Chapter 71
CHAPTER 71
Caspian
“W ell, don’t just stand there. Come in,” I say.
Rosalina’s shocked face turns into a snarl, and she stalks forward and smacks me across the face. I could have stopped her, but I probably deserve it.
“What was that for?” I ask, massaging my cheek. “Did you want to get bought by one of those whelps?”
She places a hand on her hip. “One hundred thousand denarii to Kairyn and his tyranny, Caspian? You should have let me sell for less.”
“I couldn’t,” I say. “Besides, you’re worth far more. But if it means that much to you, I’ll steal it back.”
“Where’s Farron? Aren’t you supposed to be looking after him?”
“The little pup is safe and sound in my room, probably reading the most boring book off my shelf.”
“How could you bring Astrid here?”
“Prince Caspian came to Castletree looking for an assistant. Don’t worry, Rosalina, I volunteered.” Astrid gives a huge smile. “Marigold and Flavia had a lot of fun dressing me up like someone from the Below.”
“She’s done very well in this little game,” I say. “But I suppose it’s time to hop this little bunny back to her burrow.”
Rosalina’s face softens, and she pulls Astrid into a firm hug. “How is everyone at Castletree?”
“We’re all right, but we all miss you and the princes,” Astrid says.
“I miss you all too.” Rosalina pulls away and lets out a laugh. “I’ve got gold paint all over you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Astrid says. “Marigold asked for a detailed account of what you were wearing. This will help me describe it. I love the siren look, by the way.”
“Ready, my dear?” I ask, sitting up.
Astrid hops up and down. “Ready! It was so fun traveling here through the thorns!”
“Yes, your screams of joy were delightfully loud.” I wave my hand, tangling the girl up in a bushel of thorns. She had been handy. I couldn’t trust anyone from the Below for this little act. While Kairyn knows I’m keeping an eye on Summer, it would have been too suspicious for me to bid on Dayton’s mysterious siren. Plus, I thought Rosie might like to see a friendly face.
“Goodbye, Astrid,” Rosalina says as the thorns weave into the ground.
I lean back on the chaise and eye her. “I’m ready to accept your thanks now.”
“What are you wearing?” Rosalina walks to the low table and picks a grape off the platter. “You look ridiculous.”
It’s bloody humid in Summer, so I opted to blend in with the locals and wear a one-shouldered black toga, bound at the waist by a coil of thorns. “You’re one to talk, Goldie.”
She turns, the paint smeared across her curves from the hug with Astrid. Stars, I wish I was the one to have smeared it. “I like it,” she says.
“So do I.” My voice pitches lower. “The rabbit was right; you do look alluring with those ears.”
Rosalina saunters toward me, the seashells chiming together, giving an oh-so-brief glimpse of what lies beneath. She leans down, golden hair spilling over one shoulder. She flicks me on the nose. “Astrid’s a hare.”
Rosalina moves to straighten up, but I grip her arm and hold her stare with my own. It’s so easy to lose myself in the depths of her golden eyes. Besides the color of her eyes and hair, and the fishy ears, all her features are the same. “Kairyn’s a fool. I would recognize you anywhere.”
“Sure, Cas,” she whispers.
“No, Rosalina, I would. I would know you in any form anywhere in all the Vale. By the gentle curve of your smile and the way the air sparkles when you’re around.” I draw myself closer. “In the night’s tapestry, I would know you as a star or as a bloom in a field of flowers. Did you know there is a particular cadence to your heartbeat? Especially when you’re around me. I could pick it out in a symphony.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Cas.” Her breath brushes over my lips.
“Dramatic?” My smile curves. “Dramatic would be saying that even if there was nothing left of me but shadows, I would know you.” But it’s not dramatic, because when my mother brought me to my lowest, when she sank me deep in pain and draped me in the dark, I thought of Rosalina. I thought of you and found my way out of the shadows and wished I could make my way to your light again.
I’m here now. Her words caress my mind like the loveliest melody.
Gripping the back of her neck, I pull her against me. Her lips part as I slip my tongue between her teeth. She makes a soft sound of surrender. I turn us until she falls beneath me, hair spread out over the red fabric like a crown. “I missed you,” I say.
The words hang heavy in the air. I missed you. Why did I tell her that? Why did I say that out loud? Of course, she won’t say it back. She’ll have missed Kel and Farron and even that grumpy Spring bastard, but not—
“I missed you too,” she says, hand smearing gold across my cheek.
Something melts in my chest. It’s all worth it. Dealing with Farron, sending Kel to his likely doom, this fire in my chest … it’s all worth it if it’s for her.
I kiss her again.
Her touch is soft and delicate, yet filled with an intensity that leaves me breathless. I savor the taste of her, a mixture of roses and honey. Her fingers weave through my hair, her body arching to mine, and I can feel every inch of her painted curves.
“Caspian,” she says against my ear.
I can barely get her name out, driving my hips down into hers. “Rose.”
“Stop.” She pushes against my chest, face hurt and angry. “You’re glowing.”
Through the gauzy curtains shines a line of gold light, slamming straight into my chest.
A moment later, a busty woman with a red face—obviously drunk out of her mind—bursts inside. She holds a will-o’-wisp to her chest. “My mate is in here!” she giggles and then hiccups. “He’s gorgeous.”
Rosalina jumps up and stands in front of me. “He’s not your mate,” she hisses, so full of venom that the woman takes a step back.
“Fucking Farron,” I murmur and adjust the letter in my breast pocket. As soon as I do, the glow disappears. I look up at the woman. “What light?”
She blinks, looking down at the will-o’-wisp on her chest, then over at me. “You should go,” I say. Thankfully, she obliges. Rosalina turns to me, and I hand her the envelope. “From your mate.”
Carefully, she peeks inside. “A letter and … a flower. A Friar’s Lantern. Why would he send me this?”
I shrug. “I’d keep the envelope closed unless you want more suitors to interrupt us.”
Carefully, she places it on the side table. “You two have been getting along?”
“As much as necessary.”
“You smell like him a little. Along your neck mostly.”
I rub the spot subconsciously. “Is that why you were all over me? If I’d known that, I would have snuggled up with the little pup a long time ago.”
She laughs. It’s a beautiful sound.
And I’m an idiot.
“Tell me, Flower, why were you so sure I wasn’t her mate?”
Rosalina tucks her hair behind her webbed ear. “I was just trying to save her the agony of being mated to you.”
“Agony. Are you so sure that’s what it would be like?”
She turns to me, eyes wide and lips parted. The disguise of the siren fades away, and now she’s just a gold-painted Rose. “Yes. I’m sure.”
Before she can say more, I cross the room and lift her in my arms, gripping tight to her hair. Brown waves shimmer where the gold dust has fallen off. Her legs wrap around my hips, and I drop her to the chaise.
“I want to take this off,” I say, touching her shell top.
She nods, and I untie it, letting it clatter to the floor. Soft paint slides beneath my fingers as I begin to rub her, circling her nipples, tugging on them until they’re taut. My fingerprints mark her. Her hands glide over my body in such a desperate way, I wonder if she’s been thinking about that night we spent together as much as I have.
My attention drifts lower, over the softness of her stomach, to touch the shell skirt just barely concealing her. “And this?”
“Destroy it,” she gasps, then, “But not really, because I don’t want to walk out of here naked.”
Carefully, I untie and place the shell skirt on the ground. “As if I would let that happen. There’s only one other fae here I’d be at peace seeing you like … this .”
For a moment, her face pinches in confusion, but then I slide my hand between her legs, and she gasps. Her eyes roll back in her head, lost in pleasure. My budded flower ready to unfurl. I grip her thighs and pull them apart.
“You know there are people just outside,” I say.
She threads her fingers in my hair and guides me lower. “Don’t tell me you’re getting nervous.”
A desperate kernel of sound breaks out of my mouth, and I dive between her legs, nuzzling, before running my tongue along her center. There’s at least one place that’s not painted. This is mine.
It’s as delicious as her lips, the sweetest nectar. Amid this frenzy of pleasure, my mind slips into hers. She’s completely and utterly consumed by me. Predatory need surges through me at the thought. Every fiber in me wants to enter her, and when I rise to capture her lips again, she begins to paw at my clothes.
Grabbing her wrists in one hand, I bring them above her head. “No, Flower. Why is everyone so eager to see Keldarion in the labyrinth?”
She laughs, and I wish I was as funny as the hulking gladiator, so I could make her do it again.
“Come on, Cas,” she purrs. “I know you want me to touch you.”
Of course I fucking do. The only question is … can I control myself around her?
I’ve never been good at resisting temptation. “Fine, a little taste. For my princess.”
“Tell me if you need me to stop,” she breathes, and there’s nothing but trust in her bright eyes.
Rosalina slips off my clothes, and the light breeze tugs through my hair. I suddenly wish we weren’t so exposed here, weren’t concealed by only sheets of fabric.
I want her all to myself.
“You’re so beautiful,” she whispers. Her lips softly brush over my newly exposed skin, tongue dipping into the hollow below my neck, sending the most delicious shiver through my body. She pushes me down, my back hitting the chaise. Her teeth nip at my skin as she makes her way lower and lower.
My cock aches, standing sword straight. Her long lashes lower as she inspects me, and a strange heat crawls up my neck. She slides her hair over her shoulder and her warm breath sweeps over me, causing my cock to quiver and bob.
Her pink tongue inches out of her lips, and I bunch the fabric in my hands, nearly dying from the anticipation.
Slowly, she licks from my balls to my tip, wet and silky.
“That’s a cute sound, Cas.” She smirks.
“What sound was that?”
“A whimper.”
My face heats. I wasn’t even aware I had made a sound. However, I cease to care as she swirls her tongue around my tip before closing her lips and slowly taking me into her throat. My hips buck, and I fist my hands in her hair as if that will keep her here forever.
Who am I kidding? I’ll barely last ten minutes at this pace.
She continues moving up and down my cock, her hollowed cheeks perfectly tight. Her rhythm is hypnotising, and I tangle my fingers in her hair as she moves.
“You feel so good, Flower,” I rasp. “You’re doing so well.”
My praise urges her on, and she goes so deep, I hit the back of her throat, causing her to gag a little. “Keep making sounds like that and I’ll accidentally fill those pretty lips with my cum.”
She pops off, saliva dripping from her lips. “I’d swallow every drop of you.”
My whole body clenches, cock becoming painfully stiff, and I push her away, staggering to the other side of the room.
“You’re too good, beautiful,” I gasp, taking myself in my palm.
Rosalina looks enviously at my hand. “Better safe than sorry, I guess. I don’t want to get sent to Keldarion because of your bargain.”
“You don’t make it easy on me,” I grunt. “Not when you look like that.”
“Should I get dressed?”
I squeeze myself at the base, holding back a powerful releasee. “Don’t you dare, Princess.”
Rosalina sits up, the soft curves of her stomach bending in the most delicious way. I keep my gaze on her as I pump my cock. This doesn’t count for the bargain; we’re not even touching. The gods know I’ve come to her image almost every night these last few months.
“Kel would never be this careless with you,” I say.
Her gaze sharpens. “You’re not Kel.”
“Glad you’ve noticed.” I rub my thumb over the tip of my cock. It twitches in my hand, desperate for release. “Flower, I want to come inside you so badly.”
She gives a sly smile and lies back, fingers grazing her entrance. “Now you’re starting to sound like Kel.”
I laugh, breath growing heavy. “Is that what you want? To be filled completely? By me? By Kel? By all your mates at once?”
Her eyes flutter and her fingers work faster. “Yes.”
My grip grows near painful, I’m clutching myself so hard. “I imagine it dripping down your thighs. Fucking delicious.”
She gives a moan, her back arching up.
“Don’t you come, Rosalina,” I say, dark command echoing in my voice. “I’m going to make you come.”
She gives me a pointed glare but runs her hands up to her stomach. The movement—and her submission to my command—is enough to send me over the edge. I give a ragged moan as my cock hardens and cum spills out onto my palm. Fucking loads of it.
I sigh, body shaking. She’s watching with a hawk’s bright gaze, something animalistic on her features. My darling’s just as desperate for me as I am for her.
I move to wipe my hand on a cloth napkin.
“Wait.” Rosalina jumps up and crosses to me, her full breasts swaying.
She grips my hand then brings a finger to her lips, licking the moisture off.
The sensation ignites something in me, something primal and deep and dangerous. The feel of her mouth is fucking incredible, but not near enough.
“You like that?” I growl. “How about this?”
Roughly tugging her closer, I rub my cum-splattered palm against her pussy.
“Caspian!” she cries so loud, I’m surprised the whole damn party doesn’t hear it.
“You’re so wet already. From my mouth, from your desire. Now from my cum.” My fingers slide easily inside her. Her body melds against mine, and she desperately grips my shoulders to steady herself.
“Cas, Cas,” she gasps. Her mouth is wide open against mine, and I inhale her air. Sinking two fingers inside her, I begin to pump in and out.
“Do you like that, Rose? Tell me you like that.”
She’s beyond words, desperate moans escaping her lips.
I pull my hand out and grab her leg, lifting it up to my hip. I squeeze her soft ass with my other hand. She’s trembling so much, I think I’m the only thing keeping her standing. Sinking my hand deep within her again, I curl my fingers to stroke her sensitive core. She bites down on my shoulder, stifling a whimper of her own.
A growl escapes me and I increase my pace, the wet sound of her pussy intoxicating.
“Yes, Caspian, yes. I’m going to—”
I dig my fingers into her soft thigh, then kiss her with a wild desperation, just as I remove my hand.
She breaks away, trembling. “Cas? No, I—”
I scoop her in my arms and carry her back to the chaise. “You’re on the most intoxicating edge of pleasure, Rose. I intend to let you hover in this bliss.”
As I lay her on the chaise, I can tell even the change of fabric is stimulating to her in this heightened state. Everything from the lightest brush of my lips to the flick of my fingers is going to feel like fucking starlight.
I’d keep her this way forever if I could.
I throw myself on top of her, capturing her lips in a kiss. I’m careful not to touch her pussy yet. She threads her fingers through my hair, her tongue exploring my mouth. It lasts longer than I intend, and I pull away, running a hand through her silky hair.
“Cas,” she whines, her voice breathless and heady with need. “Tell me something.”
“Anything,” I lie as my fingers circle her entrance, wet from my mouth and cum, and her own desperate desire.
“Why didn’t you try harder to convince Kel?” she asks. “To convince Kel you’d let me go if he and I made love? I know you wouldn’t keep me as a thrall, or whatever he’s afraid of.”
“Because, Princess,” I shove two fingers into her, and she gasps, “I can’t even convince myself.”
The start of my name turns into a moan. Her hands claw at my back as I ravage her already swollen heat. From this angle, I can truly admire her, that pretty pink pussy, glistening with our mutual desire. I don’t dare take her. There’s no way I would be able to control myself once inside her.
“You belonging completely to me, every part of you at my mercy? I would be good to you, good to you like this, but not so good as to give you up. Keldarion won’t give in because he knows how much I want you.”
Her eyes squeeze shut, body bucking against my hand, and I curl my fingers inside her. It’s time to let her come. She can’t hold back her climax any longer. She shudders around my hand. Her face breaks into a gorgeous eruption of pleasure, a long moan escaping her lips. Lips I capture and whisper against, “Because I want you all to myself.”
Rosalina falls back to the chaise, and I don’t let her go. I can’t even remove my fingers from her warmth. She blinks up at me with a look so adoring, it’s almost like she’s my thrall already.
But I know she’s too much of a romantic to believe a word I just said.
Maybe she’s making a romantic of me too, because despite what I said out loud, I wouldn’t change a single thing about her.
Besides, it’s too damn satisfying getting her to submit by her own volition.
Rosalina tilts her head to the side. “Dayton?”
I turn, seeing the Summer Prince standing with the curtain drawn. I let out a huff. “You just missed the grand climax, Sunshine. Either come in or show that aroused cock to the whole party.”