Page 104 of The Princess and Her Grand King

Another sigh, one of surrender. “Leave us, Livia.”

Emeriel barely heard the soft footsteps, the door opening and closing.

He lay beside her, and Emeriel rested her head on his solid chest, sighing in contentment.

His arms were her favorite place. The safest place in the entire universe.

“I dreamed of us.” She fought the pull of sleep. “Of our life together… You were so happy.”

“Was I?” His voice was soft.

“Oh yes.” She glanced up at him, her eyes heavy. “I was heavy… with your child.”

In that instant, Emeriel was grateful she could see his face. Could see the raw hunger sparking in his eyes.

The longing…

Sick or not, it was a sight that would forever be imprinted on her heart.

Her powerful mate looked… as though he might cry.

“It’s not something that will happen for me… for us anytime soon,” he said hoarsely, his eyes finally breaking away from hers. “Not for centuries to come.”

She ran a soothing hand over his chest, grounding herself in the steady rise and fall of his breathing, trying to keep her drug-addled mind focused.

“My late bondmate and I were together for four millennia and only two sons to show for it. Our youngest was eight hundred years ago… we tried for a third forcenturies.” His voice faltered, and he drew a shaky breath. “I would give anything to have another child…”

Oh, my Beloved.Emeriel’s heart ached for him.

An old pain surfaced; she had no idea where it came from, but it was right there in her chest.

“Do you know what it means to try for a child forthree hundred years, young one?” His deep voice rumbled through his chest.

Closing her eyes, she soaked in the soothing vibrations.

“It means each day feels endless. Every heat cycle that passes without conception is agony for both of you."

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be.” His hand stroked her arm. “It’s a beautiful dream. I would give anything to have shared it with you, even if only in a dream.”

Her eyelids grew heavier, his sweet embrace lulling her into that drifting peace.

A memory stirred at the edge of her consciousness.

Something painful yet precious, but she didn’t hold onto it. Here, pain had no place.

“It’s a lovely dream,” she conceded. "Stay with me, my Beloved. Just a little while longer."

"I'm right here." He held her possessively as his beast once had, but with the male, there was a gentle protectiveness in his touch that stirred her very soul.

She liked that. She liked it a lot.

"I'm terrified of my heats… now even more than before," she whispered with one final effort. “But I wish… I wish to grow round with your fruit inside me. With everything in me, I wish I could give you a child.”

She was nearly lost to sleep when she heard his whisper.

“If you can, I will be the happiest male in the universe,” the softest vow in a hungry tone. “If you can, Riel, I will lay the entire world at your feet.”

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