Liam woke to sunlight blasting directly across his face.
He groaned, rolled onto his side, and pushed himself upright with his back to the window, his long brown hair spilling over his right shoulder and across the ivory sheets beneath him.
Arik slept on the other side of the bed, hoarding most of the duvet like a dragon with comfort issues.
Liam stared at him.
Arik was unbearably handsome now.
He had been unbearably handsome before, which made the transformation unnecessary and slightly offensive, but the Gate had apparently decided subtlety was beneath it. It had added to his height, broadened his shoulders and chest, sharpened the strong lines of his face, and threaded gold through the ends of his black hair until even asleep he looked like something built to occupy thrones and terrify armies.
Forced rest had only made the situation worse.
The cracks across his hands had healed enough that the physicians had removed most of the heavy wrappings, leaving thinner bands around his palms and fingers. His ether had stopped leaking. The exhaustion had faded from beneath his eyes, and the constant tension caused by his fractured soul had eased since entering Goliath’s private rooms.
He looked rested, warm, and reachable.
Liam wanted him.
Intensely.
With a desperation that had become increasingly unreasonable over the past several days, particularly because every attempt to obtain even a private moment had been interrupted by physicians, attendants, council messengers, Severin appearing through walls, Mezos arriving with reports, or Cassian entering without warning and behaving as though locked doors were merely advisory.
Liam could not properly explain why the need had become so sharp.
He did not particularly want to.
Arik was his mate.
Arik had crossed the Gate and emerged taller, broader, dangerously beautiful, and still convinced he could walk around adjusting Liam’s collar, placing Liam in his lap, feeding him breakfast, and pressing possessive kisses against his skin without consequences.
There would be consequences.
Liam climbed over the stolen duvet.
Arik did not wake.
That was unusual enough to make Liam pause, but the steady rhythm of his breathing and the warmth flowing through their bond reassured him. Arik had stayed awake late into the night reviewing Gate readings with Mezos, then spent another hour speaking with Cassian about which sovereign systems might activate after the oath.
He needed sleep.
Liam intended to wake him.
He moved one knee across Arik’s body, then the other, settling astride his waist with careful attention to his own still-recovering strength. His loose sleeping shirt shifted as he leaned forward, slipping down one shoulder and exposing the pale curve of skin almost to his chest.
His hair followed, cascading over Arik’s chest in a heavy brown curtain.
Arik stirred beneath him.
One large hand moved instinctively to Liam’s thigh before his eyes opened, fingers closing with sleepy possession through the thin fabric of Liam’s pants.
Liam went very still.
That had been faster than expected.
Arik’s molten-gold eyes opened slowly.
For several seconds, he simply stared upward, caught between sleep and awareness, his expression unusually unguarded as he took in Liam seated over him, the fallen shirt, and the hair spread across his chest.
His hand tightened.
"Liam.
The roughness of his voice sent heat through the bond.
Liam had planned what to say.
He forgot all of it.
"Good morning."
Arik’s gaze moved deliberately from Liam’s face to his exposed shoulder, then lower before returning to his eyes.
"It is becoming one."
Liam’s mouth parted.
Arik’s other hand settled around his waist, nearly spanning it after the changes the Gate had forced upon him.
"You should be resting," Arik murmured.
"I rested all night."
"The physicians said—"
"I am beginning to believe you find medical instructions attractive."
"They are useful when they keep you in bed."
"I am in bed."
Arik looked at their position.
"So you are."
The corner of his mouth lifted.
Liam narrowed his eyes. "Do not look pleased with yourself."
"You climbed on top of me while I was asleep."
"You were taking too long to wake."
Arik’s thumb moved once against Liam’s waist, finding bare skin where the shirt had gathered.
Liam inhaled sharply.
The amusement in Arik’s expression deepened.
"You planned this," he said.
"Yes."
"How thoroughly?"
Liam hesitated.
Arik’s brow rose.
"I asked the morning attendants not to enter."
"They would not agree to that without authorization."
"I told them you required uninterrupted sovereign recovery."
Arik stared at him, golden eyes glinting dangerously.
"It was accurate enough."
"And the physicians?"
"They completed their morning checks early."
"Mezos?"
"Guarding the outer corridor."
Arik’s eyes narrowed. "You recruited my chief of security."
"He understands the importance of preventing interruptions."
"Does he know what he is preventing them from interrupting?"
"I did not provide unnecessary detail."
A quiet laugh moved through Arik’s chest beneath Liam’s hands.
Liam felt it more than heard it.
"And Cassian?" Arik asked.
"I had Rubis redirect all council messages to the imperial office for the next two hours."
"Two hours."
"I included additional time for unexpected complications."
Arik looked openly impressed now.
"You organized an operation."
"I was motivated."
"I can see that."
His gaze dropped again to Liam’s shoulder.
The shirt had slipped farther, but Liam made no attempt to correct it.
Arik lifted one hand from his waist and slowly gathered the loose fall of Liam’s hair, drawing it over one side so he could see him more clearly. His knuckles brushed Liam’s collarbone, light enough to feel accidental if the look in his eyes had not made the intention obvious.
Liam leaned down.
Arik’s grip tightened at his waist, steadying him.
"I have spent four days being interrupted," Liam said quietly.
"An intolerable hardship."
"You are mocking me."
"A little."
"I can leave."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Liam’s satisfaction moved through the bond before he could hide it.
Arik felt it.
"Manipulative," he murmured.
"You taught me."
"I did no such thing."
"You placed me in your lap at breakfast and fed me because I rejected two dishes."
"You had eaten almost nothing."
"You enjoyed it."
"Yes."
The honesty left Liam with nowhere to go.
Arik’s hand slid from his hair to the back of his neck, careful of the mark there, and drew him closer until only inches remained between them.
"You could have simply asked," Arik said.
"I did."
"When?"
"Repeatedly. Usually with my eyes."
"That is not asking."
"You understood."
"I enjoyed watching you become frustrated."
Liam stared at him.
Arik smiled.
Liam kissed him as he was finished waiting.
Arik made a low sound against his mouth, surprise lasting only an instant before the hand at Liam’s nape tightened and the other pulled him firmly down against the new breadth of his chest.
The bond opened between them.
Warmth became hunger so quickly that Liam lost his breath.
Arik’s ether moved beneath his skin, no longer fractured enough to escape but awake and possessive, curling around Liam without pressure while the room’s wards dimmed themselves as though the palace had finally learned discretion.
When the kiss broke, Liam remained close enough that their breaths touched.
Arik looked less sleepy now.
Significantly less.