Page 20 of Untraceable
“You were there?”
“It was broadcast. I saw it from my cell.”
“Cell?”
She patted his chest. “Common for Suuran apprentices.”
He frowned. “Pain is common?”
“Pain is the constant threat to keep the powerful in line. I learned early that if you can remove the effectiveness of the threat, all that is left is confinement.”
“So, you don’t fear pain.”
“Not really. It is uncomfortable, but it heals.”
“So, last night, you were braced for pain. Is that why you put it off so long?”
She shrugged. “Not much gets me hot, if we want to be frank. I didn’t need it, so why would I want it?”
“I am having a problem matching that with the woman in my arms last night.”
She snorted. “You woke my body, we had sex, and now things return to normal.”
“What if I don’t want things to return to normal? I have been seeking you for a decade.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a job. I have friends. I have a life before you arrived in it with all your parts attached.”
He chuckled. “So, what will it take for you to spend time with me, aside from sending peacekeepers to abduct you daily?”
“You wouldn’t.” She was appalled.
He smoothed a hand over her spine. “It is tempting. If I have a need, will you come to me?”
“Does that happen often?” She eyed him warily.
The king shrugged. “Often enough. So, will you come to me if I have a need?”
She gritted her teeth and nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
He kissed her softly. “When you are in my bed, you will call me Amori. Do you understand?”
“It feels odd to call you by your name.”
He slid his fingers along her scalp. “Tough. We couldn’t exchange names last night, but now, I want to hear my name on your lips.”
“Why?”
“Because there is a lot of power in a name, and I want you to wield it.”
“Power? I have enough.”
“You work in a bakery.”
She shrugged. “I like to keep busy, and since Bailey is on her own with no other partner and a child to raise, I try to support her as best I can.”
He was pulling her close to him, and she ended up with her head against his shoulder, and he sighed happily. Val muttered, “Did you lose your dolly at a young age? Maybe a teddy bear?”
He snorted. “Would it make you be quiet for a while if I said yes?”
