Page 290 of Kingdoms of Night

He was exactly where he was meant to be.

“I love you,” she told him.

She’d been saying it over and over again, nonstop. Well, she’d been saying it since she’d released him from her magnificent mouth and that talented tongue. He would’ve never expected his wife to perform such a service for him, believing it was the business of professionals. Once again, his beliefs had been proven archaic and backward thinking, and he was happy for it.

“I love you,” Enid told him again.

He could hear the smile in her voice. As well as the wonder. How could this woman have never experienced love before? How could others not have been at her feet professing their undying devotion to her? It was their loss. Geraint swore he would make up for all the love she’d missed over the years.

“I love you,” she sighed, her voice growing tired.

He squeezed her tighter, pressing a kiss to her forehead. The sweet scent of her stirred his loins. Not enough for yet another round. Though he would never get enough of his wife, he needed time to replenish his stores.

“I love you, too, my sweet,” he said. “I swear I will for the rest of my days.”

“Candor, you promised not to swear to a fairy again.”

“Only to you. And to our children, as they’ll be half-fae.”

She didn’t tense in his hold, but he felt the shift in her.

Her breath had been a steady stream against his chest. It came to a full stop now. Her eyelashes had been closed. He felt them flutter open against his flesh.

Geraint’s gaze dipped to her belly. Is that what had brought on her troubled glances out the window? Is that why her scent had changed earlier? He’d certainly been planting his seed inside her rigorously for the past week. Could she be with child?

No. It was too soon. But what did he know? He didn’t know the intricacies of fairy reproduction. She had planted her flower seed in the garden. Is that what that meant?

Geraint knew he should simply come out and ask her. But he wanted her to bring it to him. He didn’t want to drag it out of her. He wanted Enid to trust that she could speak to him about any and everything.

“Our children will be the luckiest in the world,” he hedged. “The luckiest in all the realms, with a mother like you.”

“Like me?”

“You’ll be as fiercely protective as I will. They won’t have anything to rebel over because they will be so well loved and cared for.”

Wetness spread against his chest. Were those tears? Geraint reached down to tilt her chin up. She tried to blink the evidence away before he could see. Ducking his head, Geraint caught each tear with his lips.

“I cannot wait to parent with you,” he said.

Still, she said nothing. She gazed up at him with a vulnerability that tore at his heart. She blinked rapidly, as though trying to banish the tears from her eyes. They still fell. Again, Geraint dipped his head and caught each one against his lips until the deluge stopped.

“Candor?”

“Yes, my sweet love?”

“I swear to you that whatever I do in this life, it will be for the benefit of our family.”

“You shouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Swear to your husband. He’ll take you at your word and hold you to the contract.”

Her smile was weak. But it was there. And it was for him. He’d take it.

Geraint kissed Enid’s eyelids. Then her nose. Then her mouth.

He buried his nose in her neck. He couldn’t help noticing that her scent was still not quite the same as it had been all week long. The bitterness he’d smelled when he’d found her in the room earlier tonight had returned.

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