Chapter 20 #5
“If this is the wine speaking, you’ll regret it in the morning.
” His jaw clenched beneath the mask. “And if it isn’t…
then you should understand something before you take one step closer.
” He leaned in. “If you give in now, there will be no pretending this was a mistake. No stepping back into resistance when it suits you. If you choose to give yourself to me now… the scent of your desire won’t be enough for me anymore. ”
His voice dropped lower, rougher. “I’ll want to taste it. And you won’t get to ask me to be gentle about it.”
I shuddered, his words settling low and warm between my thighs.
All around us, the night spilled over its edges.
Bodies were pressed into corners and walls, hands slipping beneath robes mid-dance, naked skin moving openly through the crowd.
It was the same excess that had once repulsed me at the Aedile’s gathering.
Now, with Thanor standing before me, I was pulled into it instead, drawn along by the atmosphere, by him. Wanting, dangerously, to indulge.
Decision made, I rose onto my toes. My hands slid over the hard plane of his chest, smoothing upward to his shoulders as I leaned in, my mouth brushing his ear.
“For one night, I won’t ask you to be gentle. Tonight, I just want to be free.”
He looked down at me, his pupils flaring wide until there was barely any green left.
The change in him was instant.
His hands snapped to my waist, sliding lower to my hips, then gripped my ass, hard , bunching the fabric of my dress as he kneaded me without restraint.
In one rough motion, he hoisted me up. I folded my legs around his waist, my fingers fisting in his hair, yanking his head back hard enough to tear a growl from his throat.
He twisted, slamming my back against the wall.
The impact knocked the breath from my lungs in a sharp exhale, my pulse skidding as heat bloomed low and slick between my thighs. I released his hair and braced my hands against his shoulders, my head falling back against the stone as he lowered his mouth to my throat.
I leaned into it, baring myself.
His mouth sank into my neck, rough and claiming. I moaned, grinding against him, desperate for friction. He dragged his mouth lower, along my collarbone, his hands still working my ass, squeezing, owning .
He paused, lifting his head just enough to look at me. His voice was a dark promise against my lips.
“There’s no turning back now.”
He leaned in again, our breaths mingling, his mouth so close I felt the heat of it. A slow ache pulsed low between my legs as he closed the distance inch by inch. I wanted him—the collision, our tongues clashing, fighting for dominance. Just like last time.
“Well… this is charming.” Lucina’s voice slid through the moment like a blade through silk.
The tension shattered instantly. Thanor’s restraint slid back into place as the space between us cooled. I closed my eyes, forcing my desire down.
She stepped into our space without asking, pale hair gleaming, a smirk tugging at her mouth as she took me in—my flushed skin, my parted lips. “You do wear desire boldly. Almost desperately. I wonder if you fucked Marcus just to be given to him,” she nodded to Thanor.
I stiffened. Before I could react, Thanor set me down with care, then placed himself squarely between us.
“Enough,” he said.
Lucina laughed. “Oh, don’t be so territorial. I was only admiring your performance. Makes me remember our times together fondly.”
The words hit me like ice water. What was I doing? I’d vowed his bloodied hands would never touch me. Now I was no better than Lucina.
Thanor shifted, enough for his shadow to fall across her. His voice was low. “Leave.”
For a heartbeat, something dark crossed Lucina’s face. Then she smiled up at him.
“As you wish.” Her tone dropped into something intimate. “Your pet is being summoned.”
I followed the line of her finger and saw a houseguard standing across the room. She strode off, as if her task were complete.
Thanor’s gaze returned to me. “This isn’t finished,” he said.
I merely glared at him before stepping out of his orbit. His stare followed me as I walked away.
A flush still burned beneath my mask. My piercing was pulsing, but it shouldn’t weigh on me. Whatever anyone had seen, whatever they thought, it had been my choice. I repeated the words inside my head, trying to shake the regret trailing me through the room.
The music swelled and broke around me, bodies parting easily in the wake of the night’s excess.
Near one of the walls, Jorius leaned back against the stone, head tipped, eyes closed in open rapture as a golden huntress knelt before him, pleasuring him with her mouth, utterly unconcerned with discretion.
Leave it to him to revel without apology.
I looked away, not out of judgment but out of familiarity.
As I passed a golden mirror, I saw how Lucina had recognized me.
How naive I’d been. The water had soaked my hair, my tresses darkened to red where gold dust had once clung to them.
My fists balled. If she’d recognized me, I’d just jeopardized my position by being out in the open with Thanor. I only hoped no one else had seen.
The guard was waiting where Lucina had indicated. He gave a curt tilt of his head, motioning for me to follow. We slipped out onto one of the balconies, the curtains falling closed behind us, muting the revelry.
Aelia stood before me.
I halted and turned to leave, but the guard was already at my back, a firm hand gripping my shoulders. He urged me forward. I resisted for half a heartbeat, then let him guide me the last steps.
She smirked as I approached, perfectly composed, pleasant and venomous all at once. “Well,” she said, as if we were about to share something civil. “How kind of you to come.”
She gave a single nod.
The houseguard moved, forcing me down to my knees. His grip was iron at my shoulders, holding me there as panic spiked through my chest. I tried to breathe, but the air felt thin and wrong.
Aelia bent down, her fingers closing around my chin. She wrenched my head up and tore the mask from my face. Recognition bloomed and she laughed, loudly.
“You again. You really are a thorn in my side.” Her eyes burned into mine. “Why is it always you seducing my husband?”
I opened my mouth to answer—
She flicked her gaze to the guard.
The blow came without warning. Pain exploded across my face as his hand struck me hard enough to send me pitching forward. I hit the ground, my hair spilling loose around me as my cheek burned where he’d hit me. I pressed trembling fingers to the sting and tried to push myself upright.
Aelia was already there.
She knelt beside me, her fingers digging into my jaw, forcing my face up again. “I warned you to know your place. Now I remind you of it.”
“I saw you,” she continued. “Against the wall. Letting that beast almost fuck you.” She smiled.
“Oh yes. I know exactly who he is. The Ringbreaker.” Her grip tightened.
“You act so innocent. So careful. Luring my husband with that prudish little mask of yours.” She laughed again, colder this time. “But I see you.”
Her mouth came close to my ear. “I will taint you. I will turn you into something beneath his notice. Make him see you for the whore that you are. You will bow to your betters,” she hissed. “You will learn your place.”