Page 91 of Love Bites Extra Hard

After the tour, we stopped by Stella’s room to see if she was still there, but she was gone. Probably headed out to see Evan. It was difficult to stay away from your fated mate, even if they’d turned you down.

From there, we went to my office in the castle. I wanted to take Avery back to our room and spend a few days alone with her, but the uncertainty she wore like a mask told me that was a bad idea.

She was curious what I spent my days doing, so I showed her the long-winded reports from a few different departments. The cooking department, the guards, and the education department were all very needy and very involved, not to mention all the others.

I explained how I used to have no choice but to fly back and forth between the castle and the Manor because of our lack of internet connection.

There was a shiny new computer on my desk, now that we had wi-fi and phone service. It had taken an eye-watering amount of money and time to make that happen, but it was finally done.

I showed her the to-do list on my computer, and watched her eyebrows jump upward when she saw how much shit there was to get done.

“You really are the king,” she said, perched on the edge of my desk with her arms wrapped around her middle. The sweater she had on flashed me peeks of her bare abdomen every time she lifted her arms, so I was a fan.

A big one.

I was even more obsessed with the mark on her throat, though.

“I keep the place running. I’m basically a glorified janitor who cleans paperwork messes instead of physical messes. And the physical ones would be much more satisfying.”

“That’s what all the kings do, Tal. They keep things running.”

“That doesn’t make me a king.”

Her lips tilted upward, just slightly. “Okay.”

I rolled my chair closer to her, stopping when she tensed slightly. We were only separated by a few inches.

She eyed me, with clear tension in her shoulders.

I needed to break that tension.

“The most important thing on my to-do list is to spend the rest of my day in the hot springs. Care to join?”

Her tension eased, her gaze growing amused. “Fine, but we’re not screwing down there. I need some space.”

“So do I. My cock is painfully hard right now.”

It was a lie.

My female had satisfied me enough that I was only half-mast at seeing her leaned up against my desk the way she was.

But the remark filled its purpose, making her smile a little more.

“Liar,” she said, but there was no heat behind the words.

“Not all lies are cruel, Ave.” I stood up, capturing her hand before she could tuck it in her pocket.

We slipped out of the office together, and Avery remained close to my side as we made our way down through the castle.

“If you sincerely believe that, tell me a lie you’ve given Stella,” she countered.

She didn’t think I’d ever lied to my sister. She thought we were too close.

“I lie to her every time I tell her that more guards want a chance into the rotation guarding Sylvester.”

“That’s barely a lie. She knows you force them into it.”

“Alright.” I considered it.

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