Wet.

“Baby,” he said, his voice flat.

“It’s fine,” I said, laughing so I wouldn’t cry. “We can have our meeting some other time.”

He cleared his throat and slid his hand up my thigh. Holding my knee gently in his grip.

“There’s some…things,” he said with difficulty.

I glanced over, noticing a flicker of something in his gaze. “What’s wrong, Lucien? I can tell something is going on.”

He cleared his throat again. “We’ve had a disruption in our supply chain. But it’s fine, I’m fixing it.”