Chapter 17 #2
There is an alcove to the left of Harold’s office, mostly hidden as long as it’s unoccupied.
I duck into the shadows and find the metal latch easily.
Before this room was an office, it was used for other activities, and all of our rooms have this contraption, mostly used for safety purposes, but sometimes, like right now, used for spying.
I slide the thin metal bar, opening a slit allowing me to peer into the room.
Lady M sweeps into the office, her black skirts brushing the floor. Harold immediately vacates his seat behind the desk, allowing her to gracefully fold herself into his chair. He hovers next to her, ready to do her bidding, and my stomach roils.
“Will she do it?” Lady M’s cold, emotionless voice penetrates the tiny hole in the wall, clear as day.
“I think so.” Harold’s shoulders sag, and I wish I could find some pity for him within my heart. But whatever happens next, Harold has brought down on himself.
“Think isn’t good enough. I need to know that Caterine will play her part.”
I lean a little closer to hear Harold’s response.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise, but it isn’t Harold’s response setting my nerves on high alert. I reach for the dagger sheathed at my thigh, for reassurance more than anything else. But I’m too slow.
A hand clamps over my mouth, an arm thick with muscle snaking around my waist.
I fight, clawing at the hands and arms that bind me.
Until I hear two simple words, whispered against the shell of my ear. A voice I would know anywhere. “It’s me.”
I relax against his hold and Callum releases me, though the heat of him stays at my back. The weight of him is so reassuring I don’t question how he found me, or why.
It takes a second for my brain to catch up.
Harold’s voice slithers through the slit in the wall. “I told you, Cate is going to do what we ask of her. She—”
I react without thinking, slamming the metal partition closed. Callum cannot hear the rest of that sentence.
The metal makes a ghastly sound, loud and squeaking and unmistakable.
“Shit,” I mutter, turning to Callum and taking him by the hand. “We need to go. Now.” I tug him toward the light, out of the shadow of the alcove.
But the door to Harold’s office is already open, the sound of footsteps thudding our way.
“What’s going on?” Callum asks.
Instead of heading for the light of the hallway, the escape route back to my suite, I pull him deeper into the darkness, hoping the shadows are enough to hide us. Harold’s final words to me run on repeat through my mind.
Lady M will murder Callum if he goes to kill his father. What’s to stop her from taking him out right now, solving the problem before it becomes worse?
I have a split second to figure out how to save us both. “Do you trust me?” My back hits a wall; we’ve retreated as far back as we can go.
“Yes,” he breathes, his weight pressing me into the darkness.
I let that weight comfort me, let myself feel, for just the briefest second, happy that he is here.
Happy isn’t the right word, of course. Because he’s here, and if I keep him here, if I do what Harold demands I do, Callum Reid is going to end up hating me.
If I cost him the opportunity to do what he feels is best for his father and the country, he will never forgive me.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
But what is the hatred of one man when compared with my sister’s life, even if he is a man I’ve grown to care for? I would do anything to keep Andra safe, something Harold and Lady M both know.
They’re putting me in an impossible position: Risk my sister’s safety or betray a man who doesn’t deserve it. Betray a man who, whether I can fully admit it or not, has buried himself inside my heart.
The footsteps grow closer, and I know we are not hidden enough.
If Harold or Lady M steps into the alcove, they will see us.
Harold will immediately know that I was listening to his conversation.
And with Callum right here, what’s to stop him from thinking the very worst—that I’ve betrayed him and told Callum everything?
I tilt my chin up, searching for the steadiness of Callum’s blue eyes in the dark. “Kiss me,” I breathe.
“What? That’s against your rules, Caterine. I don’t—”
I don’t give him time to finish his sentence, pressing my lips to his and cutting off his protest.
He hesitates for only a second before kissing me back, his soft lips moving gently over mine.
I sigh into the kiss, leaning into the warmth of his embrace, forgetting after just a second that this is a ruse, that his life could be at risk if we are discovered, as could my sister’s.
My hand fists in the fabric of his shirt and his travels to the nape of my neck, holding me tightly.
As if I could even dream of pulling away.
I tease the seam of his lips with the tip of my tongue, swallowing the groan he releases like it’s rich whisky. His tongue sweeps into my mouth and this time I’m the one letting out an unholy moan.
Callum’s hands travel down to my waist, as mine tangle in his hair. His hips thrust into me and I relish his hardness.
I lose myself in him.
Until I hear Lady M’s derisive declaration. “It’s just another one of your whores.”
Callum moves like he wants to pull away, address the claim, but I keep his lips pressed close to mine, desperate to hide his face and his recognizable copper curls in the shadows.
I wrap my legs around his waist and his hands slide to cup my upper thighs.
It’s the distraction we need, so potent I even distract myself.
I don’t hear Lady M retreat, but the sound of the office door slamming shut reverberates through the small space.
I gently guide Callum’s lips away from mine, not wanting to separate from him, but knowing we need to move quickly.
His breaths are shallow as we part. “Are you okay?”
The fact that his first concern in this moment is whether I’m okay breaks something in me. I laugh. “Not really.”
He tries to put space between us, but I keep him close, needing his solidness and comfort. “I’m sorry I overstepped.”
I take his cheek in my hand and press a soft kiss to his lips.
“You didn’t. But there’s something I need to tell you.
Can we go to my room?” I know I can’t tell him the whole truth, not really, but maybe if I put some time and space between me and Lady M and this new version of Harold, I might be able to come up with some plan that doesn’t involve me hurting everyone I care about.
“Of course, my lady. Whatever you need.”
I peek into the hallway, only emerging fully once I see that the space is clear. Tucking my hand into Callum’s, I pull him along the corridor until we reach the safety of my suite. I put some space between us the moment the door closes and locks, darting toward the balcony doors.
Callum doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t follow me, giving me the space I desperately need. My brain is a hurricane of thoughts. Callum is here. Lady M has my sister. Harold is going to kill the king. I might be the only one who knows everything.
And that kiss.
I don’t kiss my clients.
Kissing Callum is a good reminder why.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. Something tells me kissing my other clients wouldn’t be anything like kissing Callum. Kissing Callum was…earth-shattering and grounding all at the same time. It didn’t satiate my need for him, only stoked it.
After a minute, I turn to face him. He’s watching me with such tenderness in his eyes it almost makes everything worse.
He takes a few cautious steps in my direction, stopping just a foot away from me, his hand reaching for my waist. “Can I make a request before you tell me whatever it is you need to tell me?”
I nod, unable to form words at the moment, too many emotions and possibilities warring in my head.
He takes a deep breath. “I need the evening, my lady. This one final evening of nothing but you and me and this room.” He scrubs a hand over his face, through the stubble that’s grown over the past couple of days.
“I need to lose myself in you. I need to escape, for just a little while longer. I need you to give me the strength I fear I might be lacking.”
I know I shouldn’t, shouldn’t take advantage of his trust in me in this moment.
I know how much he is going to hate me when the truth finally comes out, when he learns I could have put a stop to everything but chose not to.
But when he looks at me with those eyes, I can’t deny him anything.
And so I nod again. “Of course, Your Highness.”
He tugs me closer, angling his head so his lips can trace the line of my neck. “Can I have my final lesson, Lady Caterine?”
I take his face in my hands. “You can have whatever you want, Callum Reid.” I can deny him nothing.
His lips brush mine, the faintest hint of contact. “Even this?”
I answer by pressing my lips to his.
The kiss is slow and unhurried, softer than the one in the alcove.
He takes his time exploring, sucking my bottom lip before tangling his tongue with mine.
His hands work their way into my hair, the waves soft and loose.
When he tugs gently to expose my neck, I moan.
His mouth moves everywhere, over the line of my jaw, down the curve of my neck, along the line of my collarbone.
His hands fist in the fabric of my tunic, drawing it slowly over my head. I wear nothing underneath, and his eyes drink me in like it’s the first time. He sits on the edge of the bed, pulling me into the vee of his legs.
I run my fingers through his curls, nibble along his stubbled jaw while his hands skim over the bare skin of my stomach, tease the undersides of my breasts.
His mouth moves lower, leaving a trail of soft kisses over the mounds of my breasts, his hands cupping them, his thumbs sweeping just far enough away from my nipples to leave me panting.
He pulls away seconds before providing me with relief, pinning me with a teasing grin. “I thought this was supposed to be a lesson, my lady.”
I try to direct his mouth back to where I want it. “You seem to be doing just fine without my guidance, Your Highness.”
“Teach me, Lady Caterine. Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I want you to put that glorious tongue to work.”
“Here?” He swipes a lick between my breasts.
I guide his mouth to my aching nipple. “Here. Tease me, Callum.”
He swirls the tip of his tongue over my skin. “Like this?”
My back arches, pressing me further into him. “Yes,” I breathe.
He pulls the peaked bud into his mouth, sucking gently. “Like this?”
“Yes.” My fingers tighten in his curls.
He grazes his teeth over my sensitive skin. “How about like this?”
“Yes, Callum, yes. More,” I demand.
He chuckles and the vibrations buzz through my skin. But he doesn’t tease me for much longer, his mouth moving between my breasts, tonguing, sucking, biting until I’m on the verge of release and aching for some measure of relief.
I pull him away from me, just long enough for me to undo the button at the waist of my pants and push them to the ground.
Tugging him to standing, I rid him of his own pants and undergarments while he yanks his shirt over his head.
He’s hard and glistening, and I lick my lips thinking about taking him in my mouth again.
Callum surprises me by lying flat on the bed, pulling me down on top of him. Our lips meet again and there’s nothing slow or soft about these kisses. They’re messy and passionate and hopefully a good indication of what he can do with his tongue.
He grips my hips and shifts me upward.
“What are you doing?” I grab on to the headboard as he settles himself under me.
“What better way for you to show me how to please you than by letting you be in control?” He shifts my thighs so they’re on either side of his shoulders, his hands running up my legs and around to the curves of my ass.
I hover over him, watching his eyes as he takes me in. His pupils widen and he licks his lips, and I don’t know if there’s anything more arousing than a man who is aroused by the sight of your pleasure.
He looks up, his gaze meeting mine.
I know what he’s going to ask so I answer before he can get the words out. “Lick me. Put that tongue to work and devour me, Callum.”
He groans and doesn’t wait to meet my demands, his tongue tracing me open, exploring me.
He’s attentive and perceptive, as usual, homing in on the places that make me gasp.
He dips his tongue into my channel and my hips buck.
He grunts, pulling me closer, holding me in place as his tongue makes its way closer to my clit.
I cry out the first time he makes contact, already so sensitized and aching. No partner has ever made me feel this way before, so ready and so attuned.
“Show me what you like,” he grinds out, easing his grip on my hips.
And I do. I work myself over his tongue, my eyes never leaving his gorgeous face.
I’m already climbing the peak, cresting the wave, the release building low in my belly.
Then Callum sucks my clit. Gently at first, then not so gently.
I come so hard I have to grip the headboard so I don’t fall over.
The orgasm rolls through me, wave after wave, and Callum doesn’t stop, doesn’t let up, until I pull away.
I’m panting, breathing as if I’ve just sprinted through the city being chased by a madman. I balance myself on his chest. He tucks his hands behind his head, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
And he earned that smirk. So I let him have it.
I trail my fingers down his torso, shifting my weight lower. “You are a very quick study, Callum Reid.”
“You’re a very thorough teacher, Lady Caterine.” He sits up, maneuvering me until I’m straddling his lap.
“My friends call me Cate.”
“Are we friends now?”
“With how many times you’ve made me come? It’s safe to say we are.” I kiss him, tasting myself and deepening the kiss. “I think you’ve earned a reward for being such a good student.” I reach in between our bodies, slick with sweat, and take him in my fist.
He covers my hand with his. “You don’t have to.”
“What if I want to?” I do want to, want to bring him this last bit of pleasure before I completely blow up his life. I want to see some spark of joy in those blue eyes for one final time. “What if I need this just as much as you do?”