Chapter 14 #2
Lambert pulls me into his lap when I would’ve gotten up. “I have to win a game without dropping a point to earn rewards from you,” he says quietly, in an intimate murmur meant just for me. Then louder, he adds, “You can’t get kisses as a consolation prize. You at least have to beat Carlton.”
“To the victor go the spoils,” Pierce concludes, and my eyes whip to where he’s raising his sabre, ready to go again. “Now stop whining and finish this.”
Jasper readies his own sword, but I’m still gaping at the Carlton heir.
Has he been ensorcelled? First a gift, now this?
I suppose he did sign the contract, but still, I almost believed he did that out of spite. As a fairness thing.
Now he’s competing for kisses?
There’s a moment where I could object, but my mouth is glued shut as they raise their blades and resume.
To their credit, the other McKinleys in the room are keeping their words suspiciously light and their eyes absolutely anywhere other than me. They don’t even seem surprised to hear the four heirs arguing about who gets to kiss the Librarian.
Were they warned? Is this…common knowledge now?
“I don’t understand,” I mumble. “Do they all know about us?”
“Dakari might’ve knocked some heads together when someone mentioned the noise coming from the keep last night at breakfast.” North abandons the pull-up bar and drops to his haunches beside us to watch Pierce and Jasper, glugging water from a bottle before he continues.
“Lambert then drove the message home a little harder. I might’ve thrown a punch or two… .”
And there’s not a scratch on any of them, which means Jasper must’ve healed them all afterwards. No wonder he looked exasperated when he turned up at my bedside with a little tray full of homecooked food and a tiny vase of daisies.
“Men,” Eddy groans. “Gossips and brutes, the lot of them.”
Did everyone hear us? I tug at my sleeves, fighting the urge to groan. I thought we were keeping our relationship private, and now apparently the whole clan knows…because of me. Because I didn’t consider that torturing Leo might have unintended consequences.
I’m so used to the Arcanaeum, where there’s no one else to hear…
My inner critic is so loud that it takes a while for me to realise that none of them seem upset by the openness of our relationship.
“Are you mad?” North asks, eyeing the books around us with concern. “Let me know now, so I can duck.”
“You’re safe. I haven’t written those manipulation spells into my grimoire yet.” Even if I did, it took me years to master using them to move objects with the level of precision I once had.
If I used one now, I might accidentally knock him out.
“I’ll help.” Eddy raises her textbook and batters her twin over the head with it.
“I’m not mad,” I say. “Just thinking.”
The clatter of swords fills the silence, only to stop suddenly as more cursing fills the air.
Pierce flicks Jasper’s blood off his sword, panting. The Scot has dropped his in favour of poking at a slash to his abs with a dismayed expression. I’m halfway to my feet before Lambert’s noise of complaint can stop me.
“Flèche was banned decades ago,” one of the McKinleys grouches as I cross the room, examining Jasper’s newest wound with a frown and gentle fingers. “Typical cheating Carlton.”
It’s not deep, thank magic.
I step back in time to catch Pierce’s nonchalant shrug. “No one mentioned we were playing by FIE rules. The only terms we discussed were the prize.”
Is there less space between us than there was a breath ago? No. That’s just the dare lighting his eyes from within.
Falling for that challenge would be stupid. Impulsive.
Those same eyes watched on while Mathias stabbed me, and yet…
I’m no longer in the habit of denying myself. I’ve almost died twice now, and all without ever experiencing what it’s like to kiss a gorgeous asshole who might hate me.
Or at least, that’s what I tell myself as I take a step toward him next.
“To the victor…” I trail off, taking his wrist in one hand to check the cut he received.
It’s gone. Even the blood has disappeared. Did he heal it? I turn his hand over in mine, noting the thin cuff he showed me earlier, and the others he wears.
The runeform etched into the one above it is for illusion. Before I can decipher it, he pinches my chin between the forefinger and thumb of his other hand, forcing my head to tilt up
Pierce’s mouth descends on mine with a ferocity I wasn’t prepared for.
Oh.
I have no idea what I expected kissing him to be like. I should’ve guessed he would be as unyielding and demanding in this as he is in everything else. There’s nothing for me to do but give in, falling headfirst into the hurricane of need and secrets that passes between us with a hushed moan.
I’m breathless, swaying slightly, when my palm lands on his sweat-slicked chest to steady myself. The skin that looked so smooth feels unexpectedly rough. Suspicion stiffens my spine, and a little part of me dies inside.
I stroke down, feeling more hidden raised lines.
A second pass of my palm confirms it. What I was admiring before was a veneer. A lie.
Pierce Carlton is covered in scars that no one else can see.
He notices. Of course he does. I expect him to draw back, to pin me with a warning glare. He doesn’t. Instead, he kisses me a little deeper, tongue sweeping out and tangling with my own until my thoughts become slippery and hard to pin down.
Stars, I’m panting as hard as he is, and I can’t meet his eyes as I step away.
The urge to confront him about it is there, but he’s made the choice to hide them. It would be impertinent to disregard that.
Later…later I’ll ask. For now, I’ll respect his privacy.
“Right, well…” I try to summon my composure. “If you’re all done messing around, I have a grimoire to fill.”
I’m not imagining the way Pierce’s scowl eases slightly at my announcement. I turn away before I can read too deeply into it.
“I thought we might escape having to deal with him,” Lambert grumbles as I return to my work. “But that’s not happening, is it?”
I don’t have an answer, which means I’m almost relieved when Hazel bursts into the gym, searching the room.
Finally, she finds her brother and blurts, “Isidora Carlton is coming!”