They were absolutely…mouthwatering.

His dick throbbed, so he pulled his gaze from her chest and got his libido under control. Since the incident a few days ago, sex was out of the question. So was finding release. Sure, he could use his hand, but he didn’t want to feel that without her right there with him, feeling the same. So, he chose to wait until it was safe. And he was fine, even if that meant waiting weeks or months.

He would always wait for her.

Sliding the plans aside, he leaned back and watched her approach him, cradling her stomach, her toes peeking out from under the hem of her gown with every step. Bele had teased her the night before that she waddled now, but he thought each of her steps was as graceful and elegant as always.

“And when I’m forcing myself to rest, my mind doesn’t. It wanders,” she added, stopping at the edge of his desk. She smoothed a thumb over the glossy leaves of some sort of plant with trailing stems.

He was pretty sure Rhain was responsible for it. And the last five. They kept dying. “Where did it wander to this time?”

“Where did it not?” She rubbed her belly. “But what really occupied my thoughts was our living situation.”

Ash knew immediately what she meant. They’d discussed whether to stay in the Shadowlands or take up residency in Dalos. A new palace was being built there—one that would not reek of Kolis’s stench.

A lot was being done in the Court to erase Kolis’s rule and show everyone who the true Primal of Life was. The statues being erected revealed it was a Queen who truly ruled, despite what the mortals believed.

At first, neither of them had any desire to leave the Shadowlands. Even with the changes being made, Dalos was still a place of bad memories for them. It would take a very long time—if ever—for that to change. But as time passed, a glow had started up in her eyes when she spoke about Dalos. A bone-deep need to be there tied to the essence pumping through her veins. It was her seat of power, after all.

But that was the thing. Sera had no thirst for power.

“I was thinking over what you suggested before.” She leaned her hip against the desk, letting go of the plant. He immediately saw that the leaf was a brighter green. “That we don’t have to choose between the two. We could live in both places.”

“We can,” he agreed.

She nodded. This wasn’t a decision they needed to make now, especially with the babes on the way, but he knew his wife. It didn’t matter if the move was months if not years away and wasn’t something she needed to spend her time on. It was just how her mind worked.

He loved that part of her.

Except for when it kept her awake or stopped her from resting.

Pushing his chair back, he extended his hand to her, and she came to him with a small grin.

Threading his fingers around her much warmer ones, he carefully tugged her onto his lap and wrapped an arm around her, letting his hand rest on her belly. The way she immediately relaxed into him was nothing short of a fucking miracle. There had been no brief seconds of hesitation, nor did he pick up on any faint traces of unease. Every day wasn’t like this. There were still moments when she fought her thoughts to stop them from taking her back to when she was in Dalos. He hated them because he loathed that the bastard still plagued her. Would likely always do so in some shape or form. But he was never prouder of her than in these moments when there was no hesitation.

Because she was strong enough to not let the memories take hold. Because she was able to beat them back when they did.

Tilting his head to the side, he caught a wild curl and tucked it behind her ear. It was always the same one, refusing to be tamed into a braid. “How are you feeling?”

“Other than bored?” She rested a hand on his arm. “I feel fine.”

He exhaled quietly and soaked in her features, counting each freckle on her face. Thirty-six. There were shadows under her eyes he would do anything to remove, but she’d had a restless night, waking more than once. The last time, she didn’t go back to sleep. There had been other nights like that, where it had nothing to do with the babes she carried.

Nightmares found her.

Not of her time being held by Kolis. He knew because the aftermath of those nightmares tasted of the sourness of shame. These were nightmares birthed of what she had done after the bastard struck out at Lasania.

He kissed her temple, wishing he could make the nightmares and guilt go away while knowing he couldn’t. And shouldn’t. She needed to carry those marks to help ensure new ones weren’t carved into her flesh.

But the truth was, even knowing that, if he had a way to take it away from her, he would.

“Are those the new housing plans?” she asked, peering at the papers on the desk.

“They are.”

“You think that will be enough?”

“For now, yes.” He moved his thumb in a slow circle over her stomach. “But since Kyn did very little with much of his portion of Vathi, there is more than enough land to build new housing without encroaching upon the areas used for crops.”

She nodded, her gaze taking on a distant quality.

He had a feeling he knew where her mind had gone. “Attes will return.”

“I know.” She gave him a small smile. “I just miss him.”

A low growl rumbled out of him instinctually. It had nothing to do with her or her friendship with the often-irritating-as-fuck Primal.

Sera’s eyes rolled. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re beautiful,” he replied, brushing his lips over her brow.

“Flattery will get you every—”

His groan interrupted her as she shifted in his lap midsentence, inadvertently rubbing her ass against the hard ridge of his arousal.

A pretty flush crept over her face. Gods, he wanted to capture that blush with paint and commit it to canvas. He wanted to know which colors he’d have to mix to find that lovely shade. The urge reminded him of something as he said, “You were saying?”

“I can’t remember what I was saying,” she said.

“You are so easily distracted.”

“In my defense, the hard cock pressing into my ass is really distracting.”

Another rough sound came from him.

A sly grin started to tip up her lips, and the scent of her arousal flooded him.

“Stop,” he said, “thinking about my dick.”

“Perhaps you should stop thinking about it and my ass,” she retorted.

He shot her a playful glare. “What you ask is impossible.”

Her laugh was soft, and then her lashes swept down, fanning her cheeks. “You know,” she began, pressing the swell of her breasts against his chest. “There are…other things I can do.” She wiggled in his lap like the little vixen she was. “I could give you examples.”

“I’m fully aware of those examples, liessa.” His hand dropped to her braid. “You could use your hand. You could even use these.” The backs of his fingers brushed the swell of her breasts, and the scent of her arousal increased, spicy and heavy. His voice dropped when his lips coasted over hers. “Your mouth.”

Sera’s breath caught.

He dragged his fingers farther down her braid. “But I think there is something else we can do instead.”

“Hmm?” she murmured.

He could tell her thoughts were still lingering on using her mouth to please him. “Well, more like somewhere we can go.”

Sera immediately sat straighter. She would’ve toppled right out of his lap if he hadn’t tightened his arm around her. She didn’t even notice as her eyes widened with excitement. “Is it finally what I think it is?”

He grinned. “Come.” Taking her hand once more, he helped her stand.

Sera was a ball of anticipation where she walked beside him, their progress slow as they made their way to the chamber in the east wing of the third floor. It had slipped both of their minds over the last several months with all that had come after entombing Kolis. He’d meant to show her before this. Something always came up, though.