A Princess in Theory (Reluctant Royals, #1)

by Alyssa Cole

He wore a forest green T-shirt and straight-legged black jeans that fit snugly, but not enough to advertise his eggplant emoji.

The only data she was currently interested in collecting was the exact tensile pressure of his beard against her inner thigh, and the shift in mass of his body on top of hers.

He laughed. His eyes squeezed shut as he did, and it was a relief. She had boundaries—everyone needed those—but when Jamal looked at her, she could feel just how tightly closed in on herself she was, and how tiring it was to always be that way. His gaze made her feel like opening.

“There is a term native to this region. I learned it last night. ‘nunya.’” “Nunya?” “‘Nunya business’ is the full colloquialism.”

Thabiso’s anger flared. “Hectoring me about my interactions with women doesn’t fall under the auspices of your assistantship. What happened last night was . . .” Wonderful? Frightening? “Nunya business.” Likotsi snorted, but her smile was sincere when she looked at him.

It’s almost as if people will help you out if you let them in, a not so subtly sarcastic part of her mind chimed in. It’s almost like it’s okay to need that sometimes.

Apparently, oh-sure-I’ll-do-that Ledi had been incinerated by the flames of her frustration and I-wish-a-motherfucker-would Ledi had risen from the ashes.

The king leaned toward her. “Oh, that’s something the youth are saying these days. It means—” “It means you’re going to stop blatantly disrespecting your future daughter-in-law,” Thabiso said. “Immediately.” There was a taut silence, and then the king picked up his fork and dug into his dessert. “This cake is delicious, isn’t it?”

Stupid heart. It hadn’t done anything but pump blood at a steady pace before Thabiso had come into her life, but it had been engaging in all kinds of bizarre behaviors since he’d stepped into the kitchen at the Institute.