Chapter17
He didn’t keepme waiting long, coming back in with two plates of steaming food in his hands, despite my warning that I wasn’t hungry.
Namir set the plates down on the table between the two couches, and grabbed a large book off one of his bookshelves. He walked around for a moment, finding a sheet of paper and a writing utensil that he called a pen.
After he placed the paper on top of the book, he wrote on it for a moment, and then placed it down on the table just in front of me. He explained that those were letters, and taught me the names of each of them as he ate, followed by the sounds each of them made.
I learned quickly, but it was a lot to remember.
When we took our first break from learning, giving my brain a bit of a rest, I brought up the chocolate. His eyes lit up when I did, and he got it out, rewarding me with squares of the candy as chunks of time passed. It was so damned delicious that I didn’t even mind the fact that he was bribing me.
When my head felt like it might explode a few hours later, I finally declared the lesson over, much to Namir’s amusement. We slipped out of his room together, and headed to the kitchen to taste the desserts I’d created.
The kitchen was empty when we walked through the doors, and it felt a bit eerie to be in there alone.
Namir’s hand wrapped around my bicep loosely, his touch comforting me, surprisingly enough. He flipped the lights on, and my gaze followed them across the ceiling as they lit up.
They were incredible—not that the king thought there was anything remarkable about the lighting he’d undoubtedly grown up seeing.
“What did you make?” Namir asked, leaning up against an empty table as I slipped into the kitchen, heading toward the fridge and freezer in the back where we’d put my desserts.
“A chocolate cake, and something called ice cream,” I explained, as I tugged the door open.
“Damn, woman. You’re going to spoil me,” Namir teased.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure.”
He chuckled as I carried the chocolate cake out first, leaving the ice cream for afterward. He sat down while I set it in front of him, then headed back into the kitchen to grab plates, forks, and a knife to cut the beast.
It had two different kinds of chocolate frosting on it, one thicker and one creamier. I couldn’t remember the names for them, but I had tasted each of them, and they were delicious separately. I hoped they were even better together, too.
Namir put a hand on mine before I lifted the knife to the cake. “Why don’t we just… eat it?” He grabbed a fork, his eyes gleaming as he lifted it toward the dessert.
“I’m trying to learn how to be civil and have manners,” I complained, waving my own fork toward his.
He flashed me a grin. “Manners and civility are overrated, Love. Live a little.”
I scowled…
But then I lifted my fork directly to my cake, and cut into it.
The king’s laugh about made me grin, but my eyes closed in bliss as the overwhelming chocolate taste soaked my tongue. A groan escaped me. “Maybe I should cook again tomorrow.”
He laughed again, louder, and I heard him cut into the cake with his own fork.
“Well?” I asked him, opening my eyes and narrowing them at him when I didn’t hear him moan with appreciation the way I had.
“It’s delicious,” he offered, taking his fork back to the cake for another bite.
I scowled, batting his fork away with mine. “You like chocolate, otherwise you wouldn’t have had it in your fridge.”
He grinned. “I do. It’s just not the taste I’ve been dreaming about lately.”
My eyes narrowed further. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He abandoned his fork, reaching for my face with one hand. His thumb dragged over my lip slowly, dipping into my mouth for a moment before he finally dragged his hand back to his lips. My narrowed eyes turned to daggers as he slipped his thumb into his own mouth, closing his eyes. His chest rumbled slightly as a low groan escaped him.
Fuck.