EMBER’S POV

For a moment, he just stares at me, chest rising and falling. Then, slowly, a wicked glint catches in his eyes as he whispers,

“You’re going to regret teasing me like this, darling. I promise you that much.”

The words send a dark thrill through me.

I smile wider and slide my hands down his chest, but I don’t move lower yet. Instead, I sit back on my heels and laugh out loud.

“Promises, promises, Your Majesty.”

He tests the cuffs again.

I watch him test it—the reflexive flex of those massive shoulders, the hard pull, the dark frown that forms when the metal actually holds. I stay...