Page 21 of Untraceable
“Possibly.”
“Give me a few minutes of silence to just hold you.”
She nodded and leaned against him as he rubbed her back, massaged her scalp, and held her against a very warm body. She felt herself dozing and jerked awake, but nothing happened, and she relaxed as the clock ticked onward.
She smelled pizza and lifted her head. “Oh, fuck. How long was I out?”
The king grinned. “Two hours. Your peacekeepers were shocked when I carried you out and were going to wake you, but I threatened them with maintenance duties, and they remained quiet.”
She struggled to sit up and saw four stacks of boxes in front of her. “What are these?”
“I contacted your friend Bailey at her shop and asked her where you get pizza. She said it would be one of these four depending on your mood, so I got your favourite, my favourite, and from all four.”
She blinked as she tried to pull herself from the nap. “Did you put me under?”
“No. You were exhausted and physically drained from the previous night. I just took advantage of it and held you. It was the pizza that woke you?”
Val blushed. “Yeah.”
“Don’t fuss about it. Your scent has kept me alert for hours.” He kissed her cheek.
“Um, maybe we should just eat.”
He laughed and turned her so that she was seated on his left leg, with his left arm around her for support. She grabbed the hot rolled towels and scrubbed her hands, folded the used towel, and got one for her perch. “Your Majesty?”
He cleaned his hands, and she set the towel aside. Then it was time to grab the boxes and pull them all closer.
“Now, Valhay, we are going to taste test from the left to the right. I can keep them heated, so don’t worry about rushing, but you are in charge of the servings.”
She saw the pile of plates and shrugged. “Sure. Let’s begin.”
She got her meaty meat with extra meat pizza, and she set it aside on a plate before opening the box under it and being hit with chilli-based gas. “Whoa. You like a lot of spice.”
He chuckled. “I am not in a rush.”
Val glared at him as she put two slices on his plate. He chortled, and she got her slice and took a heavy bite. She hummed happily and turned to watch the king eat fire-flavoured pizza.
He grinned between bites. “You seem surprised.”
“My eyes are still watering. That stuff is deadly.”
“Want to try a bite?”
“A very small bite.”
His eyes glowed softly as he held the slice up for her. She took a bite from where he had taken his. She chewed slowly, and the fire bloomed in her mouth just as slowly. “That’s actually really nice.”
“You have no idea how happy I am that you took a bite.”
“Does this have a hidden meaning?”
“Perhaps. It depends on how you feel about the rest of the pizzas.”
She finished her piece and pulled the next set of boxes to her. She opened the lid and coughed delicately. “Found yours.”
He chuckled, and she served him two pieces again.
Her single piece was soothing, and when she felt a slow stroke on her back, she turned her head and took a bite. Her toes curled in her sandals as she chewed lava and swallowed.
