“I have never…no one has ever…” He couldn’t seem to find the words. “Even my father shares only what I need to know for the safety of our land and I’m his top general.”

Elena stared into his eyes.

He dropped his voice. “The confidence I gave you is nowhere near the one you gifted me.”

“Cassius—”

“I have nothing to give you that has that level of beauty.”

Her eyes grew large and her mouth clamped shut.

His did not.

“There must be balance in a marriage, Elena, and we can never have that. And I must admit to you that this troubles me, and it has for some time.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have much to give, I have nothing.”

The concern came back to her features, but not the fear, before she said, “How on earth can you utter those words?”

“They are but truth.”

“They are so false as to be laughable,” she retorted.

That was when Cassius shut his mouth.

“You are beautiful,” she snapped.

He opened his mouth at that.

“My appearance is inherited, not of my making.”

“You could be slovenly, and you are not,” she retorted.

He could not argue that.

“I like your beard,” she declared.

He suddenly felt like smiling, but he did not smile.

“I, personally, have naught to do with the growing of my beard either, my princess,” he pointed out. “Just the decision not to shear it.”

She went on as if he did not speak.

“You are mighty. You are fierce. You are loyal to your men. You engender loyalty from them. You are a very good kisser. You are an exceptional lover, and I have no experience, but I still know that. You are protective of your daughter. Against all that is rational with how you were raised, you understand the importance of family. And even if the burden of responsibility you carry is unwanted by you, you don it with no complaint and wear it like a mantle made for only you. You had the strength of character not to become your father, like your brother did. And…and…I like your ink.”

She would be inked into him, he vowed in that moment.

She would be inked all over him.

But he knew where he’d put her first.

“Elena—”

“By the goddess, Cassius, your sense of compassion is so strong, you wished to shield me from knowledge of your life you thought would harm me. Your protective instinct is so…so…instinctive, you moved to shield me from unicorns. It is your first thought in any uncertain situation. That thought being not about you but about me. How can you even begin to say you have naught to give? I’ve never heard anything so preposterous in my entire life.”