“Youmust be careful wandering these halls at night, little bird, otherwise a dragon might sneak up and eat you.”Theking’s warm breath tickled the shell of my ear as he whispered to me, sending shivers down my spine, curling down to join the heat already pooled at my core.Heused the hand covering my mouth to tilt my head to the side, revealing my neck to him.
“Doyou like the show?”Icouldn’t think of an answer asIfelt his lips gently kiss the skin of my neck just under my jaw.Ifit were possible for me to melt even more,Iwould have, but the show and his warm body and the feel of his tongue sliding over the sensitive skin of my neck had me in place beyond recovery.Hesmelled delicious, of crisp evergreen mountains and a bonfire on a midwinter night, all mixed heavily with ambrosia, of which he had obviously been partaking.Amoan escaped my lips under his fingers, andIcould feel his lips curl into a smirk against the skin of my neck.
Hislips parted and his teeth came together, gently but firmly squeezing the flesh of my shoulder, eliciting another moan from me. “Youtaste delicious, little bird, like the wind that passes through the meadows of spring.Iwonder what the rest of you tastes like?”
Iwas frozen, my body unable to fight or give in, feeling the heat of his body behind me, feeling the graze of his fingers on my ribs as he moved the arm around my waist, slipping his hand below my robe.Thosefingers traced down my side and caught the loose band of the silk sleeping shortsIwore, slipping underneath.Theheat in my core pulsed with so much strengthIwas sure he could feel it through my skin as he moved his fingers lower, grazing the top of my panties.Hedidn’t push his fingers underneath them, instead continuing to travel over them until the tips of his fingers reached the apex of my thighs, pushing down firmly on the flesh there and sending a shockwave through my legs.
Asmy legs wavered, my body fell forward, andImanaged to push away and spun to face him.Thetorches played games with the shadows on his face, and made it seemIcould see flames burning in his eyes.Theheat in his gaze was unlike anythingIhad seen before, showing me that everything up until now had only been a hint of what he was capable of.Thelook on his face wasn’t flirtatious now, it was downright predatory.Andhis sights were set on me.
“Youare so beautiful when you are flustered, did you know that?”Cockybastard.Hegave me that smug smile that curled anger deep in my stomach.Iwould do anything to wipe it off his face.Anything.
“Domineeringasshole.”Igrabbed the collar of his robe and slammed my lips into his.
Itwas more a battle than our duel had been.Hishands clamped at my neck, my lower back, pulling me into him.Igripped his robes harder and pulled his mouth deeper onto mine.Ireached up and raked my fingers through his hair, letting my nails slide over his scalp.Heclaimed my mouth, the taste of him washing over me like a heady drug that only left me desiring more.Ifelt my finger sink into the firm muscle of his chest, and his hand sank lower, pulling my hips into him.Hetraced his hand over my ass and hooked it under my thigh, so my leg was pulled up over his hip.Thisplaced my molten sex directly against his hardness.Igroaned, and his hands gripped me harder.
Buta drunken couple crashed around the crates in front of us, engaged in much the same way we were.Idon’t think they even realized who we were, as the male giggled, “Lookslike this spot is taken.”Theystumbled away, still giggling, but my skin had gone icy, andIshoved out of the king’s arms.
Thefire vanished from his eyes, replaced with that cold lookIwas so used to.Hestood tall, shifting his body away from mine.
“Runoff to bed, little bird, before someone more dangerous thanIfinds you.”Itwasn’t a request.Hiscold gaze bore into me asIslunk around him and back behind the tapestry.Finally, out of his gaze, it seemedIcould breathe for the first time in minutes, my lungs filling with the musty air of the corridor.Ileaned against the wall, my chest rising and falling slowly.Butsomething had shifted, andIknew there was no going back.
Chapter35
Tori
Thehour was late, or very early depending on how you looked at it, but sleep eluded me.Mymind raced with all that had happened in the past few hours, my fingers tracing over the path the king’s lips had taken down my neck.Ihad slipped my hand between my legs and found release over and over playing those images in my mind, but relief seemed even further away from me.
Icursed my body, even as the thought of the king’s hands and lips on me set me ablaze again.Ilet out an exasperated sigh and rolled to my side, twisting the silk sheets into even more of a mess than they already were.Islipped my hands under my pillow and closed my eyes, as if this would be the time sleep finally came.Butagain, the same thoughts ran through my head.
Hewas my enemy, my warden, despite how he claimed otherwise.ImagesofNiatacovered in blood filled my mind, butIshoved them back to the far corners of my mind, asIalways did, tossing them beneath the waves.Hehad been there, had a hand to play in that.Butthese past weeks had been….Wehad always played our games, but tonight had changed something.
Myhand fell between my legs,Ibrought back up the images of the orc fucking that soft human woman, of the king tracing his fingers between my thighs, anything to distract me from the darkness that seemed to creep forward in these late hours.Ibegan moving my fingers inside me, but the thoughts just kept coming.Whatif tonight had ruined this?Theking had thoughtIhad rejected him, even though the truth was far from that.Evenmore, he had let me reject him.Iwould think more about the implications of that later.Fornow,I’dmade up my mind.Iwasn’t done with tonight, not yet.
Iran to my wardrobe, sorting through my underthings.Ihad options but settled on a pair of black panties with a thin lace waist where the openings traveled up over my hip bones, with a matching top.Itwasn’t too ostentatious, somethingIcould handle for whatIhad planned.Ipulled them on, then added the night robe, and was out my door beforeIcould allow my nerves to stop me.
Iwalked down the hallway with my chin and shoulders high as if someone would see me, and my posture alone would showIhad nothing to be ashamed of.Luckily,Ididn’t encounter anyone on the short walk to the king’s quarters.Thehuge ebony double doors seemed so much more imposing in the dark, or maybe it was just my nerves creeping up on me.Iraised my hand to knock, but my hands shook.
Ishook my head and balled my fists.Tori, you have slept with how many people in your life?Heis just one more.Itsounded like a lie even to me.
Ishook my head again beforeIcould let the thoughts derail me and knocked.Iheard nothing.Afterwhat seemed like an eternity, but was likely about ten seconds,Iknocked again.Ipressed my ear to the door.CouldIhear voices inside?Ohgods,Iwas a fool.Ofcourse, he wouldn’t come back from that party alone, he was the king forfuck’s sake.
Iturned to quickly make my escape whenIheard the door behind me crack open.
“Whatdo you want at this hour, little bird?”Iturned back to see the king’s emerald eyes studying me.Heleaned with his arm braced above his head on the frame of the door.Hewore a night robe as well, but it was tied loosely, andIcould see his bare chest underneath.Itallowed me to see the large scar that marked his birch-colored skin, andIonce again wondered what it could have been from.
“Yes,Princess?”Hisvoice was filled with the smirkIsaw on his face whenIfinally raised my eyes up, afterIhad been obviously staring at his chest.Thiswas it.Iwas knocking on his door in the middle of the night, it was obvious whatIwanted.Nopoint playing coy now.
“Iwas in my room finding my own pleasure after tonight’s performance, whenIrealized that was foolish whenIcould come to you for assistance.”Thewords tumbled out of me, not nearly as sultry asIwould have desired, but they seemed to hit their mark.Fora moment,Isaw the smallest expression of surprise cross his face, before he controlled his features once more.Thenthat snobbish grin crossed his face, the one thatIhated, thatIcould never seem to get out of my mind.
“Andwhat sort of regent wouldIbe to deny a princess theassistanceshe requires?”Theway he drawled assistance captured all the seductionIwishIhad portrayed and made my toes curl into the carpet beneath my feet.Hemoved aside and motioned for me to enter his room.ButasItook a step to enter, he snapped his arm across my path, blocking me.Theveins of his arms strained as he pressed his hand into the opposite door frame.
“Butknow this,Princess.Onceyou cross, you cannot turn back, becauseIwon’t be letting you go.”Deepin my abdomen, pressure curled and released, asIdrank in the heat in his eyes.Itook a deep breath, ducked under his arm, and crossed the threshold.
Hisroom was smaller thanIimagined.Witha castle the size of his,Ihad imagined a cavernous room to match his ego.WhatIsaw before me was much more cozy.Nearthe door was a small sitting area with a table, likely for taking meals in his room, placed near a fireplace.Themantle was two carved dragons flanking the flames in an onyx stone, their eyes jewels that reflected the firelight.Butinstead of the ferocious creatures featured throughout the castle, these dragons seemed content and relaxed, soaking up the warmth of the fire beneath them.Allaround the fireplace were shelves upon shelves of books, the king’s private collection.Ialmost moved towards them, desperate to see what he thought was worthy of the shelves in his room, whenIfelt his hand on my lower back, gently leading me further in.
Pastthe sitting area was a large and beautifully built canopy bed, made of deep ebony like his door, facing floor to ceiling peaked windows that overlooked the bay.Hisview was magnificent, and the bay was stunning in the moonlight.Thesilver light reflected off the harsh waves of the cold sea, softening them and the beginnings of the early morning mist twisted up and over the great rocks that lurked beyond the shore.Thestars winked at me, like they knew my dirty intentions.Itseemed that the king had not forgotten them either.
“So, my little bird, perhaps you could elaborate on what assistance you might need from me tonight?”Iturned to him to see his eyes twinkling in the moonlight, the soft light highlighting the beautiful shadows of his face, the high cheekbones paired with his strong nose, his teeth gleaming behind his now predatory smile.Ifelt a blush rising in my cheeks, and the predator’s gaze raked over me, the flamesIhad seen earlier tonight returning.
