Page 20 of In the Embrace of Dragons

It’s only a few minutes later that there comes a knock at the door, and I call out, “Come in.”

The servant opens it. “Queen Nissia is here, as you requested.”

I rise from my chair, dressed in only my undergarments, and wave at him to let her in.

The first thing I notice the moment she enters is the smell ofme. She clearly has not bathed since our event in the throne room, and my scent is all over her. I still can’t believe my scent glands released, betraying me that way. Scent glands are meant for life mates, not... whatever this is.

But then I wonder if my seed is still dripping from between her thighs, and my blood races downwards at an astonishing speed.

“You ought to take a bath,” I snap as Nissia steps into the room, which clearly startles her. She stares at me.

“It’s only been thirty minutes since you left me there!” She props her hands on her hips. “Which was very unkind, I might add. I was there naked, and you just ran out.”

“We were finished.” I close my nostrils, trying to shake off the obvious scent of our intercourse, but the air is full of it.

“So?” She points at me. “You still shouldn’t have just run out like that. It looked bad. Everyone was standing around wondering what was going on, and Zephala had to come and rescue me.”

I roll my eyes. “You won’t last long as queen if you can’t handle a little face time with the wardens.”

Her lips screw up in an irritated frown. “See? I didn’t even know that’s who they were. I might have known, though, if you’d told me.”

It’s so hard to stay angry at her right now with that smell in the air, that reminder of what we did, how I took her and claimed her. But I endeavor to stay stern anyway, because I need her to see her place in the world.

“Now you know,” I grind out. “Out there are all twelve wardens of the kingdom, as well as some of the highest-ranking members of the city elite, not to mention the city council. Dinner will begin in two hours, and we must appear united.”

Nissia gives me a funny look. “United? Us?” she says, sarcastic.

I bark out a laugh, purely by accident. Her lip turns up in a smile.

“Appearances are very important here,” I say, clearing my throat. “I need to know what colors are in your wardrobe so we can coordinate them.”

Her lips part. “What? You want to know what I’m wearing?”

I scowl. “Did you not hear me the first time?”

She stares at me a moment longer, then shakes her head. “All right. I have dresses I brought with me from home?—”

“No.” I curl my lip to show my fangs. “You will dress like the queen of the dragons and wear a robe befitting royalty.”

She studies me, then lets out a weary sigh. “There was a green and white outfit in my closet when I arrived that looked rather nice. I also found a magenta one, and a deep blue one.”

Hmm. Blue is a good color on me.

“How about that?” she asks at my expression. “Do you have any blue?”

I pull open my own closet and sift through it until I find the blues. I have more than enough items to find something appropriate.

“Dark blue, you said?” I ask, pulling one out.

She shakes her head at the robe in my hand. “That’s too turquoise, it will clash.”

Eventually we find something that will match, and Nissia agrees to wear the outfit she has in the same color. Mine iswhite with blue embellishments, while hers is all blue with gold, and they should mesh well.

“It was nice coordinating with you,” Nissia says as she heads to the door, and she flashes me a smile. I snarl in response. With a shrug, she turns and leaves, gently closing the door behind her. But the combined scent of us remains, now ever present in the room—a reminder. As I stand there with a cup of tea in my hand, not even the spices from the leaves can overwhelm it.

I curse to myself as I put the cup back down and sit on the edge of my bed, pushing aside my robe to find my cock already swollen. It’s thinking about her again, how delicious she felt around me, and I stroke myself roughly before I empty everything on the floor.

I glare down at it. Traitor.