Page 74 of Forever Theirs

Everyone wanted a look at the foreign Consort, the woman Theo and Galen had brought back with them out of exile.

Everyone found her… less than impressive.

She couldn’t even blame them for that. She was just a normal woman who’d been swept up in something magical. Now, the magic was wearing a little thin and reality intruded more often than not.

You made your choice. You love these men.

Meg slipped out of Galen’s arms and tugged him to his feet. “Come on. Let’s take a shower and order some food. You know he won’t have eaten.”

Galen cast a long look at the door, as if revising his timeline to haul Theo back to the room. “Fifteen minutes.”

“Sure.” She padded into the next room, her bare feet sinking into the thick carpet. The sitting room was for… well, she wasn’t really sure what it was for. They didn’t take guests in here, except in a rare emergency. It served more as an extra barrier between them and the rest of the palace than anything else.

The main room, though, was only for them. It housed a massive bed that accommodated all three of them—and would probably fit another three people easily—as well as a desk for private correspondence and a small table where they could take meals as they saw fit. It was double the size of the apartment she’d had back in New York, and that wasn’t even getting into the ridiculously luxurious bathroom.

“On second thought, maybe a bath would be a better option.” Her feet hurt, her back ached, and her entire body felt as if she’d run a marathon instead of sat through a dozen painfully polite conversations that only served to remind her just how out of her depth she was. Alys had set up private lessons to get her up to date on the gaps in her Thalanian education, but they felt like too little, too late.

Meg started the water. The tub was just as massive as everything else seemed to be in this room—bed, shower, the room itself. She knew from personal experience that all three of them could fit into the thing comfortably, but that wasn’t on the agenda tonight. Unfortunately. She tested the water one last time and turned to find Galen watching her.

His dark eyes saw too much. “How you holding up?”

“I’m good.” She almost sounded like she meant it. When Galen just stared, she sighed. “This is hard and I’m screwing up,okay? I hate feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing, and that is all I’ve felt since we came here.” He opened his mouth, but she held up a hand before he could respond. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you—either of you—but I’m struggling.”

“Didyoumanage to eat today in between spilling tea on Lady Nibley’s lap and doing the dozen other things on that agenda Alys put together for you?”

No point in lying. He’d just know, and then he’d give her one of those severe looks that she was too tired to do anything about. “I managed a finger sandwich at lunch.”

“Thought so.” He shook his head. “Take a bath, baby. I’ll go find Theo and order us some food.”

She wasn’t sure she’d manage to stay awake long enough to eat once she got into the bath, but that was a problem for later. “Sure. Okay.” It was only after the words slipped out that she realized a few months ago, she would have argued just to argue. Galen would have snarled back, and she would have gotten in his face a little, until their mutual contrariness transformed to pure sex. He would be fucking her against the bathroom sink right now.

Meg glanced at the sink in question, a sturdy marble creation that could stand a lot of abuse. Maybe she wasn’tthattired…

But it was too late.

Galen was gone.