Page 34 of Royal Hunt
Magick.
My hand slid slowly to his side, snaking down around his hips and resting there easily. My fingertips grazed his hip bones, which poked through the fabric of his breeches. He was so lean. You’d think someone with his wealth wouldn’t be that skinny. It was a wonder he had such lithe muscles.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, his voice rough.
I scooted closer to him so my front was pressed up against his back. He stiffened, every muscle tightly coiled. “Aren’t queens supposed to help their kings?” I joked, not able to be serious with him yet.
My hands explored his chest and shoulders, running over every inch of skin to ensure he was alright. He closed his eyes, and relaxed against me. My hand delved lower until he snared my wrist in an iron grip.
“Eve.”
His voice was a rough growl, but it only egged me on. I didn’t know why, but I felt so desperate to feel something. I wanted him. I wanted to forget about tomorrow. I wanted to forget about everything.
“Please,” I begged, my voice ghosting along his neck. His grip loosened on my hand. I traced the hard lines that led down to his groin, circling close but not quite touching. He tensed again.
We couldn’t have that.
I flipped over so I faced the fence, presenting him with my backside. None-too-subtly, I ground my bottom back against his pelvis. He grunted.
“Your turn,” I whispered, tugging one of his large hands over me and draping it into the curve of my hips. He automatically grabbed me and tugged me close, tucking my body up against him.
“When I fuck you again,” he growled into my ear, “it will be on my bed, in my castle, and you’ll wear nothing but my crown. It certainly won’t be here in a prisoner’s den, with your betrothed nearby.”
Now it was my turn to stiffen.
“He isn’t my betrothed,” I grit back, “never was and never will be.”
Ellis paused, exhaling a heavy breath against the back of my neck.
“Good.”
His body went still, and after a few minutes of us lying together, he relaxed. Muscle by muscle, he leaned back into me, accepting what meager comforts we could bring each other in this hopeless situation. Two desperate people, just trying to exist together.
Impossibly, we slept.
Twelve
Iawoke to the sound of yelling, and being squeezed so hard I immediately lashed out with my fists. There was a hiss of pain, but I could breathe again. I shot up in my pile of furs rubbing my knuckles. Gregory was on his back in front of me, grumbling and rubbing his jaw. Ellis was the one yelling a good twenty feet away while Nessian held him back.
I blinked in confusion. What had happened?
“You don’t fucking touch her without her permission!” Ellis roared.
Gregory scrambled to his feet, only to be frozen in place by Viana’s sword pointed at his neck.
“That’s rich coming from you,” Gregory yelled back, careful not to move an inch.
“Shut up! Why are you yelling?” I demanded, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. Gregory’s face was twisted with betrayal, and with a feeling of unease I think I had a good idea why.
“You slept with him! After everything I’ve done for you!” Gregory roared. Nessian and Maven kept right in his face, pushing him backward toward the other nobles.
“Everything you’ve done?” I sputtered back, laughing. “You’re such a big man, aren’t you? Dipping your wick anywhere you please, but as soon as I get my kicks elsewhere, you turn into a possessive caveman? Get lost!”
Viana rolled her eyes, and sheathed her dagger. “Eyes and tits up, maggots. We’ve got company.”
Our argument disintegrated as the long wall of the pen in front of us simply fell to the ground as if pushed over by an invisible giant. Exhausted and hungry, no one was eager to press forward immediately. Except for the fae.
Whooping and hollering, they gleefully ran out onto the open field, waving their arms and weapons as the sea of eyes exploded above us once more.
