Page 135 of Clash of Kingdoms

His smirk grew before he grabbed my hand and walked me out.

We sat across from each other at the pub, both of us with tankards of ale and bowls of pot roast.

“This is my favorite,” I said. “My father’s too.”

He took a couple bites, and when he didn’t say anything, I knew he liked it because he just kept eating and eating, dipping his bread into the broth before shoveling more food down his throat.

I smirked. “I think it’s your favorite too.”

“It’s good,” he said, sitting over his bowl with his arms on the table.

“You eat like him too, like a bear.”

He smirked. “Eating is exhausting.”

“How often did you need to eat before?”

He shrugged. “Maybe once a week, depending on how active I was.”

“Like a real snake, then…”

“I suppose.” He continued to eat, wiping his bowl clean.

I remembered spotting him across the room and the way my thighs squeezed together at the sight of him. I’d wanted him right then and there, and I couldn’t believe that I actually got him. He was mine forever.

When he finished his food, he grabbed his tankard and took a drink. “I admit, food tastes a lot better now that my body actually needs it. And there’s much more variety to it. With blood…there’s only so much variation.”

I took a drink from my glass. “So, my father stopped by…”

“What did he say?”

“Well, I can tell he loves you, because he invited us both to live in the castle.”

“Did he?”

“Said we deserve all the amenities as members of the royal family. Someone to cook for us, do our laundry, stuff like that.” I knew Aurelias must have been used to that type of lifestyle as a prince in his lands, not that he would ever complain about our modest life in that little cottage. “What do you think?”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

“I want to know how you actually feel.”

“I’m happy to live in that cottage if you want privacy from your family. But if you want to be close to your family, I’m happy to do that too.”

“Then I think I’d like to live in the castle, if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“We’ll take one of the bigger chambers, not my old bedroom. Not enough space in there for both of us.”

“I didn’t realize we needed much space.”

“You have no idea how many clothes I have…”

“You don’t wear clothes around me, so I don’t see why that matters.” He smirked.

I smirked back. “I’ve never seen you smile the way you do now.”

His smile slowly faded.

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