He moved closer so they were standing inches apart by the table.

Maddi couldn’t look away from his eyes. They were dark, but she could see golden lights very deep. Like fires burning. She was burning inside. She couldn’t breathe.

Aristedes lifted her hand and held it close enough to his mouth for her to feel his breath. Her breasts felt heavy, and something completely new and alien coiled and writhed, alive in her lower body. She felt hungry, but it wasn’t for food.

His mouth was...sinful. Firm. Sculpted. She desperately wanted him to touch his mouth to her skin.

But he didn’t bring her hand to his mouth. He said softly, “How long exactly are you planning on keeping this charade up?”

The heat haze in Maddi’s body went cold. “I’m sorry—what did you say?” Maybe she’d misheard him?

He said slowly and distinctly, “We definitely have something we can work with, which would be very convenient if you were, in fact, my fiancée, Princess Laia, but we both know you’re not, are you?”