“You want me to tell you why I won’t say anything? Why I won’t just take you on my kitchen table?” Annika didn’t scare easily, but he was making her feel … aggressively worried. She didn’t let him see that, though. She steeled herself and scowled up at him. “Desperately. Enlighten me.” “Because if I do that, I won’t ever let you go. I want every part of you, and I’ll take it, and then? You’ll hate me. You’ll hate what being with me will cost. You’ll lose not just your fortune or favor in court. The war aside? You will lose the right to be close to the queen, who you love. You won’t be able to
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