Page 98 of Enchanted Shadows
“Yes?” Emric responded innocently.
“You are not a woman, but if you were, which dress option do you think would be best? The commander here is out on the strapless option.”
Emric put his hands in the air. “I know nothing of bosoms.”
“I highly doubtthat,” Molly argued. “Didn’t you read the book I lent you?”
“Come on, Whitman,” Sam urged. “We have four different styles. Which boulder holder are you drawn to?”
Emric gestured with his head toward Molly. “Hers. Happy?”
Sam groaned while Molly put her drink in the air in celebration.
“Can wenottalk about bosoms anymore?” I asked them.
Sam headed for the dance floor, “Tonight is all about bosoms, Commander. In case you missed the memo.”
I turned to Emric to find out what he had originally needed, but his eyes were fixed on Molly.
“Thank you,” she told him. “Would you like to dance? Or are you afraid of my bosom?”
“I would,” he agreed, holding out his arm for her. “I find your bosom... tenebrous?”
I tried to keep it in, I really did. But instead, I found myself laughing. Hard. Emric and that damn word. It appeared Molly was who he was referencing earlier in the hall. I knew he was due to return to Dra Skor with Keir and Esta, and I wondered how that would affect his feelings for her.
I was going to have to cut back on having him help with training if he and Molly got serious. Then again, I was already married to one of the women, so was I really one to talk?
As I stood there laughing, Kessara shook her head at me. “Have you been hitting the whiskey without me?”
“No,” I laughed. “I told you, we need to stay sharp. I just—” I turned us, taking in the dance floor. So many faces I knew well. So many people in this room I trusted. “It’s a good day. I’m happy.”
“You’re stuck with me for your thirty days off and you’re happy about this?”
I shot her a slow grin. “There are worse ways to spend it than with a princess in my bed.”
The dance floor transitioned to a Nerede dance. Elsie and Remy were squealing with excitement, grabbing random guards for it.
“Shall we, wife?”
She pulled me toward the dance floor but said, “Sometimes I want to punch you, you know that?”
I pulled her in close and added at a whisper. “Make it count.”
She muttered, “I so wish I would’ve hidden my dagger in this dress; I thought about it.”
“That’s not very princess like,” I chided.
“Don’t act like it doesn’t excite you,” she fired right back. Then as if realizing she was flirting with me, she demanded, “Shut up and dance with me.”
So I did. Dance after dance. I told myself we had to, for appearances. But if I stilled long enough to really think about it, I knew I liked the feel of Kessara’s hand in mine, the feel of her body next to mine. She was my wife. And we’d been married out of necessity, a blockade against Calix trying to marry her, but the fact remained thatshe was my wife. That meant something to me. More than I was willing to admit.
We stayeduntil the Slay Sisters had gone back to their rooms. I trusted most of the teams present, but I also wanted to make sure everyone left safely. I was going to need them all back and ready to go in thirty days, just after the holidays.
“I’m so glad we don’t have to be up early,” Kessara yawned.
“Me too,” I told her. Miles was walking behind us, making sure we made it upstairs and then he was finally done for the night. “But don’t be too surprised if a young prince or two wakes us. I promised them I would spend some time with them tomorrow.”
“You’re good with kids,” she told me as we turned the corner. “And though you did try to get us all to quit for the first week, you were a pretty good general too.”
