After lunch, Laurent went to his glowering husband, greeting him with an arched brow and a kiss. Even if Damen was being comedically unpleasant, Laurent couldn't allow it to be thought that they were quarreling. He pressed close, sliding his arms up around Damen's shoulders and giving him a wickedly seductive look, all mostly for the benefit of the retinue around them.

"What?" Laurent asked him, soft and taunting, for Damen's ears only. "Is that the face you make when you haven't had an orgasm in a whole day?"