Chapter 26 #2
No. I shut out the thought as soon as it appeared. Don’t let him win, Sybelle.
No good would come from that line of thinking .
When I stood on the floor, I laced my fingers through his and tugged on his arm. “Come and dance with me,” I said again.
I waited for him to refuse, or to jerk on my arm and drag me back onto his lap. I wouldn’t have minded, really.
But then he would have to address why he refused to dance.
He looked at me with a conflicted expression. A muscle worked in his jaw, and his nostrils flared.
“If you don’t want to, all you have to do is say so.” I stared expectantly at him, but his huff of exasperation told me he saw right through my facade.
“One dance,” he said, and I grinned at him again.
He let me steer him toward the crowd of dancers.
A few couples were grinding against one another, faces full of rapture.
Some fae formed large circles as they danced together with drinks in their hands.
I noticed Enzira with a group of her friends, laughing and cheering.
It brought a smile to my face to see her enjoying herself.
I twisted to face Varius, then draped my arms over him. He was so much taller than me that my hands could barely reach the back of his neck. I twined my fingers in his dark curls again, delighting in how soft and lush they felt.
My hips swayed as I inched closer to him until our bodies were flush against each other. He stared down at me, lips parted and eyes full of unexpected warmth. But he stood ramrod still, unmoving.
“Are you going to make me do all the work myself?” I teased, placing my hands on his hips and urging him to sway along with me.
He chuckled but obliged, his large body crowding mine. His chest was so warm as it pressed into me, and I let my palms rest against him, tracing small circles just above his nipples.
A low, rumbling sound resonated from his throat.
His arm came around my waist, bringing me fully against him so I could feel that delicious hardness once more.
I arched into him, and he growled again.
His hands splayed along my back, the tips of his claws tickling my bare flesh.
I suppressed a shiver, and a small part of me registered he could easily tear me to ribbons.
But I wasn’t afraid.
I looked up at him with boldness and desire, realizing there was nothing about him that disgusted me or deterred me from the lust boiling through my body.
“Can I touch you?” I asked, overcome by the confidence swelling inside me.
“Yes.” His voice was strained.
I raised my arms and ran my fingers over his full lips, pausing on those large fangs protruding from his mouth.
His eyes closed as I traced each one, noting the sharpened points.
All of his teeth were like blades, ready to cut and slice open.
But they did not hurt me as I brushed my fingertips over them.
If anything, the harsh lines of his teeth brought an acute sensation, sending waves of awareness pulsing through my body as they dragged along my skin.
My arms lifted higher, and I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach the curling ibex horns atop his head. I ran my hands over them, feeling their rough firmness. Varius made a strangled sound that hummed through my body.
“Does this hurt?” I asked, withdrawing my hands.
He grabbed my wrist, freezing me in place. “No. Please… keep going.”
I blinked at him. His mouth was open, his eyes dark with need and desire. So, I continued my perusal of his horns, running my hands up and down them, teasing the rough edges and bumps.
Fascinating. I could study him all day. And I yearned to do just that.
My hands moved back down his face, gliding along the firm planes and ridges of muscle along his chest. I traced the charred mark on his shoulder where the deadly shadows had burned him, and his breath shuddered.
My arms came around his back until my fingers flicked against the barbed points of his tail.
He hissed a sharp breath of surprise.
“Too much?” I whispered.
“Not at all.” His voice was low and husky. I had a sense that no one was quite bold enough to explore his body like this. He was the king, after all.
Yes, he’s the king, Sybelle ! shouted a small voice in my head. Where is your sense of propriety? Get ahold of yourself!
I shoved the voice away. My fingers found a section of his tail that wasn’t barbed, reminding me of the stem of a rose in between its thorns. I squeezed, feeling hard bone beneath the skin, almost like a spine.
He groaned, dropping his head to my shoulder, his breath shuddering.
I froze. “I’m hurting you.” The sound he’d just made was not pleasant.
“These… parts of me you are touching,” he panted, “are just… quite sensitive. They aren’t… often touched like that.”
“Should I?—?”
“Do not stop.”
I bit back a smile. So he enjoyed my scrutiny.
“As long as you allow me to return the favor.”
I stilled, and heat pooled low in my core. Stones, what am I getting myself into?
“It’s only fair,” he added, “that I inspect your body with just as much care and attention.”
“You already did that,” I said, my voice a bit strained.
“No. My shadows did. I want to worship your body with my hands , wife.”
The dark and seductive promise in his words made my toes curl. Part of me wanted to withdraw from him before he undid me completely.
But the more dominant side of me wanted to lean into him and hold him to that promise, to see just what those clawed fingers could do as they explored every inch of my body.
Warmth clouded my throat, and I found it difficult to breathe. That aching need pulsed through me, making my thighs clench. Varius’s body was so close to mine that he felt it.
He chuckled against my ear. “So, I am not the only one,” he murmured, his breath tickling me.
I shivered.
“If you wish,” he continued, running his claw along the outside of my forearm, “we could continue what we started. I could show you the true meaning of pleasure and fulfill you in every possible way. I guarantee I could make you come at least four times before the night is over.”
My eyelids fluttered shut as that building ache between my legs only worsened. Stones, it was almost painful .
“Is that the Shadow Queen?” barked a voice nearby.
My eyes snapped open, and Varius’s grip around me tightened. I turned my head to see who had spoken, and my blood chilled.
It was the same soldier who had harassed me in the training yard. He stood alongside Murvo, the captain, both of them clutching female fae against their bodies. Murvo’s mouth pressed together in a thin line, and when he caught my gaze, he quickly looked away.
But the soldier looked positively gleeful. He pushed the female away from him as he sauntered closer to us.
“Ah, my king, but you don’t expect to keep this lovely specimen all to yourself tonight, do you?” the soldier crooned, his eyes still fixed on me. They gleamed with a hunger that made my stomach roil.
All warmth from my dance with Varius fled my body, chilling my blood and icing my bones. Varius gripped my waist tightly and growled, “Yes, I do. Be on your way, Warwick.” Inky black shadows pooled at his feet and spread along the floor .
“She is a human among the unseelie at our revel. If she is bold enough to participate in our festivities, then we must show her how it’s done properly.” He started to unfasten his trousers.
A roar burst from Varius’s mouth as he moved between us, shielding me behind his large body. I clung to his arms, terror coursing through me like a swift current. Darkness clouded the room, obscuring the lights as his shadows swelled around us both.
“She is my wife ,” Varius snarled. “Now, leave us before I tear out your throat.” I gasped as his wings twitched along his back.
Warwick raised his palms, but the smirk remained on his face. “Easy, oh great king. In past revels, the human brides were passed around the crowd for our enjoyment. I only assumed this one would be the same.”
Nausea churned in my gut, and my eyes slammed shut. Oh, Stones… I found myself backing away from the scene, away from Varius and all these unseelie fae who were now looking at me like I was a snack.
Except for Enzira. Her wide, terrified eyes landed on me. In an instant, she was at my side, her arm linked through mine.
“We should leave,” she hissed in my ear.
I nodded, glancing over the faces of the other fae. No one seemed perturbed by Warwick’s proposal. If anything, they looked intrigued and even eager . A few males were loosening their own belts in anticipation.
Varius reached behind him to grasp my arm. “Sybelle…”
“I’m leaving,” I said loudly, but my shaking voice betrayed my fear. “Thank you for the festivities, but I’ll leave you all to enjoy the rest of the revel without me.”
Before anyone could reply, Enzira steered me from the room. She threw open the first door she found. Perhaps the castle was on our side today, for it immediately showed us my chambers. Enzira and I rushed through, and she shut the door quickly behind us.