Page 82 of The Dragon King's Assassin

“Then show me you're trustworthy.”

“How do I do that?”

“Honestly, I don't fucking know. I think it just comes with time. Look, I want to be here—with you. All I need is for you to treat me like you want me here too.”

“I thought I was doing that.”

“Sure, but in a very prison guard sort of way. I want you to treat me as if you want me here but it's my choice to stay.”

“It's not your choice.” Taroc's voice dropped into a growl and his grip tightened.

“Fuck!” I pushed free of him. “This is exactly what I'm talking about. You act as if you're my master, then expect me to trust you.”

“I act as if I'm your king because that is who I am! And you, Locrian, are paying a debt to me. That's why it's not your choice to be here.”

“And when will that debt be paid, Your Majesty?”

Taroc drew back. “What?”

“If I'm paying a debt, it suggests that it is finite. So when is my debt paid? When do I stop being your dog and start being your man?”

Ren whined.

“Sorry, girl. No offense.”

“She can't understand you!” Taroc shouted.

Ren ran to hide behind the throne.

“Great, take it out on the real dog. That's wonderful, Taroc. Real nice. And she can understand more than you think. So can I, for that matter.” I started for the door. “It's all very clear to me now.”

“Don't you fucking walk away from me!”

I stopped walking.

“Get back here, Lock.”

I turned and went to stand before him. “Well? Now what? Do I shake hands? Beg? What's your next command, master?”

For a second, I thought Taroc was going to hit me, but then he closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, he was calm, but his voice was weary, “Do you think it's easy being the King? You have one friend who you trust implicitly, and you think I pity you for it. I don't. I envy you. It is one more than I have.”

I blinked.

“I'm surrounded by sycophants and swindlers. People who want to seduce me for their own gains and people who want to kill me. No one wants me. They can't because they don't know who I am without the crown. The man within the king. I'm sorry if I get worried that you won't like that man. That if I showed him to you, then released you, you'd leave. I do want you here, and I want you to want to be here. I want you to be the man who knows me, and I want to be the man you trust above all others.”

“Well, fuck,” I whispered as I slid back into his arms. “Now, you've got me good.”

I lifted my face to the King's, and he met me halfway, covering my mouth in a tender kiss that had me clutching at his shoulders and grinding myself against him. His hands slid up and down my back carefully, as if seeking an answer. I replied by drawing back, out of the kiss, and taking his hand to lead him back to the royal dais.

“What are you doing?” Taroc asked as I positioned him in front of his throne.

“Showing you how much I want to stay.” I undid his pants and pushed them down.

“Anyone could walk in.”

“That's the point.” I grinned as I pushed him back. “I don't care.”

Taroc sat down with his pants around his ankles and his cock standing at attention just below the hem of his tunic. “Are you sure?”

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