What was wrong with her?

I stormed through the hallways, uncertain of where I was going, other than away.

No one had spoken to me like she had, never in my life. Even my mother had never been so blunt with me.

Act like the King you’re supposed to be.

The reprimand cut me to the bone.

The King I was supposed to be.

What kind of King was that?

I didn’t know, but I did know I needed to figure it out, and soon. Nina was right—I wasn’t doing a good job of controlling my people or of keeping them safe.

For once, I looked at my actions with a clear and objective mind.

Had I been too lax with my people, in a bid to see them happy?

Did they need a hand more firm than I’d given them?

How could I protect them when I didn’t know what threat we were facing?

Nina was upset that other thralls were being hurt—what did she mean by that?

I clenched my jaw, fighting the impulse to turn to the wall and smash my fist against it. I wanted to vent the anger simmering in my blood, but I knew better than that. I knew I couldn’t do that.

I was grateful that no one else was in the hallway at the moment. There was no one to ask me where I was going, or ask that I listen to this one particular thing they had to say.

I didn’t want to spare a moment for anyone.

Breathing in slowly, I forced myself to calm down. It would do no one any good if I gave in to the rage I was feeling.

Rage I had no right to feel. It was good of Nina to question me when no one else would come out and say what they were thinking. She was exactly what I needed right now, no matter how unconventional she was.

A few more breaths, and I was starting to feel like myself again.

I turned and walked back to my chambers, into the outer room that broke off into a living room and dining room. Nina was still sitting at the table, apparently too shocked to have moved.

I regretted my behavior. She shouldn’t have witnessed me losing control in that way.

The King should never lose control.

A tremor rippled across her shoulders. Was she scared of me? It pained me to think that.

I walked across the room to stand behind her.

“I apologize,” I said. “I didn’t mean to behave in such a way.”

She turned to look at me over her shoulder. “To express your feelings, you mean? It’s not healthy to cage them up inside the way you do.”

She wasn’t so afraid that she couldn’t speak her mind, it seemed.

I grinned. “That’s not the way things are done here. The way you spoke to me—I’m not accustomed to it. No one is as blunt as you are.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” she said. “Maybe that’s what you need.”

“You don’t understand.” I shook my head. “This is a world of politics, of careful movements and even more careful words. How is it you don’t understand that?”

“Because I don’t have time for that,” she said.

She stood up and walked away from me, then took a seat on the couch.

I hesitated, then joined her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, who has time to waste their whole life overthinking what they’re going to say? It sounds like an awful lot of time that could be put to better use. Especially when you consider the amount of time you have to put in, wondering what the other person really meant.”

I marveled at her. How simple her world sounded. I found myself wishing I could be a part of it.

“I don’t think we could survive the world you’re describing.”

“Evolve,” she said with a teasing grin.

My mind was instantly diverted, abandoning all thoughts of polite conversation. The very presence of this woman—her supple form, her red lips—drew me in and made me hunger for what I’d told myself I couldn’t have.

Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and it was all I could do to contain the growl that threatened to grow within me.

I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

I was suddenly painfully aware of how close we were, how her thigh was only inches away from my own. Every move she made—I was hyper-aware of it. The small shifting of her body so that she was turned more fully towards me, the gentle rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed in precious air. The slight tremble of her hands.

“Is something wrong?”

I yanked my gaze away from her lips to meet her deep brown eyes once again, and found confusion there.

A stray lock of black hair had fallen against her cheek, and I brushed it to the side, leaning in as if I were being driven by some unknown force.

Mere inches separated our faces, and she stared back at me, her breath coming fast now, before she turned away from me.

I could hear her heart hammering in her chest.

Fear or desire?

Logic dictated that it was fear.

It was only logical that a woman who clearly knew so little of the vampire world would be afraid of me. I was a predator to her kind, and she had probably been raised to fear me.

Then, why had she chosen this life?

I had so many questions for her, and she’d said that I should speak more openly. At least with her.

But a lifetime of decorum caged me. The words died before I could give voice to them.

I leaned back, giving her the space she clearly desired. “Nina.”

She turned and looked at me, some unknown emotion in her eyes.

“I will never touch you if you don’t want me to,” I said, cursing myself as I said the words.

Of course, I’d told myself the same thing countless times already. But vocalizing it, saying it to her—that was a different beast entirely. A promise I couldn’t take back.

She shook her head, her eyebrows drawing together. “I don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand?”

“Why?” She stood up, her hands balling into little fists for a moment before she flexed them. “What game are you playing with me? You have to stop, right now. Stop with the mind games, because I’m not going to survive them. Let the other shoe drop, already.”

Her chest rose and fell heavily with every breath she took, and her cheeks were flushed.

I realized, belatedly, that she was angry with me.

Angry with me for treating her as the precious creature she was? How confusing she was.

I stood and stepped into her space, lifting my hands to cradle her face between them. “There are no games, Nina. I will never touch you if you don’t wish me to. You’re safe with me.”

If ever there came a day when I couldn’t keep my promise to her, I would rather end myself. She was too important, though I didn’t know why.

I didn’t need to know why.

All I needed was her.