Page 37 of Bearing Secrets
“Right.”
Natalia looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath as she tried to process everything that had just happened.
The stars above her were spinning rapidly across the sky. In fact, her entire world was turning. “I need to stand up,” she said, abruptly squirming to her feet.
But the spinning only got worse. Her brain was having a hard time accepting all she’d just been told, and the wine was making it worse.
“Kirell?” She was shocked at how weak and distant her voice sounded. “I think I need to lie down somewhere.”
He was there immediately, arm around her upper back, holding her steady. “Natalia? Natalia?”
“Goodnight,” she said as the world faded to black and she passed out.
16
Less than thirty-six hours to go.
He swore silently at the internal clock that wouldn’t let him forget how the time was ticking down; he still wasn’t sure Natalia would be able to hold up her end of the bargain. Things had been going well, he’d thought, but all at once it had caught up to her and she’d passed out in his arms.
It was now eight in the morning and she hadn’t shown any sign of stirring. Lying on his stomach on the ground next to his bed, Kirell tried not to fidget. The last thing he wanted was to wake her.
Too late, he realized as Natalia started making sleepy noises and shuffling about in the bed.
“Kirell?” she asked, suddenly more wakeful than anticipated.
Her feet slid out from the bed, and he moved to say hello, to let her know he was there, but she was too quick, and she planted her feet on him as she went to stand up.
“Ack!” she yelped in a most unfeminine manner before flailing hard and landing on her back in an explosion of covers and pillows. Her rear missed the edge of the bed, however, and she slipped off it, landing on top of him.
“Sorry,” she said.
He held her tight as she tried to push away from him. “It’s okay. You didn’t know I was here. Though maybe you should look before you leap next time.”
“Not a strong suit of mine.” She looked down at him. “You’re not wearing a shirt.”
“I prefer to sleep shirtless.”
Her eyes moved to her own body. “I’m wearing a t-shirt.” She looked down at her legs. “And shorts.”
“Yes?”
“I wasn’t wearing those when I went to bed last night.”
He shrugged. “The clothes were damp, I didn’t want you to get a chill.”
“You undressed me?”
“I didn’t look, I put you face down first. I’m not a pervert, I was just looking out for you. It’s not my fault you can’t hold your alcohol.”
She sniffed. “If you’re not a pervert, why is your cock hard? Again?”
Kirell thought about pointing out the fact she was lying right on top of him, pressed completely against him. Then he decided not to bother. All it would do was point out the fact he was attracted to her, something of no benefit to either of them. It was his own private battle to be waged, to learn to control his sexual desires while she was around. Openly bringing her into it wouldn’t help.
“Morning wood,” he muttered, trying to brush it off.
It didn’t work. The more he tried not to think about Natalia, the more he did. She was occupying space in his mind when he didn’t want her to. The game they were playing was a dangerous one, and one slip-up could get him in a lot of trouble. He hated sneaking around and lying to the rest of his House about the fact that he had a mate, but his Queen had asked him to. What was he supposed to do, say no to his ruler?
I don’t think so!
