Chapter 42
forty-two
Kas takes a bath.
Finally, Kas returned to his chambers after sending off a superficially simple note to follow Hevva to Kirce. His apartment doors thunked shut behind him, and he stopped to pour himself a finger of whiskey, hoping to set his nerves at ease.
He’d done all he could, save riding south himself, which would have been pointless.
His sister would’ve killed him if he abandoned the twins at Stormhill to join her on her journey.
The prince, the princess, and Nes were all under his care, and that, Kas reminded himself, was doing more than enough to support the royal family—his family—and help bring about an end to the tumult in Serkath.
However, a primal part of him still shuddered with outrage and a longing to grab his best sword, jump on a horse, and hunt down the slimy soldier himself.
Kas would run the fucker through for what he’d done to Nesrina.
Then, he’d find that poor excuse for a prince, and lop off the firebearer’s bloody head.
Never mind he’d end up imprisoned for life; murdering the men who hurt his love, who hurt his family, would be worth the consequences.
Kas blew off excess energy, literally, by using his magic to rip open the doors to the balcony and sending a powerful whirlwind off into the rising night.
Then he downed a second shot of liquor and stalked to his bed.
It wasn’t worth the effort. The palace’s team would capture Rihan and Nekash in no time.
Rolling his neck, little crackles came along with Kas’s release of pent-up tension.
He retrieved the box from the secret compartment in his bedside table and headed straight into the washroom, aiming for the staircase that would deliver him to his love.
But as he pushed open the bathing chamber door with his hand rather than his magic, he caught a whiff of himself and learned a bath was in order.
Kas was lowering himself into the steaming basin when the hidden panel swung open, smacking into the wall with a bang. “Oh! Oh!”
Startled, he slipped onto his arse.
Nesrina stood there in nothing but a thin shift, every curve visible as candlelight filtered through the flowing linen. She’d seen him. And now she was staring through the water at his . . .
He smirked at her, his ekina, his love.
“I know your secret.”
He eyed her, perplexed. There were two things he was keeping from her: one he planned to bring up promptly, because it wasn’t a secret, just an oversight; and the other he planned to keep hidden until she wore his ring on her finger.
Nes waltzed over to stand beside the tub. She jabbed a finger in his face. “I know your secret, Thanin.”
Oh, shit. Kas gripped the sides of the bath and began to push himself up when her palms came down on his shoulders.
“No you don’t. I’m coming in.”
His mouth hung slack as she slipped her straps over her shoulders, and her shift floated to the floor. Kas slid back against the end of the basin so she’d have space to join. Waves settled as she eased in, facing him, her short legs tucked in between his.
She still wanted to talk, he knew. But gods, this was an exquisitely tortuous situation with her sitting across from him, nude. Her pert breasts bobbed below the surface, and below that . . . He forced himself to meet her eyes. “Are you terribly angry with me?”
Nesrina glowered and pursed her lips before smacking her palms down with a splash.
Kas followed the lines of her arms into the water. “Get your hands out of there.”
“Why?”
“You have wounds. Up.” He lifted her wrists and set her hands on the edges of the tub.
“I feel very exposed.”
“You climbed in with me.”
She shrugged. “I’m not angry.”
“About being exposed or . . . Thanin?”
“Either—both.”
He exhaled, unbelievably relieved and pleasantly surprised.
“I’m a bit mad you hid it from me. Yet another thing,” she grumbled halfheartedly.
Kas’s hand found her ankle and gave her a squeeze. “Nes, I’m so sorry.”
“I wish you’d trusted me with your secret.”
“I do! I was going to tell you, once—”
“Ah.” She held her finger to his lips. “Let me finish.”
He suppressed a smile.
“I was a bit mad that you hid it from me, but I believe I understand why you have to keep your political life and writing separate. It’s to do the most good.”
“It’s true. With my sister as the queen—”
“It would be disastrous for you to comment on social and political matters publicly in the way you can as Thanin.”
He nodded and grasped her other leg too, sliding his hands up her smooth calves.
Nes leaned forward and placed her palms atop his knees, poking above the surface. “I’m mostly not mad.”
“Mostly?”
She grasped his knees and leaned in even more, in response he slid his hands up her legs, stopping at her lower thighs. “Mostly. Who is Thila Taryan?” she asked with an exaggerated glare.
Laughter burst free as he pressed the tips of his fingers into her soft flesh. She bent her legs and, using his knees for leverage, scooted herself closer. Their foreheads were nearly touching.
“How did you get the article, Nes? Did you break into my office?”
She pressed her nose against his and said, “Oh, so you didn’t burn it?”
He gave her a peck, smiling into the kiss.
“My mama wrote it out for me, mailed it over, said she thought I’d enjoy it.”
“And did you?”
“I did. Now Kas, see how easily I can answer your questions? Who the fates is Thila Taryan?” She tried to pull away, but he slipped a hand around her back and held her firm.
Running his fingers down the ridge of her spine he asked, “Jealous?”
She grumbled.
“She was supposed to be a surprise, after you accepted my proposal.”
“Well, I accept. So who is she?”
He laughed loudly again. “First of all, you can’t accept, yet. You haven’t even let me ask you—” Nes opened her mouth to protest but he held up a hand. “Ah. Let me finish.”
She smiled, and the little crinkles at the outer corners of her eyes reminded him of faerie wings.
“Again. You have to let me ask you, again. And Thila Taryan is for you. She is you. You didn’t think I’d use so many of your ideas without giving you credit, did you?”
Nesrina pressed her palms to his chest, attempting to push away again.
No need for that. He lifted her legs up over his thighs, then hugged her tightly.
“She’s me?” Nes whispered against his skin.
“She’s you. You’re her. I was thinking, if you’re interested, we could do some work . . . together?” He spoke into her hair, reveling in the delicious scent of her. Sweet and vibrant on the surface, spicy and deep beneath, like all of the seasons rolled into one.
“I’d love that.”
He brought his hand up beneath her chin and tipped her face up. “I intended to have the ring in hand, but I find I’m not willing to let you go so I can get it.
Her lips parted as she let out a slow breath of air.
“Nesrina Tarisden Kiappa,” he rasped, throat tight with anxiety even though he knew exactly what her answer would be.
“You are magnificent, brilliant, beautiful, and brave. Over the past two years you’ve occupied my mind, endlessly.
And over the past three months, you’ve become nothing short of my dearest friend.
I love you, with every fiber of my being.
Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife? ”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.” The second time was louder than the first. “Oh, yes. Absolutely,” Nes finished as a smile lit up her face and tears glistened in her eyes. “That was much better than before.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Kas leaned in and crushed his mouth to hers. They’d become a tangle of limbs, pressed together wherever possible as their mouths met. “Mi rasdekina, I love you so much,” he ground out between kisses.
“What”—Kas cut her off with a nip on the lower lip—“does”—and a light kiss on the nose—“that”—another kiss to the lips, this one long and slow with a dash of tongue—“mean?”
He ignored her, winding his fingers through her soft hair and going in for another kiss, knowing he was driving her batty and loving every moment of it. She was quicker than he, pressing a palm to his mouth, and blocking his lips from reaching her.
“What does that mean? Rasdekina?” she asked again.
“True love.” His words were muffled by her fingers.
“So ekina means love?”
“Yes. Love.”
She dropped her hand. “Oh. I didn’t know. It wasn’t in the book.”
He chuckled.
“That book, have you seen it? I can’t find it and—”
“I found it. In the glade. It’s in my room.”
“Good.” He pulled her in for another hug. “And tilal, that means lovely?” she asked, her eyes sparkling as she pulled away far enough to peer at him.
“It does. But, mi tilal, is more like . . . my beloved.”
“You infuriating man.” Nesrina sighed happily, and they kissed again before she burrowed into the crook of his neck. “Kas?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“Does that mean you love me?”
“I just told you I do. Twice.”
“I was distracted.”
He braced her small face between his hands and stared into her eyes. “Yes, Nesrina. I love you so much, so deeply. More than words can ever convey.”
“For a writer, you sure struggle with them,” she teased before bringing her hands to his cheeks, too, holding him steady as he held onto her. “Kas, I love you too. So much.” She kissed him, and their teeth clinked as their mouths met, for they were both grinning foolishly.
Minutes passed before they pulled apart and finished their bath in earnest. He washed her, refusing to let her get her hands wet, then she watched, studiously, as he cleaned himself.
Beside the tub, Nesrina reached for a towel, but Kas stopped her, curling a hot wave of air around her and drying away the droplets. “Every time,” he whispered.
“What?” her voice was breathy as he coasted a breeze over her breasts and down her stomach.
“I want to do this every time you bathe. No more towels, Nes.”
She laughed as he cupped her arse with his magic and squeezed. “Every time,” she repeated.
Not long later they fell into Kas’s bed, and he broke contact—with one hand—to pull the simple black box from behind his back. “Nesrina.”
“Yes?” Her fingertips paused their exploration of his chest hair.
“Will you marry me?”
“I already said yes, silly.”
He tipped his chin toward the open box, and she looked, letting out a gasp when she saw the ring for the first time.
“Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“I had it made for you. And in the spirit of ‘no secrets,’ yes, it is meant to look like your eyes.” He’d designed it himself with stones mined in Kabuvirib. A small blue sapphire sat in the center surrounded by a halo of peridot chips.
He slipped the ring onto her finger, then climbed over her, sliding a leg between hers to nudge them apart as their mouths came together again.
“I love you, m’ekina,” she murmured, tangling her hands in his hair.
He grinned at her use of the Old Tongue. “I love you too, kalalitani.” He kissed the corner of her mouth, the point of chin, the hollow of her neck.
She mewed, arching against him as her hands roamed his body, grasping anywhere and everywhere she could reach, as if she couldn’t get enough of him.
Kas understood the feeling. He pulled one of her breasts into his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple as he lazily walked his fingers down her abdomen. My future wife.
The thought was his undoing, and Kas scrambled down her body, lowering his mouth to her slick center before she could even gasp in surprise.
He lapped at her, licked, sucked, and teased.
She was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted, and her little wiggles and whimpers of pleasure reassured him he was on the right track.
It wasn’t long before she moaned his name and her thighs tensed around his ears. He pulled back, earning himself a grumpy little buck in response. But he wasn’t done yet, they were just getting started.
Kas tutted at Nesrina, scolding her snappishness as he sent a torrid current of air to meet the flushed, swollen skin he’d abandoned. She pushed into it.
“Oh! Oh?”
He split his magic in two, leaving one spiral to work her sensitive bud while another cord coasted south, pulsing against her entrance. He liked watching himself work but glanced up to ensure she was enjoying his ministrations.
In ecstasy her eyes fluttered open, as if she’d felt his gaze upon her. Nes nodded, shaky with desire.
“I want to watch you come for me.” His voice was rough with need.
She tipped her head back in bliss as her body constricted around his magic, hot, tight, and textured. Kas worked her steadily, and she rose higher and higher, panting and squirming until she stilled with a shaky breath, then peaked.
His name was a sigh from her lips as she came back down, her shudders returning to stillness. He crawled over her and nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her, and whispering how much he loved her.
“I love you too, so much. So, so much.” She dug her fingernails into his back.
He moaned at the feel of her, at the rightness of it all.
“I’ve never done this before,” Nesrina whispered, suddenly shy. “I’ve only read about it, but . . .” she trailed off, blushing prettily.
Kas wanted to make a quip about books and boats, but it certainly wasn’t the time. Instead, he admitted, “It’s my first time too.”
“Really?”
“Truly. We’ll figure it out together.”
That earned him a laugh, and a squeeze on the rear. One of her palms gripped his bicep as her free hand wrapped around his erection, guiding it to where she wanted him to be. He moaned.
“Eth ye de mi, Nes. I am yours,” he whispered as his tip pressed against her slick heat.
“Eth ye de mi,” she replied with conviction.
Overwhelming love coursed through Kas, filling him to the point of bursting. He could only assume Nesrina felt the same, based on the way she cried out his name as he sank home.
The act itself was . . . not as easy as he’d imagined, and it turned out it was quite difficult to come when learning to use muscles in a new manner.
But she finished, loudly, then wrapped her lips around his length while he sent out three cords of air: two to massage his aching thighs and one to work her clit while she sucked him to completion.
“Next time,” Nes whispered, snuggling up under his arm, “we’ll get the hang of it.”
“I think we’ll have to practice a lot. It’s the only way to improve.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”