Page 41 of Ice King

I told myself that it was just to keep her safe from him, but my heart told me it was to keep her away fromallother men.

“She is not to be touched. She’s mine,” I commanded.

Somewhere deep down, the words felt right.

“Understood, sir,” Valtimir grunted. Without another word, I swept out of his room.

On my way back to my chambers, I stopped at a few of the merchant’s tables set up in the entryway foyer and bought a couple of different outfits for her since she had nothing else to wear. A table covered in leather armor captured my attention, and I lingered there for a long moment.

“My leather is renown, sire. Reinforced with dwarven steel at the center, yet still flexible enough not to limit range of motion in battle,” the merchant explained.

“This is all made for much larger men,” I thought out loud.

“I can craft to any size, sire. All I would need to do is take measurements of whatever gentleman you had in mind.”

“Not a gentleman, but a lady,” I said quietly.

“Of course, sire,” the man replied.

“Tomorrow at high noon, I will summon you to the king’s chambers. See to it that your schedule is clear,” I stated, and he nodded once.

“Of course, my king,” he answered.

“I am not your king,” I scowled, and he lowered his head.

“My mistake, sire,” he corrected himself. I turned away, but I didn’t miss the glimmer of a disbelieving smile as I walked away.

With my arms full, I rushed back up to my quarters to find Ella still fast asleep. I hung several of the shirts and dresses I’d procured up inside the armoire. I folded the pants and placed them on the shelves, only just noticing that Ella had begun to jostle awake. When I turned, her eyelids fluttered open, and she smiled shyly.

“Sorry. I fell asleep…” she began.

“No need to apologize. You needed the rest.” I smiled gently, and she pushed herself up on her elbows, causing the blanket to fall just so to reveal the pale pink of her nipple. She gasped, apparently only just realizing that she was still bare, and grabbed at the blanket, covering up as quickly as she could.

“You didn’t have any other clothing, so I bought some for you. It’s in the cabinet here. I was going to prepare a bath for you, but you woke before I could,” I offered.

“It would be nice to clean off,” she murmured. I didn’t mention his name or anything about what had happened. I didn’t want to remind her of it. Right now, I simply wanted to take care of her and ensure she was alright.

“Dinner will be arriving shortly. I shall bring you a plate when you’re settled in your bath. Wait here. I will call you when it’s ready,” I explained.

Her eyes assessed me for a long moment before she nodded. “I’d like that,” she said with a smile.

She was utterly radiant when she looked at me like that.

I had trouble turning away, but eventually managed to force myself. I walked into the attached bathing room and turned on the faucet in the copper clawfoot tub. I flitted my fingers over the surface, heating it to the perfect temperature using just a tendril of my magic, and I sighed as a sliver of sorrow passed through me.

I hadn’t prepared a bath for a woman in nearly one-hundred years, not since Yasmina.

I tried to change the direction of my thoughts by focusing on the battle to come, yet it was all clouded by the woman currently lying naked in my bed.

I shook my head. This wasn’t happening. I wasn’t falling for this human girl. I couldn’t be.

I poured a few spoonfuls of essential oil into the bathwater, along with some dried flower petals. When the tub was full, I turned to see that Ella was standing by the door. She hadn’t brought the blanket with her.

She was standing before me, entirely bare.

My cock hardened like a rock, and a visceral surge of pleasure rocketed through me at the sight of her. I needed to get ahold of myself before I lost control.

“The bath is ready for you,” I said, sounding far more stilted than I meant to.

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