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1
Alarie
Our bodies banged into my solid oak front door. He fumbled behind my back, urgently grabbing at the door handle, his mouth never leaving mine. I reached behind me, my hand finding purchase on the doorknob. The door gave way, and I felt the weight of my body give way with it. I was falling. But then his sculpted arms were wrapped around me, pressing the front of his muscled body to mine.
I never thought for a moment that he would let me fall. He ran his hands down my body to my thighs, scooping me off my feet eagerly, effortlessly, and wrapping my legs around his waist. I moved against him, working myself up and down the length of his hardness I felt hidden beneath his tailored navy-blue suit pants. He pulled away from our kiss, and a delicious groan escaped his pouty lips, like he regretted even a momentary reprieve of his mouth pressed to mine.
His thumbs digging into the crevice of my hips, he slowed and then ceased my rocking against him. Reluctantly, I allowed him to pry my legs from his broad torso so he could set me down on a white marble end table at the bottom of the staircase that led to the second floor of my wing. He maneuvered his body between my legs, and I looked up into his handsome face, allowing myself to get lost in his intoxicating cerulean eyes. His gaze seared into me as he trailed his rough hands over the top of my shoulders. He pushed the thin straps of my white dress down, exposing the rounded tops of my breasts, and a shiver skittered down my spine. He released another groan, this one more primal, almost guttural with his need for me.
Then he began to move his hips into me, thrusting with precision that elicited a small whimper from my lips and made me wish we had gone straight to my bedroom and stripped off our clothing. I spread my legs wider and buried my hands in his soft brown hair, pulling his mouth back to mine as I grew more and more frantic for his touch. He lowered a hand to the inside of my thigh, drawing concentric little circles with his thumb on my skin.
All I could think about was what it would feel like when his hand moved farther between my thighs and his expert fingers continued their circling at the apex of my desire. He repeated the maddening circling movement on the inside of my thigh, and I bowed into him, encouraging his hand to slide higher up my thigh and toward the single throbbing point that would be my undoing with just a stroke or two of his nimble fingertips.
But through my lust-filled fog, I began to sense a hesitancy in his touch, like he was unsure of whether to keep his hand where it was or to move it farther between my legs. His thrusts against me grew similarly contemplative, and I knew he was struggling to come to a decision that was either going to make me happy but late for my morning meeting or unhappy but on time for my meeting. My body craved the satisfaction that would come from my lack of punctuality.
He slowly stopped the movement of his hips into me. He removed his hand from in between my thighs, and I immediately ached with promises unfulfilled in its absence. He pushed the straps of my dress back up, and my shoulders sank in disappointment. He kissed me lightly on the lips and picked me up off the table, resolutely placing me back on my feet. He was done with me, but I knew he wanted more. I could still see the bulge in his pants. But he just turned away from me.
“You know Rhett will blame me if you’re late, Al,” Luke said, as if that was the explanation for why he was pulling away from me. We both knew it wasn’t. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to correct the damage I’d done.
“Well, you’re a high lord now. You can excuse me. Write me a note or something,” I teased, burning all over in the absence of his touch. I smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in my dress with the palms of my hands to keep myself from reaching out for him again.
“Actinghigh lord,” he corrected, straightening the knot of his thin, knit tie.
And this was how it went with us nearly every day since the day I had broken things off with Jay. Luke and I would go at each other like ravenous animals one minute and then, in the next minute, he would pull away from me before we gottoofar, leaving me hot all over and wanting more.
Luke had been the instigator of our exchange this morning. I’d stayed over at his place the night before, like I did so many nights now. We had finished breakfast in plenty of time for me to get back for my meeting with Rhett and High Lord Preston. We were walking back to my place when I saw him glance in my direction in the hallway outside of my wing of House Rein. And then, the next thing I knew, he was pressing his lips to mine and his tongue was prying my mouth open. We bounced down the hallway from wall to wall, entangled in each other’s embrace until we made our way to my front door.
A front door which apparently neither Luke nor I had taken the time to fully close in our haste. As if beckoned by the mere suggestion that I shirk my responsibilities, Rhett peeked his devilishly handsome head through my ajar door and then pushed it all the way open. He scanned our still somewhat disheveled appearances with mock shock and incredulity, like he couldn‘t believe his eyes.
“Al baby, are youreallygoing to makemebe the responsible one here? It’s not a good look for me,” he complained. “Andyou,” he said, turning to Luke. “You’re making us late,high lord.”
Luke gave me an irresistible “I told you so” look as I combed through my long, straight hair with my fingers.
“Actinghigh lord,” Luke corrected, making the finishing touches to his outfit in a full-length floor mirror propped against the wall at the end of the hall.
I rolled my eyes at both of them.
“Give me five minutes, Rhett,” I said, running down the hall to my bedroom to the sound of Rhett’s overly dramatic groans.
* * * *
“What do you think, Al?” Rhett asked, entreating me to take over the conversation.
I worked for House Dumont now. War with Alancia was a foregone conclusion. The wall between the two nations was manned at all times as everyone inside and outside of the High Court prepared for the inevitable. For our part, Rhett and I were supposed to be working on improving the High Court’s relations with the lesser fae. The boycotts and supply chain issues caused by what those at the High Court referred to as the “lesser fae rebellion” the preceding year had not endeared the lesser fae to many at the High Court, however. And the lesser fae, who had a home of their own for the first time ever, were less than interested in leaving the Golden Court for the High Court. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us.
“The liaison program at the High Court has been a great success. As you know, I, myself, am a product of the program,” I replied, giving High Lord Preston a humble smile.
We sat at a small, round table on a patio outside of High Lord Preston’s manor. I sipped on an iced tea but ignored the spread of snacks offered, since I was still full from my breakfast. The day was warm, but not overly so, and I found myself thinking that, under different circumstances, I really would have enjoyed spending the afternoon here.
“But, Alarie, my darling,youareexceptional. We cannot possibly expect everyone who comes out of such programs to be as wonderful as you are,” the high lord vamped.
This was a problem I repeatedly ran into since assuming my role for House Dumont. Everyone still wanted me to be the flirty, smiley House Vitruvian liaison I’d been before. And while I was not opposed to using whatever tools I had at my disposal in my new position, including the skills of persuasion I learned so well from Jay, the topics I had to address in my new role as senior counselor for House Dumont were not the kind of topics that lent themselves to easy laughs and coy smiles. I was struggling to find a way to make the lords and ladies at the High Court take me and issues I needed to advance seriously.
“Grant,” I cooed, hating the necessity of my flirtatious tone. “You have always been ever the gentleman.Butlet’s not inflate my ego too much here. It was before my time at the Court, but I’ve heard good things about the liaison you had a few years back. Lord Bentley, I believe?” I questioned, feigning like I did not know the young lord’s name when I had, in fact, dug into the lord’s background quite extensively for this very reason.
“I have no doubt his success is due in large part to his time with you and your House. Just imagine how excellent a young lesser fae ward would grow to be with years in your presence,” I pressed.
I was trying to warm High Lord Preston and others at the High Court to an idea I’d initially pitched to High Lord Rein. My idea—the expansion of the liaison program beyond university graduates and to lesser fae of all ages—had the immediate objective of getting more lesser fae at the High Court. My ultimate goal was to increase lesser fae representation at the High Court and work toward the elimination of the land disparity between high fae and lesser fae. High Lord Dumont and Rhett’s father, High Lord Rein, liked my idea so much that they tasked me and Rhett with the immediate implementation of the initiative.
