Page 97 of Vicious Kings
I extend it reluctantly, watching him work the ink out methodically, his fingers sliding between mine. When the water runs clean, I realize the scratches on my palms are gone. The ones on my arms, too.
Magic water, indeed.
And now, I'm alone with Prince Corvinus.
Caelyx is still radio silent, which means I need to start making moves regardless ofhistimeline. For all I know, he's just fucking with me, and my opportunity to get closer to the triad is slipping away.
I watch Corvinus at the sink, wintry eyes focused and careful as he works. The most powerful Fae prince alive, entirely focused on washing ink off my fingers.
He wants me to trust him.
Two can play that game.
"You fucked with my pen, didn't you," I say.
He doesn't answer, which is answer enough. His thumb moves slow across my palm, working out the last of the ink.
"Most people," he says, "aren't this direct with me."
"Can't imagine why." I shift my weight, closing the distance between us by half. "You're so good at taking no for an answer."
His eyes come up to mine and a smile tugs at his lips. "I can take no for an answer. You're just the first person who's ever given me that particular answer."
I indulge myself with an eye roll. No point in selling ittoohard. "And if I felt like giving you adifferentanswer, Your Majesty?"
I watch as the confusion in his eyes gives way to shock, but he settles on doubtful. Like there's no way he's hearing me right. "Just Corvinus," he breathes. "If you're going to taunt me, we might as well be on a first-name basis."
"I'm not taunting you," I say, reaching out to smooth my fingers down the red tie of his suit. "I'm…curious."
"Curious," he echoes slowly, like he's tasting the flavor of the words on his tongue. I pull him closer and he yields, his jaw going slack and his throat working. "About what, exactly?"
"What it feels like," I murmur, running my hand down over his chest. He's not quite as imposing as Professor Drakiss at first glance, but he's still plenty muscular underneath. Still an alpha through and through, and I loathe my inner omega for purring like a cat at the contact. That bitch can't be trusted even when she's loaded up on suppressants and far from heat. "To be with an alpha."
A strangled sound somewhere between a growl and a groan escapes from Corvinus's throat as I pull him between my legs and press my lips to his.
I want the kiss to taste bitter. For all these years of loathing him to come to the surface like bile in the back of my throat, but they don't. Instead, he tastes like mint. Like winter air, and my lips part much too easily.
I remind myself that this, too, is vengeance. Every desire I allow myself to indulge brings me closer to my goal, not further away from it.
Corvinus freezes as if he can't believe what's happening, and is afraid to let himself fall into the trap of wanting it.
If he had any fucking clue…
His logical instincts don't hold out very long against his baser ones, because in a matter of seconds, he's returning the kiss fiercely and his hands find my waist. He pushes my shirt up, untucking it from my skirt, and when his fingertips brush against my spine, the sound that escapes me is genuine enough.
I arch into him automatically, his skin against mine sending warm waves throughout my lower back, releasing muscles I didn't know were taut. This must be one of those "biological responses" they talked about in class so incessantly.
It's…potent. I'll give my inner omega that.
Like sinking into a warm bath at the end of a long day of training. The tension drains out of me wherever he touches and my body sinks against his, finding its center.
And he finds mine. His cock is already straining against his slacks as he presses against me and I realize at some point I hitched my thighs around his hips and pulled him closer.
Fuck.
All his hesitation from a moment ago fades, and he kisses me back with feral intensity. When his tongue sweeps across my lips, they part instinctively, and I somehow manage to resist the thought in the back of my brain to bite it off.
Impressive, really.
