Page 49 of A Vow of Embers

A plea.

A promise.

His left hand came around, his fingers tracing my jawline, coming to a stop right under my chin.

“Look at me.”

His voice was rough, intoxicating, demanding, and I felt powerless to resist.

But before I could raise my face, our bedroom door was flung open, and after a moment I heard Thrax’s laughter out in the hallway.

The singing finally stopped when an older woman entered the room carrying a tray. “Good morning, Prince Alexandros and Princess Thalia. I am here to assist you with starting your day. I have brought you breakfast.”

The prince exchanged some words with the matron as she set the tray down on a table. He sounded like a satisfied groom the morning after his wedding.

My heart was still erratically crashing around in my rib cage and I did my best to concentrate on bringing my breathing back under control.

And it wasn’t working well, considering that his hands hadn’t stilled since the matron had entered the room. He continued to run his fingertips along my back, my thigh.

Then, to my great shock, he placed a kiss on the top of my forehead and I almost demanded that he explain himself.

He didn’t have to. I knew why he was doing it—a performance for the head of the servants. She would probably share how happy the newlyweds were this morning, how sweet we were, tangled up in one another. It wasn’t his fault that I was so weak and desperate for him that every last bit of my resolve was unraveling.

I had to get out of this bed. And soon.

The matron came to my rescue. She approached us and said, “Princess, you probably want to wash.”

The matron said it pointedly, obviously referencing something. Did she mean the blood? Or should there have been some other kind of mess?

“Yes, I do need to wash.”

She got a spare sheet from a wooden trunk at the foot of the bed and unfolded it, holding it aloft. She stood in front of me, turning her face to the right. She expected me to get up and wrap the sheet around myself.

Prince Alexandros was going to see my backside. This shouldn’t have upset me, considering the very thorough physical examination he’d just given it, but it did. Maybe he’d be honorable and look away.

Taking in a big breath of courage, I disentangled myself from him and rolled over. I tossed off the blanket we were both using, and with as much dignity as I could muster, I stood up.

Not honorable. His gaze was very much on me. I could feel it.

Like he was touching me again.

I ignored the tiny bumps on my skin that he was causing just by looking and stepped into the sheet the matron was holding. She wrapped it around me and led me into the washroom. There were windows higher up, where no one could see in, but they let in a great deal of light. It was extremely bright in here. I glanced over at the pools and noticed that there was now a pitcher next to the toiletries.

The matron asked, “Do you require assistance? Parthenia has been assigned as your lady’s maid. I could send for her.”

“No, I can do it myself.” I needed some time to think about what had just happened. To figure out a way to resummon my anger so that I wouldn’t be so defenseless against him.

“You’re probably hoping the prince will join you, aren’t you?” she asked with a wink. At my expression she laughed, and while she seemed like a very nice woman, I wanted her to go away.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” she said to my relief. “I’m going to make sure your new husband eats something. I’m sure he needs it after last night!”

She walked over to the washroom door and addressed Alexandros. “Aren’t you a fortunate man to have such a beautiful and sweet bride?”

He laughed at the idea that I was beautiful, and that brought my fury back rather quickly as she closed the door behind her. I dropped the sheet and slid carefully into the warm pool. There was a built-in bench, and when I sat on it, the water came almost up to my neck. I leaned my head against the edge and closed my eyes.

This was pure bliss.

It would have almost been worth it to marry that man just to have access to his washroom.

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