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it across the pillow.
    Gyrion seemed to be taking the never leaving her side bit seriously. He stripped in the fading sunlight and crawled into bed with her.
    She closed her eyes when he turned, but just a second too late. His stripes went all the way down, lashes of colour caressing muscle that lead to an erection that continued the theme.
    She didn’t know if his thighs were the same combination of black and gold. She frankly stopped looking when she took in the size of his interest in her. Of course, he could have been aroused from watching two women fight over him, but it hadn’t been much of a fight.
    He settled in and propped one arm behind his head. She rolled over toward him and frowned. “Did you let her in here?”
    He looked at her and shook his head. “No, she came in behind us and made her plea.”
    “She tried to climb you.”
    He shrugged. “It used to be her go-to move.”
    She sighed and reached out to pat his chest on top of the sheet. He lowered his hand and held her fingers against him.
    “Next time, I promise to yell for help as soon as she comes in.”
    “If she comes in again, I will be sorely disappointed with her learning abilities, and I won’t be nearly as nice. She is just lucky I am sore and tired.”
    Gyrion blinked. “You could do more?”
    “I had a very thorough instructor.” She smiled smugly and let fatigue take over.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    Breakfast was delivered to her room, and Gyrion sat up and stretched lazily. Unfortunately for her equilibrium, she had taken the sheet with her. Gyrion was very pretty in the morning light, and Amylia really had to stop staring at his crotch.
    “Do all women of your world have fire for hair?” Gyrion wasn’t shy at all. He stretched again and then got to his feet.
    “Uh, no. It is a recessive gene.”
    His own hair was a cape of dark silk down his back. How had she not noticed that he had such long hair?
    Just as she was thinking the question, he reached up and started to braid the hair with practiced moves.
    He sat at the table and smiled at the man who brought it in. “Thank you, Dorren.”
    The man bowed his head quickly. “You are most welcome, Consort.”
    She wrapped the sheet around herself and shuffled to the table, sniffing curiously.
    Gyrion poured the tea and set a plate for her. “Dorren has to wait until you taste the meal, my Queen.”
    She reached for a piece of fruit and smiled as it exploded on her tongue. As soon as she could, she mumbled, “Thank you, Dorren.”
    The man beamed, nodded his head again and left.
    “So, why did he have to see me eat?”
    “To make sure that you are in good health. If the queen is ill, the healers are called. It is the morning protocol that all provinces uphold.” He took a piece of fruit and popped it in his mouth. “Well, it is the protocol if they have a queen.”
    She continued to eat, and she asked a question that had been nagging at her. “Why aren’t there any kids?”
    “What?”
    “Children.”
    “Oh, our females don’t breed until they have a queen to protect them. It is how I knew that my dalliances were not true candidates. If they had been potential queens, the ladies in their circle would have begun to have children.”
    Amylia took her teacup and sipped. “How does that work?”
    “The women need to feel safe. Everything else follows.”
    “Don’t their mates make them feel safe?”
    He frowned. “It is a different thing. It is the feeling that they have one of their own to turn to if anything goes wrong. Oh, you will be expected to attend all births in your province.”
    She winced. “I guess I will have to study up. I have only delivered one baby, and that was at Janial. We didn’t have a chance to get her to the med wing. She was a multiple murderer.” She sipped at her tea. “The baby was cute, though. Little bugger bit me.”
    He shook his head. “You are one surprise after another. Good. Our infants don’t bite, but they can scratch.”
    She