Page 48 of Between Two Kings

Evelyn smiled at him before returning to her chicken. Tem stared at Caspen in disbelief.

Mother’s Night occurred on winter solstice and was widely believed to be Kora’s birthday. Gods weren’t born exactly. But it was said that Kora descended from the heavens on Mother’s Night, many millennia ago, to bestow fertility on the women in the kingdom. She gave the gift of life, and the villagers had honored her by having children ever since. It was unbelievable to Tem that Evelyn would dare to hold her wedding on such a blessed day. There could be no greater insult—no exercise of ego more shameful than thinking your nuptials deserved to occur on Kora’s birthday.

Lovely? How dare she?

She is merely excited.

She’s delusional. Has she lost her mind?

It is not for us to have an opinion on her wedding.

It’s their wedding. And I have a hard time believing Leo supports this.

Clearly he does; otherwise, he would have said.

This is ridiculous.

This is none of our concern, Tem. They can do as they please.

Tem had nothing to say to that. She stared at Leo, who was picking at his food listlessly, pushing vegetables from one side of his plate to another with a golden fork. He hardly looked like a man who was doing as he pleased. He seemed more like a captive in a cage.

Another pulse came, and Tem closed her eyes. Caspen was sending them faster now, and Tem was having trouble sitting still. This had all seemed like a great idea in the carriage—back when she thought she could control herself during dinner. Now that she was sitting here, soaking wet and squirming in her chair, it all seemed rather ridiculous.

Caspen. Please.

Was she begging for less? For more? Tem had no idea anymore. All she knew was that with one final pulse, her core clenched and intense relief slammed into her. Tem had never come quietly in her life. But she did so now, clamping her eyes shut as her release traveled through her in a shuddering wave. She squeezed her thighs together as tightly as she could, deepening the sensation as she gripped her seat with both hands. Her mind cried out for Caspen’s, seeking his presence and immersing herself in it. In moments like these, she remembered that while she may be wearing Leo’s wedding ring, she belonged to the man beside her.

“Tem?”

A voice floated to her through the echoes of pleasure.

“Tem?”

There it was again. Pressing and shrill.

Tem finally opened her eyes to see Evelyn staring right at her.

“Are you well? You look a bit flushed.”

Of course she looked flushed. She’d just had an orgasm.

But there was no polite way of saying that, so Tem said, “I’m fine.”

Leo was staring at her again. Was it her imagination, or did he look flushed as well? Leo knew how Tem looked when she came. He would recognize it now, right in front of him, at the dinner table. And if he did, how would it make him feel? Jealous? In the darkest corner of her heart, Tem wanted him to be jealous. But perhaps he was indifferent—immune to her charms now that his new wife was by his side.

When nobody said anything, Evelyn spoke again. “And how are your parents, Tem?”

Tem’s parents were the last topic she wished to discuss so soon after climax. And how did Evelyn know about them anyway? Had Leo told her about them?

“They are fine.”

“It’s good to hear they are unaffected.”

Tem frowned. “What would they be affected by?”

“The food shortage, of course.”

“What food shortage?”