Page 71 of Coveted

He pulled her against him, nuzzling into her hair as her slim arms wrapped around him.

“I promise never to control you or hold you back. I want you to be happy here, and if that means you want me to step away from being Chancellor, I’ll do it once everything is settled. I’ll give you any choice you want, except to leave me.”

He raised his head to meet her gaze, her beautiful green eyes shimmering as she looked back at him. She cupped his cheek and he leaned into it before she dipped her lips to meet his.

“That means everything to me,” she whispered as their mouths parted, their foreheads still pressed together.

He knew she was struggling not to cry, and they were running out of time, but nothing mattered in that moment except the omega in his arms. It was hard to think he’d only known her a week, because she felt so right. She was a piece that he didn’t realize was missing until she filled the space meant for her.

Vax held her in silence for a few minutes, pressing occasional chaste kisses to her cheeks and lips, before she finally sat up. She blinked open clear green orbs, all signs of tears smoothed away, a look of determination settling over her features.

“All right, it’s time to convince the Council they fucked up and you know what you’re doing. I can’t lose you after deciding you’re the perfect alpha for me. They’ll send me to someone else, but you’ve already stolen my honor, and I can’t have anyone knowing you seduced me in a matter of days.”

Her lips twitched and he smirked in return, grabbing her around the hips and standing in the tub. She squealed and threwher arms around his neck, her breasts crushed to his chest as he turned and climbed out.

“I’m fairly certain you did the seducing, and Maeve already knows. She was quite scandalized when I told her how we made the mess.”

Alana stiffened, staring up at him with her mouth open as he set her on her feet to grab a towel to put around her.

“You didn’t!”

Chuckling, he began drying her off, her eyes still locked on his face as he made her wait for the answer. The color in her cheeks deepened until she gave up and ducked her head, hiding her face in her hands as she moaned.

“I’m going to need you to find her a new position and get another maid.”

The words were muffled behind her palms, but he understood them, and he began laughing in earnest.

“Oh, Maeve’s seen it all, I’m sure. And she gave me quite the scolding about theappropriatetreatment of alady.”

Alana groaned again, tipping her head back to stare up at the ceiling as he finished drying her off and moved on to himself.

“I’ll never be able to look her in the eye again.”

Her comment set him off, and the glare she shot him only made it worse. He hadn’t really told the maid, but it would be funny to see how Alana acted the next time she encountered Maeve. He hoped he would be there to see it.

The thought sobered him as he realized he may not have the chance. As much as he hoped Alana’s plan would work on the Council, his interactions with them over the past year left him skeptical.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead as she slipped into a robe, he turned and headed for his closet. He pulled on a pair of pants and was reaching for a shirt when Alana stepped into the room,eyeing him before looking at the Chancellor’s robes hanging in the back.

“If you want them to see you as one of them and feel like action against you is action against them, you really should wear it.”

His teeth clenched and he swallowed a growl, his hand dropping to his side. For years he’d hated those robes and what they represented, yet he knew she was right.

Before he got a chance to move toward them, Alana slipped in front of him, placing her hands on his chest.

“It’s nothing but an outfit. A uniform, not unlike what the miners wear. It offers protection, power, but it’s no better or worse than the man inside it. I know you don’t want to be seen as him, but he’s gone, and that piece of cloth will make the others trust you. You need that to protect your people.”

The tenseness inside him eased at her words. He stroked his fingers through her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her as he purged the last of his resistance.

“Well, when you put it like that, I feel like an idiot.”

Alana scoffed, a soft smile lifting her lips as she pushed away from him.

“So stop being an idiot.”

She laughed as she walked away, Vax staring after her as she headed for her room since she didn’t have any clothing in his. Yet. He swore to fix that as soon as possible.

“I thought you were supposed to be sweet,” he called after her.

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