Page 10 of The Fae Kings' Bargain

“Forever.” Mehl huffed. “No one…changes that.”

“Good.”

Power built with desire in Toren’s head until he knew he would spend himself at any moment. He released his husband’s hair, but only so he could reach around for Mehl’s cock. As Toren’s balls drew up, he gave several firm strokes, and with twin shouts, they both came.

And for the first time in days, his energy was calm.

* * *

Mehl shiftedhimself deeper into the curve of Toren’s arm and settled his hand against his husband’s side. After the amount of power Toren had released through him, there was no way Mehl could sleep. But as his heartbeat slowed, he found his thoughts circling around to Toren’s reaction. His husband was rarely so fierce without strong emotion behind it, and he’d developed enough control over his magic over the last century that he had to channel it through Mehl less and less often. Most times, it didn’t actually require sex.

But Toren’s tension had been increasing since they’d received that missive from Toren’s brother. Ria’s presence had clearly ignited it beyond all containing. Why did Toren seem reluctant to admit it? They’d shared women in the past without harm to their relationship, and he already knew he’d have to bed someone for an heir. Why was he so bothered by her?

“You’re afraid,” he concluded aloud.

Toren’s muscles twitched beneath Mehl’s cheek. “I have always been afraid. You know that.”

“I’m not talking about the magic you must hold,” Mehl argued. “Ria. You’re afraid of what she could mean.”

Toren surprised him by agreeing easily. “That is true. My goal in testing her was to determine whether she spoke the truth and to try to identify why she fascinated me. The answer to the first, I expected. But the second…”

“She wouldn’t crumple beneath your power if you lost control with her.” Mehl considered his next words carefully, but there was no good way to say it. Though if he found himself under Toren’s mercy again, hesupposedhe could manage. “I know that’s what’s keeping you from selecting potential candidates. Ria would suit. Considering her father’s threat, she might agree. He wouldn’t dare try to kidnap a prince or princess.”

Toren’s breath ruffled his hair, but it seemed more exasperation than anger. “Have you forgotten I placed her father in the dungeon?”

“His crime is grave, but he can’t be held there forever. And although your punishment was just, I worry that he will seek revenge,” Mehl said.

“He will die for it,” Toren replied coldly, and Mehl knew it was no idle threat. “See her guarded.”

Mehl nodded against Toren’s chest. “You know I will regardless. But you avoided the heart of what I said. Don’t you think she would suit?”

The only sound that met his words was Toren’s sharp huff of air.

“Tor.” Mehl pushed himself upright until he could stare down into his husband’s eyes. “It’s rare for you to be evasive with me of all people. What is it?”

Toren’s jaw clenched, and several tense moments passed before he would answer. “You are taken with her, and I will not lose you on top of this entire, miserable situation. I can fight my brother if need be. Without you, I would be nothing.”

“I will be yours until my dying breath. That you know.” Mehl brushed a lock of pale hair from Toren’s cheek and bent to give him a soft kiss. Then he pinched him. “You are ‘taken with her,’ too, and that scares you. Admit it.”

This time, Toren followed expectations and refused to concede. “A breeding contract must be a neutral agreement.”

Mehl wanted to shake him. “A foolish idea if you hope for me to fuck the woman, and no child can be ‘ours’ otherwise. Think on that.”

Toren fell silent, but Mehl didn’t push the topic. He knew Toren too well for that. Instead, Mehl settled back down against his husband and closed his eyes with the possibly vain hope of getting sleep. He’d done what he could, and only leaving Toren to his thoughts would take the matter further.

It would be no good if Toren didn’t agree, either.

* * *

Ria couldn’t sleep.No matter how many times she reminded herself that her father was in the dungeon, far from able to do her harm, her body refused to acknowledge its safety. She’d lain in her bed for hours, startling with each creak and moan of the house. Each settling floorboard had been a footstep, each shake of the shutters a rap against the door.

Finally, she’d given up and started packing. The kings might have given her all of her father’s property, but once he was free from his punishment, he would seek to reclaim it, decree or no. She would be better served to salvage at least part of her initial plan—starting a new life elsewhere.

Tomorrow, Ria would go before the kings to request an audience, hopefully a private one. She needed to know how long her father’s punishment would be. Days, months, years? The longer he was in the dungeon, the longer she would have to sell off her newly acquired property before disappearing. If she was really lucky, the kings might offer to buy the lot from her and help her escape for good.

She had her most prized possessions in crates by dawn. Truth be told, there weren’t many, and most of those were the few things she’d managed to save of her mother’s. An antique dress, nearly a century out of fashion. A hand mirror and comb. A couple of journals.

Ria had only read one of the latter, the journal her mother had kept after Ria’s birth. The other, her mother had warned, was best saved for a time when she was free of her father. Only once had curiosity tempted her to open that journal, and the harrowing account of an argument between her parents early in their marriage had convinced Ria that some things were better left unknown.

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