Page 150 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

I rose from the throne and moved closer, letting her see the desire in my eyes. “And you did it in a way that made me want to pin you on that throne. Rarely do people stand beside me soboldly—especially when it comes to defiling Solandris’s beloved flowers.” My pulse thudded at the memory of that golden rose turning to dust in her hand. “Magnificent.”

Her cheeks warmed, though her tone remained steady. “I’m not a damsel, Kazimir.”

I shook my head, voice low. “No. You’re a nightmare descending on them all, and they’ll never see it coming.”

A faint smile tugged at her lips. “Speaking of nightmares… I believe Vex and the others have some wager on how soon you and I might tear the realm apart, or each other.”

I flared my shadows ever so slightly. “We still remember our rules, Lady Blackrose. But there are plenty of other ways to indulge ourselves, as we proved earlier. My knees still bear the imprint of my study floor.”

She brushed a hand over the throne’s arm and then stood. “The mighty Dark Lord, brought to his knees by a taste. It’s a good look on you. Almost as satisfying as seeing a Hero’s Guild knight tremble at my feet. Maybe I should make both happen more often.”

Her grin sent a current of longing through me. She turned away, gown sweeping dramatically behind her, and I admired each smooth line of her body. That lethal potential belonged at my side.

I’d never wanted a single person more.

“Dinner here, in an hour. To celebrate,” I said. “Don’t be late, Lady Blackrose.”

She glanced over her shoulder, face composed but eyes dancing. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

With that, she left, and I finally let out a long, steady breath. My runes still vibrated with the remnants of the rose’s interference, a reminder that Solandris’s hold over me wasn’t fully gone. But I felt a savage spark in my chest as well. Arabella was with me by choice—something neither the king’s demandsnor a gilded flower could break—and part of me craved the war that would follow.

Let them try to take her back. The world would learn exactly what it meant to face me… and my wife.

60

TEST YOUR VILLAIN’S RESTRAINT (ONE DROP AT A TIME)

KAZIMIR

Candlelight gleamed across the Great Hall, giving the space a deceptively romantic glow, provided one ignored the axes, spears, and swords lining the walls. Black roses overflowed from silver urns, interspersed with vivid blooms from the High Gardens.

I drummed my fingers on the dark wooden table beneath the dais, still high on the sight of Sir ?Darian scuttling from Skyspire. Satisfaction coiled warm and smug, and I wondered what Arabella might do next.

A servant hovered to my left. “More wine, my lord?”

“Yes. And inform Lady Blackrose that dinner is served. She’s already testing my patience.”

“That won’t be necessary,” came a voice at the doorway.

Arabella sauntered in dressed in midnight-blue silk, loose hair, and a smile that promised wickedness. Thoughts of troop deployments fled as I stood. “Lady Blackrose. I was beginning to think your dragon ate you whole.”

She took the chair to my right, smirk razor-sharp. “And miss a chance to torment you? Hardly.”

The servant poured her wine and retreated. Only two guards lingered at the far corners—far enough to miss every juicy detail.

I lifted my glass. “You handled Sir?Darian beautifully. His outrage will sustain me for months.”

Arabella’s eyes glittered. “What do villains call it when a woman threatens to rot her enemies from the inside?”

“Foreplay.”

She laughed, then sipped. The sound tightened everything inside me.

When the first course arrived—an over-engineered tower of mushrooms—she set her fork down and studied the wine’s swirling surface. “Kaz, about earlier… in your study.”

“Yes?”

She exhaled. “You were right. I wasn’t going to control my magic with you touching me like that. Not even close.”

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