AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nicolo would be back in his room.
And you would have your chance to end this charade once and for all.
I jumped off the bed and practically ran out the door. It was undoubtedly a stupid idea, and certainly not the sort of decision I should be making when I was in this condition, my mind fizzing with desperate need. But I could feel the cold weight of my knife strapped to my thigh and I suddenly knew what I had to do—I had to take out the target and then I needed to get the hell out of Woodfall Gath. I needed to return to the Guild where I could lick my wounds in privacy and study all the ways I’d gone wrong.
The stairs echoed under my feet as I strode the familiar path towards the Prince’s Tower.
There was no guarantee he would be alone.
In fact, knowing Nicolo, he wouldn’t be. But that mattered as little as every other practical objection.
I was done waiting. It no longer felt as if I had a choice in the matter, in fact, it felt as if I were being drawn to Nicolo’s room by some invisible force that wouldn’t release me. I genuinely didn’t know if I was really going to kill him, but I kept telling myself that was exactly what I was going to do.
The final flight of stairs that led to Nicolo’s isolated room had never felt longer. My breathing was more like panting by the time I reached the top, but my breathing had been more like panting for most of the damn evening.
No guards…
That was unusual.
Even when he had company, Nicolo always had guards stationed outside his door, though none of them had the key that opened it. Was something wrong? Had he been attacked?
Or…
I hardly dared to hope as I knocked.
“Come in.”
He didn’t even ask who it was. Was he expecting someone?
“Charlotte…”
He was standing by the bed, looking straight at me with a face full of confidence and eyes full of lust. From the way he said my name, I knew he’d been expecting someone, and that someone was me. The guards were gone because mating your squire wasn’t something that was supposed to happen.
As soon as I walked into the room and threw the door closed behind me, all of the anger, the pain and the humiliation from earlier burst within me until an incendiary started up, burning from the depths of my soul, the flames growing hotter and stronger the more I looked at him.
“Why did you come, Charlotte?” he asked, but by the smile on his face, he knew why I’d come. Or, actually, hethoughthe knew.
Fueled by the flames of my own incensed anger, I flew across the room. And when I reached Nicolo, his lips split into a broad and knowing grin. And that was when something inside me burst. Without even realizing what I was doing, I pulled my arm back and released my hand, slapping him hard against the face.
“That’s for humiliating me!” I screamed at him.
The sound of the slap was almost deafening in the room and when he turned his head back to face me, his eyes were narrowed. But the anger within me was now a raging conflagration and though I knew I could be killed for raising a hand against him, I suddenly didn’t care. I pulled my arm back and took another swing at him, this time intending to slam my fist into the other side of his face but his arm came up in an instant.
Before I knew what was happening, he had my arm in his vice-like grip and then he had my arm behind me as he thrust me backwards and into the wall. I yelped when it connected with the back of my head but the slight pain was nothing compared to the frenzy in his eyes.
“I hate you,” I whispered on a cry as tears began to well up in my eyes and I furiously beat them back. I was more than sure I was now a dead woman walking but I still didn’t care. I’d failed my duty, I’d screwed up beyond repentance and I didn’t care.
I waited for him to speak, to say something, to hit me, to beat me, to rain curses down on me but he said nothing. He just stood there, staring at me.
Until he didn’t.
Suddenly he was on me, his mouth on my mouth, his fingers in my hair, grabbing my face, holding my cheeks as his tongue invaded my mouth. And my hands sprung to life on their own, raking his back, pulling him closer, my tongue in his mouth, whimpers and moans already escaping my lips.
To feel those strong arms folded around me, holding me close, was a thrill, to taste his lips on mine was a delight, but perhaps what was best of all was how very natural it all felt. Hot, desperate, lust-fueled and achingly urgent, but also natural, as if this was just another night between two people who did this sort of thing all the time.
With muscular ease he swept me off my feet, throwing me to the bed and following on top of me in a way that managed to be both aggressive and gentle.
“Master…” I breathed.
