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I didn’t allow myself to look at Ladon, but I was confident he was the same. We’d been inseparable all night. I couldn’t count the number of ways Reyna and her cohorts used us for their entertainment. I didn’t think it would ever end.
I was tired…and cold.
Reyna dismissed Ladon and me, and the usual guards escorted us back to our room. We walked the halls in nothing but gold paint. Just another way to add to the humiliation, I supposed.
I tried to let numbness sink in, so that I wouldn’t feel completely and utterly devastated. But something else simmered inside me. Like an itch I couldn’t ignore.
Anger.
I was sick of playing Reyna’s games. And I was sick of allowing her so much control over my emotions. From now on, I vowed that my responses would be my own. I wouldn’t let her get to me anymore.
“Are you okay?” Ladon asked as soon as the door to our room closed. He was looking at me—not with pity—but something a little more tentative. Like he could see the resolution I was coming to.
I stood tall. “I’m fine.”
He quirked a brow, and then seemed to realize we were both still naked, save for the paint on our skin.
“Do you want to shower first, or shall I?”
I stared at him and, for once, I didn’t avoid letting my eyes wonder over his body. From his broad shoulders to his toned abs. And the sizeable length of him on full display. He didn’t try to shy away or hide himself. He stood tall, completely confident in his own skin.
No one was going to control me anymore. Not even my insecurities or my fears and doubts. What did I have to fear, anyway? We’d already been together. When…if we escaped, I’d deal with the repercussions then.
My betrothed was nowhere to be found. My mother wasn’t here to criticize me. There was only me and Ladon. And through all our ups and downs, I was pretty certain I knew where he stood.
Reyna had stolen so much from us, but she couldn’t have this. I didn’t want to think of her when I looked at him. There was something igniting between us, and she had no right to claim it. It was ours.
I inched closer until I had to look up to meet his gaze. He watched me approach with intensity.
“Emilie?”
Standing on my tiptoes, I reached up and threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling him down to me. I hesitated at that last miniscule space between us, curious as to what he might do.
I could feel him breathing. The heat of it tickling my lips.
Slowly, he closed the distance and gently pressed his lips against mine. It was tender. Satisfying. So, so satisfying, and still left me wanting more. More of him.
His arm wrapped around my back, and he pulled me flush against his chest. I felt his cock pressed against my stomach and I wanted more of that, too.
He moaned, and the sound of it filled my stomach with molten desire. I gasped and pressed his lips against me harder.
I ran my hand over his chest, what little gold remained now distorted even further. His hand reached down toward my ass and gave it a tight squeeze, pressing me even closer to him.
There was enough room for me to slide a hand between us and I closed my palm around his length. He groaned again and bit his bottom lip. Teasing. Taunting.
It was getting harder to breathe. He broke the kiss, only to drag his mouth and tongue down my neck.
“Ladon,” I whimpered.
Strong hands grabbed the backs of my thighs and he hoisted me up. I wrapped my legs around his core and gods, his cock was perfectly positioned to tantalize me. I rocked against him and he growled with pleasure.
His mouth found mine again, and when his lips crashed into mine, it was messy and frantic. His tongue slid into my mouth and I moaned at the taste of him.
I could tell we were moving, but I didn’t care where or why. Ladon was all that existed. Faintly, I heard the sound of the shower as he turned it on. After a few moments, warm water fell down my back.
Ladon pinned me against the wall, my ankles still crossed behind his back. He looked me square in the eyes as he ran his hands up my stomach, pressed against my breasts and then down again, breathing heavily as he did.
Water and gold paint trailed down my body and then swirled toward the drain. We both watched as the gold began to rinse from our bodies. His wet bangs hung in front of his eyes and he looked like a man who’d been starved.
