Chapter 96: Foreign Dignitaries in Disguise
"Hold me―? I know how to hold someone else!" Orion spluttered, his face turning red at the suggestion. He thought of Ralph coming over to embrace him, and the image sent his skin crawling at the very idea.
Orion glanced down at his sleeping wife. Soleia lay there peacefully, not a furrow in her brow or even a crease at the corner of her lips. She was as still as a porcelain doll, unmoving, serene. But it was because of that, Orion felt his body hesitate.
He swallowed the bile in his throat, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. Meanwhile, Rafael rolled his eyes.
"If you’re unwilling to, I am more than happy to take your place," Rafael said, quirking one eyebrow up. "Contrary to popular belief, simply sharing a bed doesn’t mean your skin will touch."
"That’s enough from you," Orion snapped, his tone sharper than he intended. "First you share a roof, then a horse, then a room. Now you plan on sharing a bed with my wife as well? I know you’re a womanizer, but trying to seduce your best friend’s wife is just corrupt, even for you."
"I don’t see you remembering that we’re best buds when you’d rather I freeze to death in the stables at Frostholm," Ralph grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
He bitterly cast Soleia’s unconscious form one last look. Orion had lucked out. But alas, he was indeed the husband, and Rafael was no one more than a friend.
"Are you going to just stand there and watch the whole time?" Orion suddenly asked, causing Rafael to look up with a scowl.
"If that’s what it takes for you to move along and help her, yes."