Page 108 of Born for Silk

But then the room falls silent, as if everyone inside dissolved in one of my raging heartbeats.

Pulse pounding, I press my entire body to the door, no breathing, no words, just the lingering echoes of his last sentence to hook me and then dangle me?—

The door opens.

I stumble forward into a man’s hands. I look up and see Turin Two, a younger, far more Common looking version of Rome, smiling softly.

My mind stalls.

“Hello, little creature.” Rome’s voice sails from the other side of the room, curling around me effortless with power. “Are your ears extra big today?”

Abruptly, a Guard is at my back.

“Sire, I apologise”—he huffs— “The eagle let her in.”

“Did he?”

A ball of nerves and regret expands in my throat.

What the hell was I thinking, barging in on him?

Across the long span of a sweeping wooden desk, Rome sits in his casual black shirt, one arm slung over the back of a wing-back throne, looking every inch the man in charge, domination radiating from his very skin.

I swallow, and he watches the nervous action playing inside the slender column of my neck. His hot gaze roams around my body, indecent, intimidating, and tangible.

The hairs on my arms lift.

“Out now,” he orders.

I almost whimper.

Not wanting to leave, hating his reaction to merely order me away like one of his pets, I grit my teeth. Feel shame. Feel sad. With that, I turn on my heels to leave with my head still high, but his dismissal chews on my strength.

I hope he chokes on it.

“Not you.”

What?

I spin, quickly stepping aside as Turin Two, Kong, and two Guards leave the room, one after the other, and meet Rome’s dark gaze once more.

I missed you.

The Guard behind me shuffles. “Sire?”

“Must I repeat myself...” Rome’s eyes penetrate me. “Everyone out while I eat.”

The nerves in my throat expand, blocking air. I open my mouth, inhaling hard, before saying, “I should not have been listening, my king. That was…” Rude. Improper. Disrespectful— “Disrespectful.”

A slow grin spreads across his lips. “Don't apologise.” He pushes back from the table and widens his thighs, taking up so much space it is any surprise he fits at all. The chair is huge. The table, too. This hall is not for Common. “I said if you needed me, you could ask, and I would come to you.”

Liar. The thought comes, and I almost say it aloud. What is becoming of me? I feel wild and out of control. “That would have been a bit hard when you were hundreds of miles away for the past two weeks.”

Woah.

“You're angry.”

Warranted! Since you just left! Stifling the truth, I shake my head stiffly. “No. I have no right to feel anything like that toward you, my king. I told you I wanted to be your Silk Girl, and you gave me Meaningful Purpose. I have no right to be angry with you in the slightest.”

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