I forgot to post here last week, but my favorite part of this chapter was this:
“If I kiss you, or try anything, I want you to slap me.”
“No.” The idea of it made Naritano want to kick and rebel. Slap Prince Remin for kissing him? He’d be tempted to slap anyone who made Prince Remin stop kissing him. If the driver hadn’t been in earshot, Naritano might’ve gotten loud; out of respect for Prince Remin’s privacy, he tried to whisper, glaring at Prince Remin in the darkness. “I won’t play along with your self-denial, and I won’t raise my hand to the royal high priest. I don’t agree with what you’re doing to yourself, and I won’t help you with it. You deserve to enjoy as much of life as anyone else, and I won’t help you to turn your back on what the gods have given you. If you kiss me again, Your Highness, I’m going to kiss you back.”
I love that Tano is so firm on this. (no pun intended, lol) Remin doesn't need a lapdog, he needs someone to push him a bit, to encourage him to leave his not-so-comfortable comfort zone. And it's even more perfect because when Tano says stuff like this, he's being unintentionally tempting. He's completely guileless yet totally inviting. He's just an open door with a plush welcome mat, the mere existence of which beckons Remin to enter.