AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You feel it, too?”
I tuck my hair behind my ears, embarrassed to admit I’m nervous to be alone with Riot. I want to feel his hands on my skin again, I want to tastehis lips. Most importantly, I want him to want to do everything we did last night again. “A little.”
“I don’t know how to act around you.” He rubs his hand on the back of his neck and looks down at his feet. “I didn’t want to come in here and act like last night didn’t happen.” He looks up at me and I can’t read the emotions swirling in his eyes. I can feel them in my webs, though. Anxiousness. Worry. Hope. “I can if that’s what you want, but I also didn’t want to come in here and just throw you onto the bed again.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure why but him not wanting me stings a little. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“What are you expecting, princess?” He reaches for me but then changes his mind.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I do know. I wanted last night to be more than what it was but the reality of our situation is that it can’t be. I’m a lady of Bash’s court. I’m supposed to be winning his heart, when really I’m on a ticking clock to save Ezra. My days are numbered and whatever this is growing between us… I need to let it die.
“Do you want me to go back to how we were and pretend like last night didn’t happen? Or…” Riot steps close and runs his fingers down my arm. “Should I steal one more kiss before our day begins and I have to let you go back to trying to win the heart of our prince?”
“We both know I’m not here for him.” I look up into his eyes. We’re so close that I can feel the rise and fall of his chest against mine and smell the mint on his breath.
“You’re not here for me either,” he says, his lips brushing against mine.
“Do you want me to be?” I ask, and I feel so vulnerable that the slightest wind could crush me.
I don’t wait for an answer. I take the kiss he teased me with but I’m not gentle. Our teeth clank in a rush of desire and his hands push the straps of my nightgown off my shoulders. I’m nearly naked in his arms, and being this close to another human has never felt so right.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Riot whispers, his teeth nipping at my ear. “Why can’t I get you out of my head, princess?”
I don’t think he expects me to answer because he presses his mouth to mine again. I reach for his pants and surprise myself with the speed at which I make them drop. Riot lifts me by my thighs and turns us so myback is pressed against the wall. He lowers me onto his hard length and I drop my head back, his name a curse on my lips as he takes me.
Riot isn’t slow or sensual this morning. He pushes into me with the sole purpose of bringing me to the edge again and, by the stars, this man knows what he’s doing. I stare up at the ceiling, struggling to keep my breath controlled because I don’t want to come yet. I want to ride this wave and savor every second of having him inside me. His angle shifts and the head of his dick hits something inside me. I lose control, feeling the hot rush of an orgasm seize my body. Riot silences my cries with his lips, then abruptly stops moving.
“Did you hear that?” he asks, looking over his shoulder. I don’t hear anything at first, but then there’s a subtle knock. Once. Twice. Three times, they softly rap at the door.
My heart races as I send my webs searching for who it could be. I don’t find a heartbeat, even as the person knocks again, and my stomach drops when I realize who it is.
“Hide!” I whisper yell to Riot as I push him out of me and step into my nightgown again. Riot dodges into the bathroom, pants still at his ankles.
I run my fingers through my hair, tousling it to look like it’s been messed from sleep, and fake a yawn when I open the door. “Good morning.”
“Good Morning, little bird. May I come in?” Bash doesn’t smile like he usually does when he sees me. My heart races, terrified someone told him what Riot and I have done.
I open the door wider and he walks in stiffly. His gaze stops on the breakfast tray but then he turns to me, without asking where it came from, and quickly says, “I’m sorry about last night.”
Guilt drowns any fear I’d had. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I kicked him out of my room to sleep with another man. I don’t deserve his kind words. “Bash, stop.”
He takes my hand in his and shakes his head. “No, little bird, you don’t understand.”
“I do,” I say, pulling it away to hug myself. “And it’s okay. Honestly. You should know if you’re compatible with your future wife. It’s just…” I take a deep breath and let it out. I can’t tell him about Riot, but I can tell Bash something else. A secret I’ve rarely shared.
“If you’re a virgin, I don’t blame you for having reservations. I shouldn’t have pushed.”
“Bash…” I hesitate and take another breath. “Stars above, this is hard.” I swallow the lump in my throat and meet his gaze. “I’ve been with a man before, once, but it wasn’t by choice.”
Bash’s eyes widen as the implication of my confession sinks in. “Oh, little bird.”
“Stop.” I hold my palm up to him. “I don’t want your pity. I just want you to understand that my pushing you away last night had nothing to do with you. It was a mixture of memories and choice, and…”
“Say no more.” Bash reaches for my hand, in what is supposed to be a kind gesture, but all I can think about is how he’s erasing the memory of what it feels like when Riot holds me. “If I had known, I never would have tried.”
“It’s not your fault. Not many know what I’ve been through.” I shrug. “Are we okay?”
“Of course. Riot will escort you off-premises after breakfast. The horses will be packed with everything you will need—food, clothing, and silver—should you choose to stay with Ezra, but…” Bash squeezes my hand and the hope lingering in his eyes makes me feel like dirt. “I hope to see you at the selection ceremony tomorrow night.”
