Page 45 of Untouched Queen by Royal Command

‘For several reasons, not all of them concerning business.’ A crack appeared in his regal regard. A flicker of something that might have been concern. ‘How are you this morning?’

She felt as if she’d been skewered with a hot buttered sword, had begged for more and been given it. Should she say that? She might have said it to the man. Not to the King.

‘So-so,’ she said instead. ‘Ari chose not to call on me to spar with him this morning. He tells me my concentration’s off.’

‘Does he know I stayed the night?’

‘He’s head of my security detail. Of course he knows. Are you worried he’ll gossip?’

‘No.’ Augustus didn’t look worried. ‘If there’s one thing I’m learning about the Order of the Kite, it’s how well they can keep secrets. If I wasn’t increasingly wary of the lot of you I’d be impressed.’

‘If you want to know more about the Order, ask.’ She was serious. She’d been handing out historical information ever since she’d got here. ‘There’s not a lot more left to tell.’

‘Really?’ The huffing sound he made was an irritated one. ‘I had two reports cross my desk this morning, both of them concerning you. One of them informs me that before you came here you were the Chief Financial Officer for a global not-for-profit organisation that distributes over half a billion dollars each year to charities. Lady Lianthe controls the company—which I assume is connected to the Order of the Kite.’

Sera nodded. All of this was public knowledge, or at least accessible knowledge if you knew where to look.

‘You were being groomed to replace her,’ he said next.

‘I was, yes.’ She squared her shoulders and avoided glancing at the report beneath his hand in favour of studying the hand itself. Long fingers, broad base and a signet ring with the royal crest on his middle finger. A kernel of need began to heat deep inside her. Those fingers were magic.

‘And here I was trying to turn you into a humble employee so you’d have something more than courtesan to show on your résumé when you left here. More fool me.’

He was angry this morning. Clipped vowels, exact pronunciation. Sera eyed him warily.

‘I have no complaints about the work I do here,’ she said. ‘The charity programme here has been honed over centuries, much like the one the Order oversees, and it’s been illuminating to compare and contrast the similarities and differences. They’re both good. Different, but good. Besides, you know why I’m here. There is no secret. I didn’t come here to court business opportunities. I came here to honour an ancient accord between my people and yours and repay a personal debt I’ve been accruing since I was seven. I win, Augustus. You keep implying I’m here under duress. You’re wrong. I’m here because I choose to be.’

He had the best sexy brooding face she’d ever seen. ‘And where does last night factor into all this winning?’

‘Last night can be whatever you want it to be. Forgotten. Repeated. Picked apart until it bleeds.’ She was predicting the latter and sought to head him off. ‘I enjoyed it.’

‘You were a virgin.’

‘And?’

‘And now you’re not.’

Apparently she wasn’t the only one with slow brain cells this morning. ‘I’ll celebrate later. First let me reassure you that I have no regrets, no inclination to tell anyone else what transpired between us and no plans to force you to marry me now that you’ve claimed my precious virginity.’ He looked highly sceptical and Sera bit back a sigh. She had no wish to trap him. That had never been the goal here. Helping him address his needs had been the goal and she was doing that, wasn’t she?

Frustration looked remarkably like arousal on him. ‘So you don’t want to marry me?’

Panic hit her hard and fast. ‘That’s not even on the table. Marriage isn’t for the likes of me. Courtesans don’t marry.’

‘Don’t they?’ He was getting colder by the second. ‘Is it formally not allowed or is it something you personally just don’t want to do?’

‘You’re angry with me.’

‘Sharp as ever,’ he clipped. ‘Answer the question.’

‘I’ve never considered marrying you.’ She kept her voice even but it was a near thing. ‘Courtesans and kings can be intimate, no question. They often grow quite fond of each other. I’m fond of you.’ Liar—you’re in love with him. ‘But a wife’s role is very different to that of a courtesan.’

‘Really?’ She hated his mockery. He did it so well. ‘How so? You’re already bound to me and under my protection.’

‘For a time,’ she injected.

‘You take on hostess roles, offer me counsel and share my bed.’ His lips twisted. ‘And you’re fond of me.’

She was. Very. ‘Augustus, you’re a king. I’m nobody. A trained companion.’

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