Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The carriage rocked gently beneath me as Eagle’s Rest came back into view, its stately windows catching the fading light. I should have been weary from the day, from fittings and endless chatter about silks and lace, but all I felt was... restless.
Raw.
Back in my room, I sank onto the edge of the bed, fingers brushing against the velvet choker circling my throat.
A simple band, yet it might as well have been an iron chain.
Each time I touched it, I remembered Leighton's calm manner as he fastened it around my neck.
Remembered the glint in Magnus's eyes before he ducked beneath my skirts and left my thighs—and my soul—marked.
My skin burned where his mouth and teeth had been, a secret no one in town could see while I smiled politely and pretended to be Leighton’s blushing bride-to-be. Only I knew how ruined I already felt.
Because now that Magnus had his hands and mouth on me, there was no doubt in my mind I truly was compromised. There was no going back now. My maidenhead might still be intact, but I'd given in. I was no longer pure.
I pressed my hands over my face, heat blooming in my cheeks. What was wrong with me? What sort of woman ached to be owned by two men? What sort of woman leaned into the leash instead of running from it? Not to mention all the secrets coming out, one after the other.
My heart thundered at the memory of their lips meeting.
And how much it had affected me.
It wasn't normal.
Two men... together in such a way. I should be scandalized by the notion, but instead it only enhanced the ache inside me.
And the last secret. Possibly the biggest one.
Leighton was royalty. Well... bastard royalty, but still.
Ugh! I was getting nowhere, going back and forth in my head.
All those thoughts tangled into one another, spiraling tight until my body ached all over again. Heat pulsed low in my belly, sharp and demanding.
I slid back onto the bed, biting my lip as I pushed my skirts higher. This was terrifying, but I'd done it once, after all.
Yes, they might have been directing me, but surely this, me on my own, was better than giving in to them?
My fingers trembled as I touched myself the way Magnus had ordered, the way Leighton had coaxed. I whispered their words to myself, trying to summon their presence.
That's it, love... circle slowly. Be patient. Let the ache build.
But without them, it felt wrong. Empty. My body hovered close, trembling at the edge, but the moment I thought I'd tip over, have that amazing rush of pleasure, it slipped away like sand through my fingers.
"Darn it!" I hissed, dropping my hands to the coverlet. My chest heaved, frustration and shame mixing hot in my veins. What kind of woman was I becoming, desperate and ruined, unable to find peace without them?
And worse... furious at them for it.
Scowling, I smoothed down my skirts and stood. Enough. I would find them. Demand they tell me what they'd done to me, why they'd turned me into this... this needy, aching thing.
The house was hushed as I slipped barefoot down the hall, my heart thundering. Where would they be at this hour? It was too early for them to have retired to their rooms.
Perhaps... the study?
Yes. The study. I heard voices low behind the partially closed door.
I pushed it open without thinking.
And froze.
Leighton's back was pressed to the wall, Magnus caging him in with a hand braced beside his head. Their mouths fused in a kiss that was nothing like the chaste brush Leighton had given me that first night.
This was hungry, possessive, the kind of kiss that stole the air from the room.
And Magnus's other hand... oh my lord. It wasn't on Leighton's waist. It wasn't anywhere proper. It stroked low, hard, over forbidden places, and Leighton groaned into his mouth, fingers fisted in Magnus's coat.
I felt the moment deep in my core. All my previous pent-up... passion built right back up, and I felt needy and aching all over again.
I should have left. Shut the door and fled like a decent, God-fearing woman. But I couldn't move.
I was rooted to the spot, breath shallow, heart hammering as I watched Magnus's hand slide lower still. His grip shifted, bold and unapologetic, and Leighton gasped into his mouth.
My thighs pressed together helplessly.
Magnus murmured something I couldn't hear, and then... he freed them both. I couldn't breathe. Two men, standing so brazenly close, Magnus's strong hand stroking them together, rough and sure. Their low groans tangled in the air, so sinful, so intimate, it made my skin prickle.
I'd never seen a man's naked body before. Never seen that, and was fully prepared to be disgusted, intimidated or outright terrified.
Instead, it only served to increase my need.
I slipped back a pace, into the shadow of the hall, clutching at the wall for balance. My skirts bunched beneath my hands almost without thought, rising, rising until cool air brushed my bare skin. I was already wet, shamefully so, and when my fingers found that tender ache, I nearly cried out.
They were lost in each other, lips and teeth and ragged breaths. Magnus's hand worked between them, and when Leighton's head fell back against the wall, his mouth open in ecstasy, I bit down hard on my knuckles to stifle my own whimper.
I matched their rhythm, desperate, needy, my body strung tight as a bow. Each sound they made coiled heat deeper inside me.
And then Magnus's voice, rough and commanding, cut through. "Come for me."
I shattered.
The climax tore through me, my body bucking against my hand, breath breaking in sobs I swallowed down. Just as my vision blurred, I heard Leighton cry out too, and the raw guttural sound pushed me even higher.
When at last the trembling subsided, I leaned against the cool wall, skirts still rucked indecently around my waist, pulse wild.
I should be horrified by what I saw, what I did.
Instead, I wanted more.
As the echoes of their release still hung in the room, Magnus leaned his forehead against Leighton's both of them breathing hard. His hand lingered, scandalously, before sliding up to grip Leighton's jaw.
"She's coming around, right? I'm not just imagining things."
My heart sped up as I realized they were talking of me.
"Yes, Mag. She is. It's all coming together. We'll finally be able to do this. Be together."
My chest went tight.
The words landed like a blade between my ribs. So that was it. I wasn't special, not really.
I wasn't wanted for me. I was a shield. A diversion. A pretty little mask to make their sins more palatable.
A convenient farm girl, of no influence that would do nothing but be thankful for whatever scraps they sent my way.
I pressed a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out, then gathered my skirts with shaking fingers. I had to get away before they heard the ragged sound of my breathing, before they knew I had seen too much. I slipped away, running to my room, unable to think of what to do next.
But I did know... There was no way I was staying here and marrying a man who only wished to wed me so he could have what he really wanted.
Another man.