Page 98 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

Kazimir took a step toward me, then stopped when I glared at him. “Tonight. I wanted to confirm the information first, to be certain.”

“And are you? Certain?”

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate, but the grim set of his mouth told me this confirmation had been thorough. And probably bloody.

I reached for the brandy and drank deeply.

“So,” I said when I could trust my voice again, “my options were to be sold to the king or kidnapped by you.”

“I was trying to protect?—”

“Don’t you dare pretend you held back for my peace of mind,” I snapped.

Kazimir picked up his drink and moved to the other side of the table before turning to glare at me. “I’m the reason you’re not rotting in Solandris’s palace right now.” He paused. “Unless that’s what you want?”

“All those times I asked for honesty, and you just withheld what mattered most.”

His temper flared in response to mine. The runic figurines on the map rattled. “I told you. I needed confirmation.”

“You needed control,” I shot back. “And the only reason you’re telling me now is because it’s convenient. Because you’veset the stage for war, and you need me to hold still while you wave your sword at the king.”

“It isn’t just about war, damn it.” His gaze swept over me, and for an instant I saw raw desire blazing there. “And it stopped being convenient the second I started wanting you for more than your bloodline.”

My pulse fluttered. It took everything in me not to melt.

For a moment, his eyes shone with something like regret. “At least answer one question,” he pressed. “If you truly had the choice between the king’s bed or mine, what would you choose?”

I shook my head, anger and hurt warring inside me. “You’re missing the point.”

“I’m not.” He moved closer. “The question is simple. Do you want to be the Queen of Solandris, or my Dark Lady?”

“Auremar would expect me to birth heirs until my body gave out, and then he’d replace me with someone younger.” I shook my head. “Being queen is the last thing I’d ever want.”

“Is that a concession that I’m the better option?” A hint of his usual arrogance crept back into his tone.

“Neither is freedom.”

Kazimir raked a hand through his hair, making him look uncharacteristically unhinged. “Tell me what you want, then. I’m trying to find a middle ground with you, but you keep pulling away. What are you afraid of?”

My magic flared again. “I’m not afraid.”

“Good,” Kazimir said, studying me with unsettling intensity. “Because there’s something else you need to know.”

Something in his tone made my skin prickle. “What now?”

He moved to where he’d left his glass and downed it all in one gulp. When he finished, he braced his hands on the table. “The Heirloom of Dominion requires more than just our bloodlines to activate it. It requires...” He paused. “It requires the consummation of our marriage.”

I stared at him, certain I’d misheard. “Consummation,” I repeated flatly. “As in sex.”

“Yes,” he confirmed, watching me closely. “The binding of our bloodlines in the most literal sense.”

A startled laugh escaped me. “Is that what this has been about? The dragon, the training, the unexpected kindnesses? You’ve been trying to seduce me to activate your precious artifact?”

Kazimir’s jaw tightened. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it?” I rounded the table. “You need me to spread my legs so you can gain the power you’ve been chasing for a decade. Seems straightforward enough to me.”

“Watch your tongue,” he warned. His knuckles whitened where he gripped the edge of the table. The temperature in the room plummeted as shadows curled restlessly in the corners.

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