Chapter 240: The Reward He Demanded

"An arranged marriage?!" Cherion repeated, sounding genuinely shocked as he leaned back against Zarius’s chest.

They were sprawled out on a ridiculously soft fur rug in front of the fireplace with both of them wrapped in loose silk robes, still practically radiating heat from the bath they had just shared. Cherion smirked slightly to himself, thinking back to how they had been completely handsy the entire time they were in the water, absolutely touching here and there, squishing this and that under the guise of "washing up."

It was exactly why they were both utterly exhausted but looking way too comfortable for two people who had spent the entire day dealing with... people and things. Whatever political nightmare Zarius had endured at the palace had clearly been forgotten by now. He’d already melted into the soft, clingy version of Zarius that only Cherion usually got to see... along with the lucky, or unlucky, few who happened to witness it against their will.

One of Zarius’s arms was braced behind them to support their weight while the other rested lazily over Cherion’s shoulder, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing slow circles through the fabric.

"Yes," Zarius answered, his voice carrying that deep rumble that always sounded unfairly distracting.

Cherion stared into the fire for a moment, finally connecting the dots in his mind. No wonder Iryna had been acting so incredibly emotional and chaotic earlier that day. The sudden outbursts, the dramatic tears during the theatrical play, it all made perfect sense now.

She hadn’t just been acting weird for fun. She was apparently dealing with the possibility of getting shoved into a political marriage.

Honestly, Cherion realized he shouldn’t even be that surprised. In this kind of environment, ridiculous situations were basically a daily occurrence. Just look at him and Zarius, their own arrangement followed a similar script, even if their scale was much smaller by comparison.

"No wonder she was acting like that today," Cherion muttered, tilting his head to glance up at him. "So... do they already have a candidate picked out or are they still shopping around for nobles?"

Zarius kept rubbing Cherion’s shoulder lazily. He leaned down a little, his lips brushing against Cherion’s neck while he spoke. "No, no one has been decided yet. I don’t even know if His Majesty will grant the Solaric Kingdom’s request in the first place. The diplomatic ties are tangled, and the court remains hesitant."

Cherion hummed thoughtfully and relaxed further into him. "Well... as long as it’s not you."

The lazy circles Zarius had been tracing suddenly came to a complete stop.

The atmosphere in the room got so heavy it was almost stupid. Zarius’s arm tightened around him possessively before hauling him fully against his chest like he needed physical confirmation that Cherion was still there. Then he buried his face into the crook of Cherion’s neck with a low growl that vibrated straight through him.

And wow.

That Alpha scent thing? Absolutely unfair.

Usually Zarius smelled warm and comforting. But right now? It hit like a full territorial warning label.

"I would sooner reduce the imperial decree to ashes than allow myself to be bound to anyone but you," Zarius muttered against his skin in the most serious tone possible. There wasn’t even a hint of teasing in his tone, he meant every single word.

Despite the sheer intensity radiating from the man holding him, Cherion couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at his lips. He rolled his eyes playfully, reaching up to pat Zarius’s cheek. "Oh, I won’t let you do that, Your Grace. Jail is definitely not a fun place to live, and I have absolutely no intention of visiting my husband behind iron bars."

Zarius let out a low laugh, but somehow that was worse.

Before Cherion could even process it, Zarius suddenly moved.

Fast.

One second Cherion was comfortably sitting against him, and the next he was flat on his back on the rug with a startled gasp while Zarius pinned him beneath the full weight of solid muscle. During the struggle, the tie of Cherion’s robe loosened, the silk slipping off one shoulder enough to expose part of his collarbone and chest.

Zarius hovered over him, his eyes practically glowing in the dim firelight like he’d just discovered treasure.

"You shouldn’t be wasting your precious breath worrying about things like that," Zarius murmured. He spoke so softly and close that Cherion felt the shiver instantly. His gaze flicked down to Cherion’s exposed skin before locking back onto his eyes. "Besides... you haven’t even properly rewarded me for surviving those palace meetings yet."

Cherion blinked at him in disbelief.

The audacity.

He let out a breathless, half-panicked laugh, his inner voice screaming at the sheer absurdity of the Duke’s logic.

Attending those meetings was literally part of his responsibilities, and now he needs me to reward him for doing his actual job?!

"Your Grace, that was literally your duty!" Cherion protested aloud, trying to shove against Zarius’s chest even though it accomplished absolutely nothing. "You can’t just demand a reward for doing your duty!"

He managed to wiggle one hand free from the silk folds of his sleeve, raising it between them and playfully tapping his index finger against Zarius’s chest. "If we’re handing out prizes for simply surviving the day, then I definitely deserve one too. I spent hours entertaining Princess Iryna today. Do you know how much work that is?" He pouted slightly, tilting his head up with a teasing smile. "So really, what do I get in return?"

An amused smirk graced Zarius’s lips, his sharp eyes catching the firelight as he captured Cherion’s tapping hand, pressing it flat against his own chest.

"Is that so?" Zarius murmured, leaning down until his lips were practically brushing against Cherion’s. "I don’t know, but I have a feeling... what you want is probably the exact same thing I want."

Zarius leaned down, completely ignoring Cherion’s hands, and pressed a firm, searing kiss directly onto the center of Cherion’s exposed chest, right over his racing heartbeat. His tongue flicked lightly against the sensitive skin before his lips traveled upward, tracing a path of burning kisses along his collarbone.

"Ah... nn-gah..."

A soft, helpless moan escaped Cherion’s lips before he could stop it, his fingers instinctively curling into the fabric of Zarius’s robe as a wave of intense heat rushed through his entire body. His toes curled against the rug as his defenses started collapsing at record speed.

Zarius paused his trail of kisses, hovering just an inch away from Cherion’s flushing ear. He let out a low, deeply satisfied hum, his hot breath fanning against Cherion’s skin.

"Surely, what leaves your mouth and how your body reacts are two entirely different things," Zarius whispered darkly, his hand sliding down to grip Cherion’s hip through the silk robe, his thumb digging into the soft flesh with a promise of what was to come.

Cherion’s brain officially blue-screened as Zarius’s weight shifted, effectively trapping him beneath a wall of pure muscle. As those red eyes locked onto his with an absolute hunger, Cherion realized he wasn’t winning this argument. Wrapping his arms around the Duke’s neck, he braced himself for a very long, entirely sleepless night by the fire.