Page 386 of Never Kiss a Fae

But I wouldn’t get into that now with her.

Instead, I focused on what her real concern was here—the Interrealm Fae Academy.

“Little queen,” I said softly.

“Don’t you ‘little queen’ me,” she snapped. “Yougot me pregnant!”

I chuckled. “Indeed, I did. And I don’t regret it.”Even with you yelling at me,I thought, pushing off the bed to stand in front of her. “Little queen,” I repeated, taking hold of her shoulders. “You have five mates.”

“I’m aware, but you’re the one—”

“No, Claire. That’s not what I mean. You have five mates who can help you andwillhelp you with the academy. We all know how important it is to you. The hard part is already done. Now we just need to arrange meetings with the fae to encourage them to agree. Do you know what Exos and I happen to be very skilled at?” I arched a brow, waiting for her to consider my words and hear what I was saying to her.

She nibbled her lip, her blue eyes flashing with consideration as she fought her instinct to rage instead of reason with me. “You… you like politics.”

“Yes,” I replied, lifting one hand to her heated cheek. “And we are very skilled at convincing fae to do what we want.”

“Like make babies,” she grumbled.

My lips twitched. “You want a faeling just as badly as the rest of us do. Don’t let a little time shift convince you otherwise.”

Her mouth parted to argue my choice of “little”—something I caught in her mental voice as she began to rage in her head again—so I silenced her with a gentle kiss, one that ended in her biting my bottom lip.

I soothed the ache away with my tongue before kissing her again and sliding my fingers back into her braid to hold her to me. There were so many things I could do with her hair in this state, all of them sexual in nature.

But I chose to merely embrace her, to allow her to feel my love and tranquility, to surround her with my inner element, and to allow it to soothe her inner turmoil.

We’re in this together,I reminded her softly.We all want the Interrealm Fae Academy to prosper. It will be a great place for our children to attend school. So trust us to help you, little queen. That’s why we’re here. The world doesn’t always need to rest on your shoulders.

She sighed, her arms slipping around my waist as she began to melt into my touch, her mind quieting.

I languidly deepened our kiss, drawing her into a state of contentment that I felt to my very soul. Exos stood, his heat blanketing her back as he clasped her hips before dropping his mouth to her neck.

She moaned between us, her smaller form surrounded by royalty and Elemental Fae power.

His palm slid between us, going to her lower belly, his mouth brushing her ear. “I can feel the faeling,” he whispered to her. “I know you were worried earlier, Claire. I could sense it through the bond. But our future baby is healthy and growing, just as he or she should.”

Our,she repeated in her mind, smiling. I grinned against her mouth, liking the sound of it, too. Because it didn’t matter that I was the one who had fathered the child; all her mates would look at the faeling asourchild.

“Let us take care of you,” I said against her mouth. “That’s why we’re here.”

“We’ll handle the fae meetings,” Exos added. “Just let us know what you want to be part of, and you’ll be there. Otherwise, leave it with us. And focus on taking care of our faeling.”

“It’s not in my nature to just… give up control,” she admitted, swallowing.

“Then tell us what to do,” I offered. “Tell us what you need, and we’ll help you achieve it. But don’t carry all this around on your own, Claire. That’s not going to work for any of us.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“Good.” I kissed her nose, then pressed my forehead to hers. “Now I have another request.”

Her eyebrow inched upward. “Another request?” She sounded cynical. “I think you’ve had enough requests.”

I grinned. “This is one I think you’ll like.”

“Uh-huh.”

I nibbled her lower lip, then pulled away just enough to look down at her blouse. “May we help you out of these wet clothes?”