Page 78 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“I’ll always respect your ‘no’ when it comes to sex, Lae. That’s a boundary I won’t cross.”

I had known he wouldn’t argue about it, but his confirmation still made me feel better.

“Any other boundaries to add?” he asked, his hands sliding down my chest and lingering on my breasts. “You get to make demands just as much as I do.”

I hesitated to voice my thoughts.

I really didn’t want to admit what I was thinking.

“You’re not with any other women, right?” I finally asked him. “Romantically?”

He scoffed into my ear. “I told you I’m faithful, female.”

“I know. It’s just…” I trailed off, biting my lip.

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Lae. You know I’ll be truthful with you, so give me the same courtesy.”

I sighed. “You know everyone, which makes me feel like I have no power in this situation. You’re the king, and I’m nothing. There’s no balance.”

He was silent for a long moment.

“And now I’ve offended you,” I grumbled. “I knew this was going to happen.”

“You haven’t offended me. I’m thinking.”

I waited.

He started massaging my breasts, and I closed my eyes, relaxing against his shoulder as he did.

“If we were still at war, your magic would make you a great asset,” he finally said. “Our enemies couldn’t use their ice with you on the battlefield, which would be a massive advantage.”

“I’d burn them, too,” I pointed out.

“Double advantage, then.” He went quiet for another moment, still palming my breasts.

I enjoyed it too much to stop him.

“There are many places in my kingdom where we have to manually break ice,” he finally said. If you could control your fire a bit, you could replace numerous weapons and many, many hours of labor.”

I hadn’t considered that. Living on a glacier would mean cutting through ice frequently.

“I can try. The other human women have no control over their magic, though, so it might be hopeless,” I reminded him.

“Your magic is not the same as theirs. It’s all life magic, but plants, wind, and flames are all vastly different. They’ll have unique triggers, and different natural levels when it comes to energy and life.”

I supposed that made sense. Nissa had told me that her magic burned through her energy quickly, while my power simply remained warm until I lost control of my emotions and caught fire.

“Do you think I could control it enough?”

“It’s worth attempting.” His lips brushed the side of my head. “Things will feel more balanced as you get settled here. I’ll ask a few of the idorr to stick with you for protection so you can move into your house now rather than waiting. I want you to feel comfortable and confident about your place here.”

“Thank you.” Gratitude swelled in my chest.

“I told you to thank me by asking me to touch you.”

I snorted. “You should know me well enough to know I’m too prideful for that.”

He chuckled, low and rumbly. “I would be too. Just kiss me, and I’ll know what you want.”

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