His Majesty's Forbidden Temptat - Maisey Yates Page 0,45
resist it. With everything he had.
She wanted him to like her cat. To at least tolerate the hedgehogs and the ferret. Because caring for them was part of her. And she wanted to share herself, share her life with him.
But she didn’t know if they would ever be able to bridge that.
As he carried her to the bed and set her down at the center of the large mattress, she found herself releasing that.
It may never happen.
They may never be able to find ground that common.
But they certainly seemed able to find common mattress. And dining table.
Perhaps that would be enough.
Because the naked connection she felt with him here was incredible. Was absolutely everything she could have ever asked for and more.
“My Queen,” he said, before he entered her again.
And it wasn’t the Queen part that mattered to her.
It was that she was his.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“WE HAVE CREATED quite a stir,” Alexius said, walking into Tinley’s bedroom the next day.
She was tucked up on the bed in sweats, her hair a tumble around her. And there was a ferret on the mattress beside her.
“What is the meaning of this?” He gestured toward the animal.
“He’s having his exercise.”
“Why is there a rodent on the mattress?”
“Ferrets are not rodents,” she said, her indignance nearly humorous.
“Ferrets look like rodents.”
“They don’t. You can actually tell because of the teeth...”
“Ferrets look like rodents,” he said. “In Liri, they are now classified as rodents.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t...” She picked the white drapey animal up from the bedspread. “You can’t reclassify an animal just because you want to.”
“I think you’ll find that I can.” Now her fury was amusing.
“Well, it’s stupid,” she huffed. “And no one will agree with you.”
“I think you’ll find everyone will agree with me.”
She sighed, exasperated, and draped the creature over her shoulder. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”
“We have created quite the stir,” he said. “With our engagement.”
“Well, that’s understandable. Given I was previously engaged to your brother.”
“Indeed. Though, the stir that I’ve created with your mother might be bigger than the stir created worldwide.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit. My mother is deeply avaricious. And I imagine she’s thrilled.”
“Yes. She misses you.”
Tinley frowned. “She doesn’t. She’s only very happy that she’s finally managed to get what she always wanted.”
“And that is?”
“The potential position with me as Queen. You should hold him.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Peregrine. You should get to know Peregrine.” She offered up her pet, like a ropey, furry python.
“I will have to decline.”
“He means a lot to me.”
“How interesting for you.”
“You know,” she said, “when I came back from school I was feeling really low. And I found out about these animals, which were taken from an animal hoarding room situation. And being able to take care of them made me feel like I was doing something.”
He was not interested in the getting-to-know-you thing Tinley seemed bound and determined to enforce between the two of them. But he found...he was interested in her. And that was something he had not anticipated. “You have a real obsession with feeling like you’re doing something good.”
“Why not? I get tired of feeling like I’m just another pawn. Like I don’t really matter. It feels good to be able to actually make an impact. To do something good, rather than just worrying about myself. I’ve been through a lot of things that were really sad.” Something in his heart went tight.
“Not to say you haven’t,” she said. “But, you have a whole country to do the right thing for. I’ve had them.” She indicated her animals.
“And your charity.”
“Yes. It’s not because I’m very good. Or because I’m uniquely predisposed to being an altruist. It’s just that... When things are sad it’s very easy to sink into a space where you get tired of yourself. Tired of your own pain. Helping somebody else can take your eyes off of that for a while. It can make things feel better. I was deeply hungry for that when I returned to Liri.”
“I can understand that,” he said.
“Good.”
She had so much passion in everything she did. It shamed him, in some ways. Because he didn’t allow himself such measures of feeling. Such an indulgence.
Feelings... Feelings for him had only ever been a bad thing. When those desires began to outweigh his duty, it became a problem. A problem he couldn’t afford.
And she had always been a problem.
He had her now, and as long as he kept everything in its rightful place, it would be as it