Page 89 of Wickedly Yours

We were walking back into the small palace from another round of lessons in the outside garden the next day.

I was delighted, feeling like a teenager holding a girl’s hand for the first time. And in some ways, I was. Had I ever done this before? Holding someone’s hand for no other reason than because I wanted to.

She was my first in every way that mattered.

"What?" Luna asked, looking over at me with that beautiful blush on her cheeks. "You're staring."

I smiled. "I'mhappy. For the first time in my life, I'm just..." I shook my head. "You came into my life andburrowed your way into my heart. I don’t think I can get you out.”

She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my cheek. “Then don’t.”

“Mmm.” I tightened my grip on her hand, leading her further into the house.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought maybe you could show me what you’ve been getting up to in my library every afternoon.” Of course, there was a unique set of books here, but I’d be happy to help her learn anything she wanted to know.

“Oh.” Luna blushed. “You heard about that?”

I nodded. “Oh, I heard.” Dipping my head down, I nipped at her neck. “I know about everything that goes on in the palace, wife.”

“Maybe I just wanted to know more about you.”

Unable to resist, I scooped her up into my arms, carrying her the rest of the way into my own private library. The one in the palace was where I’d taken solace growing up, losing myself in books. It’d been the only place my father wouldn’t bother me.

“You can always ask,” I said, chuckling as she giggled into my hold.

“Put me down,” she laughed. “I can walk.”

“Apparently I didn’t fuck you good enough last night then, hm?” The words were low, muttered against her ear.

“Zain!” she scolded, like I’d scandalized her.

“There’s no one around, Moonbeam.” A wicked grin spread over my face. “Perks of the private house, huh? Besides, a husband has to satisfy his wife. The king has to take care of his queen.”

She shook her head incredulously, but a little smile crept over her face.

I sat us down on one of the little sofas in the library, leaving Luna sprawled out over my lap.

“So… What is it you wish to know about me?”

Luna hummed in response. “I want to knoweverything.”

“That’s a tall order,” I said, furrowing my brows. “You know how old I am, right?”

“Well…” She worried her lower lip into her mouth. “Will you tell me about your childhood? Your mother? Your friends, they mentioned some things, but…”

I nodded, my throat growing tight. “I lost her when I was young.”

“Who was she?”

“She was a queen in her own right.” My mother’s face filled my vision. “You remind me of her, actually.”

“I do?”

I brushed a hand over her hair. “She brought light into this place, too.”

She’d been too good for this kingdom. Maybe that was why she hadn’t thrived here. I always knew she loved me—that hadn’t been a doubt in my mind, but she shriveled under my father’s hand. Though I could never prove my father had lain a hand on her, the signs were all there.

---