Chapter 15 #2
“Everyone out,” I demand. Jace laughs as he retreats into the hall along with the others. The door clicks shut behind them.
Arienna frowns, working her lip nervously as I approach her. “Am I not allowed to say hi to him?”
“Say hi to him all you want,” I say, stopping right in front of her. Her head tilts far back to meet my gaze. Raising my hands, I brush both thumbs across her cheeks. “I just want to know what you were thinking about when you went this beautiful red.”
She swallows hard. Her mouth opens as a little flush of heat fills her cheeks.
“Shall I tell you what I was thinking about?”
She nods.
Leaning in, I swirl my tongue around her earlobe, then suck it into my mouth. The tightness in my shoulders and chest eases completely.
Then it forms again as three little words bang around in my skull. How does she say them so easily when merely thinking them makes me feel like I’m choking?
Focusing on what I know, I kiss my way down her neck before licking my way back up it. My breath tickling her ear once more, I murmur, “Me fucking you from behind while Jace sucks on your strap-on like a good fucking boy.”
Her mug slips from her fingers as she gasps. I snatch it out of the air before it can shatter all over her feet. Hot liquid splashes on my hand, and I make a mental note not to tease her while she’s holding something that can hurt her when dropped.
Stepping into the kitchenette, I place the mug in the sink.
Then dry off my hand. She stays where she is, her eyes glazed with heat, her lips parted in little pants.
Walking back to her, I kiss her on the mouth, letting my tongue slip inside her warmth.
“Now what was my perfect little slut thinking about?”
Her tongue darts out to lick her lip before she rolls it into her mouth. My cock jerks, swollen and hard. “About you sitting on the sofa while I ride you, with my boobs in your mouth and your hands on my ass. Jace is sitting in the chair, watching us as he jerks himself off.”
“He doesn’t join in?”
“No.” She beams up at me, looking too damn cute. “We’re monopolists, remember?”
“Monogamists,” I murmur, my chest expanding so much it fucking hurts.
“Yeah, that.”
I stare into her eyes, her open, honest eyes, and I want so badly to tell her how I feel. But those fucking words won’t claw their way past my throat. “I…” I try.
Gritting my teeth, I look away from her. “You should get dressed,” I say instead, glancing at the robe she has tied around her. “We have a lot of things to do today.”
She blinks a couple of times before nodding. When she turns to head into her room, I grab her arm and turn her back around.
“Undress here. I want to watch your ass as you walk away.”
Her breath hitching, she reaches up to undo the knot of her robe.
The dark-purple fabric pools at her feet, revealing all the parts of her I want to lose myself in.
I want nothing more than to tell Nicholas to resume my duties as he did last night, but my responsibility as king forces me to keep my hands to myself.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmur, my eyes running up and down her body.
Grinning, she rubs her left breast as she dips her other hand between her legs. She strokes herself for a moment before turning around, then slowly bending at the waist. As her pert, perfect ass wriggles at me, I spank her right on her tattoo.
She jolts forwards, hurrying into the bedroom as I smile.
My little queen has a literal cum bucket tattoo on her ass, and I can only imagine the events that led up to that.
“I was six.”
All humour and lust instantly vanishes, replaced by a dark need to find Dab and beat the living shit out of her. In time, I tell myself. Whatever I do to her can’t be traced back to me.
When Arienna steps out of the bedroom, she’s wearing a V-cut black jumpsuit with a mesh stomach.
A black leather choker wraps around her neck, and two straps come off it to run down her shoulders before circling the top of her biceps.
Small chains hang from the middle of the choker, looping down between her breasts before reattaching to a medallion at the back.
I picked out her clothes for her last night, so I know a delicate metal hoop sits below her shoulder blades, with Raza’s emblem inside it.
The piece has been passed down since Queen Raza’s time on the throne.
There is a second where she looks for me, but then she clocks the sound of the shower.
I’ve left the bathroom door open, and I watch her as she watches me.
My cock thickens, but I ignore it. We only have a few minutes before we need to be in the Throne Room, and she hasn’t eaten yet.
After everything we did last night, I want to make sure she’s properly fuelled for the day.
When she starts to take off her clothes, I shake my head. When she doesn’t listen, I smile. She does so like being punished, my wife.
Sauntering into the bathroom, she reaches for the door of the shower. I turn off the tap right as she steps inside.
“Hey,” she says. “I just got here.”
“We’re going to be late.” Walking her backwards with my hands on her shoulders, I resist the urge to pull her into my arms. Turning from her, I open the cupboard and grab a towel.
She blows out a breath. “You wouldn’t happen to have learned how to do quickies overnight, have you?”
I smile. “Go get dressed again, Arienna.” I turn around to watch her walk away from me. She sways her hips, then she looks over her shoulder. Grinning, she sucks two fingers into her mouth.
I groan.
Lighting up, she turns to run back to me.
“Get dressed. Do not make me tell you again.” But I only barely stop myself from laughing.
Grumbling, she stomps over to her clothes.
My cock calls me a fucking fool as I watch her bend over to pick them up.
Once we’re both dressed, I walk towards the door with my queen. That tension creeps back inside me with every step we take.
“Use her as bait.”
“It’s not a fucking request, Dickie.”
Shit.
The door opens before we reach it, and I instinctively drop my hand to one of my knives. Jace looks at me, then glances at my wife.
“Morning, beautiful.”
“Hi.” She giggles, but the sound cuts off abruptly as she squeals, “Fabia! Guess what happened last night?”
“Please do not tell me.”
She throws herself at her friend. Fabia places a hand over her face and shoves – something I’m sure she’s done many times before. But this time, she freezes. Her eyes widening, they shoot to me.
“You are not her friend here,” I chastise her. “You are her guard. If she wants to hug you, you damn well let her.”
Fabia nods jerkily as Arienna looks between the two of us.
“Oh my gods, did I mess up your first day? I did, didn’t I? I’m so sorry. I’ll go back inside, and we can do –”
Grabbing my queen’s hand, I tug her forwards. “She’s doing fine, especially given she didn’t sleep last night.”
“Oh my gods!” she squeals as she turns her head to look at Fabia. “Did you and Nicholas finally have sex?”
I roll my lips in, knowing how badly Fabia wants to tell her to shut up. I can practically feel the slice of her stare, and I’m only in her peripheral.
“No, Your Majesty,” she bites out. Jace laughs, and she glares at him too.
“Eyes on your charge,” he tells her with a nudge in her side. She looks back at my queen.
“Oh no! I’m really messing this up for you. I’ll be quiet.”
The softest little snort comes from Fabia, but neither Jace nor I say anything since we’re choking back our own.
When we walk into the Royal Dining Hall, Irin, Fabia, and Marrabel stay outside it to watch the door. I walk inside with my wife and Jace. A twelve-seater table stretches out under a high-vaulted ceiling. It’s a much cosier feel in here than in the hall where we eat with the nobles.
Breakfast is already spread out on one end of it. Nicholas is seated in one of the high-backed chairs, along with one of his guards. The other two in his security stand watch; only one of them will eat at a time.
My brother looks up as we near. His eyes on my wife, he tenses. A forkful of pancakes covered in syrup hovers in front of his scared lips.
“Morning,” he says tightly. Ducking his head, he shovels food into his mouth.
“Morning,” my queen responds brightly as we walk over to join him.
I pull out her chair, then scoot her in. Taking my place on her left, I sit opposite my brother.
“Have a pleasant night?” Nicholas asks, each word a monotone of control. I know he wants to excuse himself, to hide away in his solidarity, but I rarely get to see him (if someone attacks, it’ll be harder for them to take us both out at once) and I want him to feel comfortable around my wife.
Blushing, Arienna glances at me and Jace as he sits down beside me. “Ah, yes… very uh… pleasant.”
“Deliciously pleasant,” Jace adds, helping himself to a stack of pancakes. Unlike Nicholas, he smothers his in a soft cheese, topped with parsnip sauce rather than in something disgustingly sweet. I pick up my fork, wanting to stab him in the hand with it.
Instead, I grab my wife’s plate and use the fork to pile savoury pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fried snakon, crispy slices of snake meat, onto it.
My brother grins with understanding. His eyes on me, his shoulders relax just slightly. “I thought you weren’t the sharing type.”
“He’s not.” Jace digs into his breakfast with a gusto I hope he chokes on. “He had me –”
“Eat all of it,” I tell my queen as I place her plate back in front of her. My eyes briefly shut as laughter churns up all around me.
“That he did,” Arienna giggles, setting the two off even louder.
Shaking my head, I fill my own plate. By the time the two idiots and my queen finally stop laughing, not only have I finished my breakfast but Nicholas’ guard has too. He went outside to swap places with Irin. She’s also finished, and now Marrabel sits with us.
There is pain in her eyes, but there is a lightness too. Death comes too quickly in this world, and Saragese is not the first person she’s lost. She has already buried her grief under a mountain of rock, left to be ignored.
Turning my attention to Nicholas, I ask him about last night and what terms the Vylian king has to keep the peace between our kingdoms. There’s nothing extravagant in his requests.
He wants his people taken back to Vyla and their wares paid for.
He is still keen to try the markets in his kingdom too, and they will open next week as planned.
He’s heading home this morning, with an escort of our Royal Guard, led by Echo, but he’ll be back in three days’ time to collect those Deirdre manages to resurrect. His queen will stay in Vyla.
“Find Deirdre and pay the going rate for her services. Do not accept any alternative,” I tell my brother.
She’ll want to barter with her payment, offering to do it at a discount if we deny the Vylian herbalist the right to open up shop here.
After yesterday’s attack, he might not want to expand into Raza anyway, but she never was one for relying on luck.
He nods and finishes the last of his breakfast. Just as he stands though, Fabia walks into the room, heading towards Marrabel’s recently vacated chair.
“What are you doing here?” he demands.
“I’m in Ari– Queen Arienna’s guard.”
“The hel you are.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” she says sarcastically. “I’m just lying, and everyone here is in on it.”
“Richard,” Nicholas starts as he turns to me. “She’s still in training.”
“Which is why she isn’t guarding Arienna on her own.”
“But do you want to borrow her for the day?” my queen asks, perking up with a sly smile. “Or the night?”
“Arienna,” Fabia hisses.
“Can I do that? Order them on a date?” she asks as she looks at me.
“Yes,” I say because fuck it; it’ll do my brother some good to do something for fun for once.
“Fabia –”
“Richard!” Nicholas snaps.
“Arienna,” Fabia hisses, “I’m trying to learn to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m off on a date.”
“Oh. Sorry. I know how much you want to be a guard.”
“Thank you.” Fabia sighs. But she shoots a quick look at my brother when she thinks no one is looking.
And he still hasn’t left the room despite still standing at the table.
I smile, loving how much change my beautiful queen is bringing to Raza already.
Perhaps…
Maybe…
Maybe my world won’t break her.
Maybe she will break it.