Page 83 of Fake Fae-Ancée

Apparently, Nox had escaped farther than anticipated by me or Taggart or any of his egghead investigators. What the hell was he doing in Spain? Half a continent away from his target — Kai?

The chief had grunted when I had asked just that, his face a wrinkled map of pissed concern.

"His move indicates a change in his plans. Nox probably is under a lot of pressure from his principals. The closer the ball gets, the more nervous your counterpart becomes, Kalinin. You must act quickly."

Thus we left a week earlier than planned. To the north. To the capital of the Bears. In my private jet that just took off from the runway with a whirr.

After a few minutes, the plane tilted back to horizontal, a marshmallow-white cloudscape spreading out to the horizon.

"Wow, I always liked that," Kai said, marveling at the view outside the window, her nose touching the glass, eyes wide with wonder, and I just thought she looked so damn cute, and not only because of the tight little dress the designers had picked for her to wear on the trip.

There was a knock on the door of our compartment that was separated from the rest of the cabin, and Bates appeared to serve us tea.

"I hope you’ll enjoy the flight, milady," he said as he set a plate down for Kai who was sitting in the soft leather seat opposite mine. Her eyes grew wide as she spotted the piece of French toast on the creamy white porcelain plate.

"I think I will," she beamed, "Thank you, Bates."

My butler bowed briefly, a sly smile on his face, and winked at me on his way out.

Kai stared at the food with stars shimmering in her eyes.

"Damn, why am I so into this stuff?" she groaned as she popped the first bite into her mouth.

I watched in fascination as she licked powdered sugar off her thumb and gleefully gobbled up the toast. My head was suddenly suspiciously empty of blood. My suit was growing tighter and uncomfortably warm.

"Yes, why?" I asked in a hoarse voice. She gave me another coy look.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She let another bite disappear between her lips. Her little tongue darted out, licking some powdered sugar from her thumb. Bear grumbled. And why was I clutching the armrest so hard?

"My aunt didn't like candy. Or anything resembling a cake, for that matter," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "So I never got any." She chewed, tilting her head as if pondering. "Then again, Aunt Gytha didn't really like anything that was pretty. Or yummy."

I frowned. I knew that she’d been growing up as a de facto orphan with her aunt. But it had never occurred to me that Kai might not have the nicest memories of that.

"You should get as many sweets as you want," I said. And I meant it. Suddenly I was filled with the need for her to have all the good things. A life full of laughter and good friends and love — a life where she was surrounded by people who appreciated her and her overall greatness. And as many pastries, pancakes and buttery toast as she could eat.

She smiled.

"That's surprisingly sweet of you. Pun intended."

"Why surprising?"

I propped my elbow on my knee, resting my face on my fist.

"In the past you've been the opposite of sweet to me." She ate the last piece and wiped her hands clean on the linen napkin. "Mostly, anyway."

"I'm really sorry about that."

I rose to my full height, looking down at her. Bear rolled a thunderous growl in my mind. The sudden urge to be near her was non-negotiable.

Kai blinked at me. "What?"

My wife. No, not anymore, at least on paper. But the sting of fate pricked at the center of my being, throbbing and pulling me inexorably towards her again and again. Dark and needy and hungry.

There were only a few days left for us to keep playing our charade. She was my fiancée until I was king. And the plane catapulted us closer to that crucial day at 500 mph. I didn't have much time left to make up for a few things.

I pushed the small table aside and sank to my knees in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes widened, a dark pink flushing her cheeks.

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