Chapter 86

• “What are you doing?” I shriek, my voice laced with a mix of shock and amusement as Lucas bends forward. The sudden motion tips my body back, sending my hair tumbling toward the ground in a cascade of tangled strands.
• “Getting dressed,” he replies casually, his voice unfazed by the awkward angle or my outburst.
• With a grunt, Lucas straightens, hoisting me higher until I’m seated atop his stomach like a lounging child on her father’s hip. The muscles in his torso flex beneath me as he begins the near-impossible task of pulling on his pants with one hand, the other wrapped securely around my waist. Every sharp tug and twist draws a quiet grunt from him. I bite back a giggle, amused by the sight of a fearsome Beast King battling the mundane task of getting dressed—while holding a full-grown woman like a sack of flour.