“Elysia, Your Highness,” she said, her forked tongue flicking out on the s’s. I’d mention her name to Rathe, and ask him to make sure she and her family wanted for nothing. I might even hire her, if she was so inclined. “Now, you head on back up to your mate, and trust that everything here is in order. Just let me heat up some broth for you to take to him. It should help him sleep, and settle any lingering effects of the reapers.” She gestured to the end of the bar. “Take a seat, I’ll be a moment.”

I dipped my head in gratitude. “Your assistance will not be forgotten.”

Once I had the bowl of soup in hand, I headed back upstairs with a sense of relief that I’d been missing for the past twenty-four hours. It would always gratify me to know we could rely on our people, and it set my mind at ease having other measures now in place to catch whoever was responsible. It would not erase what had happened, and going forward, I would take extra precautions to be sure that Luca’s safety was paramount, but it allowed me the chance to breathe. Which, after all my “mother-henning” as he called it, I was sure my mate would greatly appreciate.

I nodded to Cee as I passed her in the corridor before nudging the door open with my hip. “I brought you soup, pet, but you don’t have to eat it if⁠—”

Words stuck in my throat, and all intelligent thoughts flitted from my head as my eyes fixed on the unexpected display that greeted me on the other side of the room.

My mate was no longer in bed where I’d left him. Nor was he in the armchair by the fire where I might have expected him to relocate. No, he stood near the entryway to the bathroom, stock still and breathing shakily, wearing nothing but a baby-blue nightdress…

And panties.

My cock throbbed.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously, beginning to fidget in my silence.

My gaze snapped to his, and I hoped he saw the purple flicker of my irises as they conveyed my answer. I barely had enough presence of mind to kick the door closed behind me, let alone form a coherent sentence with how rapidly my blood flowed south. Thankfully, rationality hadn’t yet abandoned me entirely, as I was able to carefully set down the bowl on the side table before advancing on him like a starving hound.

Luca yelped as I gripped the undersides of his bare thighs and lifted him with little effort. He recovered quickly, crossing his legs around my waist and clinging on tight, a puff of air escaping his lax mouth as his back connected with the wall. I leaned into him, pinning him there before crushing our lips together, drinking down his pleased groan. His hands drifted from my shoulders to the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair and tugging on the strands.