The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 436: Undignified

The skating rink had become a sanctuary of falling lace and sapphire ice. They were no longer the distant monarchs of a divided realm; they were a single entity, moving in a synchronized glide that felt like a conversation without words. Eris’s pride had finally surrendered to the rhythm Soren provided, her body trusting his lead.

But as the intimacy of the moment deepened, Eris felt a surge of that same reckless, feline energy that had driven her to kiss him in the alleyway. She was tired of the distance. She was tired of the "Ice Emperor" and his layers of control.

She let her hand slide slowly from his shoulder, her fingers tracing a deliberate, lingering path down the center of his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath the thick wool. "You’re so cold, Soren," she whispered, her voice a low, breathy vibration that barely carried over the music.

She looked up at him through the thick sweep of her lashes, her lips slightly parted as a single snowflake melted against her collarbone. "Thank you for teaching me," she murmured, her gaze dropping pointedly to his mouth before rising back to meet his glowing irises. She pressed herself closer, an entirely unnecessary movement that brought her heat flush against his chill. "I think I’m getting quite good at this. Maybe I don’t need you holding me anymore."

She didn’t let go. Instead, she bit her bottom lip, her eyes locking onto his with a predatory challenge. The heat radiating from her body was a physical force, a summer sun trying to crack a glacier.

It was the final straw. Soren’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek. His eyes didn’t just glow; they flared, the icy rings around his pupils expanding until his gaze was a blinding, celestial blue.

"That’s it," he rasped, his voice dropping into a register that was low, dangerous, and utterly devoid of patience.

Eris blinked, her smirk faltering. "What?"

"We’re leaving."

He didn’t ask. He didn’t suggest. He spoke with the absolute authority of a man whose self-control had just been incinerated. Before she could utter a single word of protest, he was already moving, skating them toward the edge of the rink with a sudden, violent speed that made the wind whistle past her ears. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The moment they hit the wooden platform at the edge of the ice, Soren was a blur of motion. He ripped his own skates off with a speed that defied belief, throwing them toward a bewildered attendant. He didn’t even glance at Eris’s boots.

He simply reached out and scooped her up.

"Soren... what... " Eris gasped, her silver blades still strapped to her feet, dangling uselessly in the air.

He didn’t use the polite bridal carry. He hiked her up over his shoulder like a prized possession, a spoils of war claimed from a battlefield. One powerful arm locked around her thighs, his hand landing firmly and possessively on her backside, crushing her skirts against her skin.

"SOREN!" Eris shouted, her dignity vanishing as she dangled upside down against his back. She pounded her fists against his shoulder blades. "Put me down! This is undignified! People are staring!"

Soren didn’t slow his stride. He marched through the crowded market square, a hooded force of nature that parted the masses like a ship’s prow. People froze, mid-sentence and mid-chew, watching the Emperor carry his Empress away like a barbarian king.

He spotted Ryse near a pastry stall mouth mid-chew with Mira. "The festival continues without us," Soren barked, his commander’s voice slicing through the festive music.

Ryse turned, his eyes moving from Soren’s flinty expression to Eris’s flailing legs. A slight, knowing smirk touched the commander’s lips. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Handle the closing ceremony. Make our apologies. We are... indisposed," Soren added, his hand tightening on Eris’s leg. He turned to the surrounding guards, his gaze a warning. "No one disturbs us in our chambers. For any reason. Understood?"

The guards, wide-eyed and flushing, bowed in unison. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Soren, stop this! Everyone saw!" Eris hissed into his cloak, her face burning with a mortification so intense she wished she could actually burst into flames. Her dress was riding up, her white hair was spilling toward the snow, and she was being paraded through her own capital like a sack of grain. "I’m the Empress! Have some respect for my position!"

"I am perfectly aware of your position," Soren growled, his hand shifting higher on her hip. "And you’re my Empress. They can look all they want. It won’t change the fact that I’m taking you home."

They reached the imperial mounts. Solara, Eris’s elegant white mare, stood ready, but Soren ignored her completely. He headed straight for Tempest, his massive grey stallion.

He didn’t put her down to mount. He swung himself into the saddle with a terrifying display of strength, settling Eris in front of him. He caged her between his arms, his chest pressing hard against her back as he gripped the reins.

Eris was finally right-side up, but she felt more trapped than ever. She could feel the heat of him, the hardness of his thighs against hers, and the heavy, ragged rhythm of his breathing.

Tempest sensed his master’s urgency. With a single command, the stallion surged forward, his hooves thundering against the cobblestones as they raced toward the palace. The speed was exhilarating and terrifying. With every jolt of the horse, Eris was pushed back against Soren’s chest, the friction of their bodies through their clothes creating a mounting, desperate tension.

Eris realized then, with a jolt of pure adrenaline, that she was in profound trouble. She could feel the physical evidence of his desire pressing against her, a solid, unyielding heat.

Soren leaned close, his mouth grazing the sensitive shell of her ear as the wind whipped around them. "You have no idea," he whispered, his voice rough and stripped of its imperial polish. "You have no idea what you do to me, Eris."