Chapter 97

• When I woke up, we were tangled together, his body wrapped around mine in a way that made me grin uncontrollably. The memory of last night filled me with a ridiculous kind of happiness, the kind that made me think I could live like this forever. But then reality crept in—the tangled mess of my concubine status and the ever-looming presence of the Queen, my lover's wife, who despised me with every fiber of her being. My smile faded, replaced by a heavy, sinking feeling.
• Hadrian's steady breath against the back of my neck should have been comforting, but even his warmth couldn’t ease my mind. I knew he must have felt the sudden tension in my body, yet he didn't pull away. Instead, he murmured softly and nestled his face into the curve of my neck.
• "Should I help you relax again?" he whispered, his hand sliding down my waist, parting my thighs with a deliberate ease.