in his gaze, if only slightly. "I promised you I would always be honest, both as your mate and your advisor. If you want my opinion, then yes, I think that's exactly what it would be if you were to release him right now when there's still no proof he's truly changed and is no longer a threat to the colony."
Ella sank back in her chair. She knew he was right. It just didn't change the way she felt. "And if I don't want your opinion?"
His smile spread into a smirk. "Well, that's your right as well. It wouldn't be the first time a monarch ignored a royal advisor."
Ella sighed, walking over to sit on his lap. "Why do you have to be so principled?"
"Just a character flaw, I guess," he said dryly, meeting her lips as she leaned in to kiss him. “But considering I have my student on my lap, I wouldn’t say it’s particularly true.”
Ella couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, technically I’m your employer now, so we’re both at fault.”
He gave her a wry smile, stroking her hair behind her shoulder. “How very true.”
Chapter 16
Axel
The closer Ella's due date drew, the deeper Axel slid into danger of a full-blown meltdown. It didn't help that he'd been on good behavior, keeping his "primal nature" in check, as Sterling put it. Usually, if he wanted to let off some steam, he’d just start a fight with some asshole. Since the usual asshole was in prison, his only option was to get up early in the morning before Ella was awake and go for a run.
It didn't help that his tiger was freaking out as much as he was. Apparently, male tigers had their own nesting instincts. There was so much shit to take care of before the baby came, so much left to do. He didn't want Ella to have to worry about any of it, and Sterling was already dealing with the administrative bullshit that made Axel's eyes cross.
Axel had painted the nursery, at least. It no longer smelled like fresh paint, so he'd put together the crib and brought in a few pieces of furniture. It was actually starting to come together, so at least one part of their lives wasn't pure chaos.
For once, Axel had actually taken his mother's advice and prepared an overnight bag so they wouldn’t be scrambling the day Ella went into labor. Granted, he'd had to call her back to ask what exactly to put in said overnight bag, but he felt marginally more prepared for it.
That night, his most pressing task was making sure Ella didn't do anything. She always had overworked herself, and her new role as Empress was no exception. Axel was starting to think his most important job was going to be saying no to all the shit she got herself into thanks to a combination of awkwardness in her good nature.
By the time Ella came through the door, Axel had hoped to have dinner ready. Unfortunately, the restaurant hadn't delivered it yet, so he wasn't able to stealthily transfer the contents to actual plates. Oh, well.
"Hey," he said, taking her into his arms as soon as she came into the living room. He kissed her hard, ignoring her muffled gasp of surprise. She soon returned it, slipping her hands into his hair as she parted her lips, letting his tongue ravage her mouth. When he finally pulled back, he drank in the dazed, breathless stare he enjoyed putting on her face so much.
"Hey," she murmured. "What was that for?"
"Haven't seen you in--" he paused to check his watch, “--three and a half hours."
Ella shook her head, smiling as she let him help her out of her coat. "I missed you, too. Apparently, so did the baby, because she's been kicking up a storm all day."
Axel frowned, immediately shifting into what Ella mockingly referred to as his fire alarm mode. "Are you sure that's okay? Maybe we should take you to the doctor."
She gave him a look as she sat down on the couch. “I'm fine. The due date’s coming up. I'm sure it's normal."
"I don't know. I haven't gotten to that section of the books yet," Axel said, looking over at the collection of pregnancy books on the coffee table. He had cleaned out the entire bookstore section, but as ridiculous as it seemed, there was no definitive user's guide for bringing a new baby home, just a bunch of opinions from people with alphabet soup behind