12. Soren
Chapter twelve
Smoke curls around me as I pull it from the pipe and let the vapor fill my lungs, relishing the burn as it fills them. When I finally release it slowly through my nose, my eyes roll open, and I look around the flame-lit room. I let the lingering bitterness fill my senses before I bring the bourbon to my lips and send the heat from the alcohol to my belly. A smile curls my lips at the corner as I watch the flames in the hearth dance. My gaze wanders to where Thames now sleeps in the crumpled sheets of my bed. Thoroughly fucked—and finally quiet. The reminder of how much she sometimes annoys me makes my jaw clench.
During times like these, I miss being alone. I miss the peace the silence of it brings, but the time for silence is over. I’ve never been one to want peace anyway. In the morning, I will claim the kingdom as mine. Every Fae in Aldramani will be under my rule, and with the backing of Valeska, I will finally be able to take my seat as king. Any uprising there will be moot with that kind of support. And to think… Travis was content with only leading Ravendene. The fool. True leaders know that to truly have power, you have to take it. Demand it.
I hear the light tapping of footsteps outside the door, and I narrow my eyes at whoever is beyond it. The hour is late, and much of the castle should be sleeping. Pushing from the chair I occupy, I amble to the door and wrench it open with my lip curled back in frustration. A handmaid jumps with a stack of linens in her arms. A startled cry muffled by her quickly pinched lips. She bends as low as her arm full will allow.
“Lord Croix, I’m so sorry. I did not mean to disturb you.” Her breathing is erratic, and I can nearly see her pulse pounding. Narrowing my eyes to slits, I look her up and down.
“What are you doing in this wing? The serving staff were dismissed hours ago.” I demand.
“I only meant to bring the lady in the tower more bed linens.” She says quietly, her eyes trained on my boots as she waits for my dismissal, and concern pushes her brows to peak in the center of her face as I take a step forward into the hallway with her.
“Why does my pet need new linens in the middle of the night, woman?”
“She wakes with sweats, my lord. Nightmares, I suppose. The guards sent me to retrieve them.”
“Guards?” I ask with a slow tilt of my head, knowing my men would see that she would have no such nicety. Her eyes flick to mine only for a brief moment, but I see the fear there, and it brings a smirk to my face.
“Prince Osiris and his men.” She whispers, and I suck my teeth with a shake of my head. I can almost see her trembling knees through her skirt. Osiris has proven to be a thorn in my side since his arrival. I cannot wait to be dealing with the true leader of Valeska, and not just a boy playing placeholder.
“By all means… Don’t keep my pet waiting.” I wave her down the hall and she quickly nods with a bow, thanking me and scurrying away.
“You are going to just let them keep treating her as though she is royalty?” Closing my eyes, I grind my teeth and crack my neck at the shrill sound of Thames’ voice as she comes up behind me, running her hand up my back and making my shoulders stiffen.
When I spin around, I grab her wrist in a tight hold. “She is a queen. Is she not?” I ask, but I don’t allow her to answer before I continue. “Didn’t I tell you? That you are not to touch me unless I tell you to touch me? Is that not a clear enough demand?” She whines as I squeeze harder, forcing her to walk backward into the bedroom. I slam the bedroom door closed behind me as I continue my prowl. She stumbles as I keep pressure on her chest, making her move her feet backward toward the bed.
“Of course it is; I’m sorry. I just thought—”
“I don’t want your thoughts!” Using the grip I have on her, I push her—wrist to chest—so she falls back onto the bed. She screeches as she falls. The silk robe she wrapped herself in falls open with her legs like the whore she is, and her red hair spills out around her like a pool of blood. The sound and sight of her brings my cock to harden again. Even if she is annoying beyond measure, there is no denying that I am a man with specific needs.
Gripping her by her hips, I flip her over and pull her ass into the air as I take to my knees on the bed at her rear. Her gasp makes my cock strain against the ties of my pants. Raking the smooth silk up so it exposes her round ass. My tongue juts out, and I lick my lips as I think about how I will defile it, mark it, and fill it with my come.
I bring my hand down hard. The slap casts my handprint onto her creamy skin. She cries out, then muffles her voice into the pillows as my hand comes down again. This time slapping her pussy as much as her ass. Wrapping her hair in one of my hands, I lift her head so that her back bows and her nipples brush the bed, and with the other hand, I free my cock.
“Don’t hide your voice, my whore of a soon-to-be queen. I want to hear you scream as I take what I want from you—your punishment for not following the rules. You don’t get to touch me, not unless I tell you to. Understood?”
“Yes, my king,” She pants with her lips parted and eyes heavy. She is a needy cunt for power and power is what I will give her, but not here and not over me. Spitting on the opening I want, I give her no warning before I fill her ass with my cock. She rears up, her deep bellow of pain vibrating around my shaft as her hole puckers and squeezes me so tight I nearly spill even though I have only just entered, but I grind my teeth. I don’t seek just pleasure from her. I want her tears. I want her to feel me for days even with magic to heal her once I’m done wrecking her. This is a punishment after all.
Pulling out completely, she hisses at the feeling of my absence, and just as she catches her breath, I force myself in again. Relishing in her cry of pain, in the way she balls her fists in the linens. I pump myself hard in and out of her tight hole until it’s gaping for me.
“Tell me how much you like being my whore! Let me know how you will beg me every day to keep you as my queen!” I growl as my thrusts become more erratic, frenzied, and brutal.
“Yes! I love being your whore! Oh!”
“BEG ME FOR MY COME!” The slapping of my balls against her wet pussy has them tightening with each thrust. I’m ready to fill her. Make her split at the seam with my seed.
“Please! Give me your come, my king! Please fill me with it! Oh gods, please!” I pull her hair harder. The screams she lets out are filled with pain and need, and I bring her body flush to mine. I take her breast into the other hand, squeezing it so hard it is sure to bleed the same as her ass, and as she cries out again… I snarl my release into her ear, filling her ass. I bite down on her shoulder as come pulses out of me and spills down her legs, then I push her back down to her stomach. Done with her, I let my cock slide free of her pillaged hole. I stand over her with my cock coated in the evidence of just how ruined she is. She doesn’t turn to look at me and I leave her there, tears staining her red face with silent sobs and without release. The punishment for daring to touch me without permission.
With my cock still dripping with come, spit, and blood, I pull on my trousers, leaving them untied at the waist. I stride from the room to find solace in my personal chamber, free of wandering eyes and hands. The feeling of power vibrates through me as I come down from the high the fuck has given me. Exhaustion weighing heavily on me, I unlock the door and slide into the cold room. I reflect about the morning, and how everything changes as the moon falls and the sun rises. The rightful feeling of that thought brings a smile to my lips before I remove my clothes and wash away Thames, and prepare for a restful night’s sleep.