Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Sterling shudders. A moment later, he hikes my skirt up to my waist. Gripping my undergarment, he tears the fabric down the middle.
The unexpected violence of his action ignites my body and makes my pulse throb between my legs. “Gods.”
“I am an impressive specimen, but referring to me as a deity may be overkill. Sterling,” he rasps. “The only name I want to hear on your lips when I’m buried inside you is Sterling.”
He slides his cock between my legs, stroking the velvety head against my clit. “Fuck. It makes me so hard when you’re sopping wet for me like this. Brace yourself.”
I try my best, pressing my palms into the wood. My muscles tremble in anticipation.
He presses his palm into the small of my back, flattening my belly to the desk. His cock nudges my entrance. That’s all the warning I get before he slams home, bottoming out inside me, his hips smacking my ass.
I cry out, and he stops immediately.
“Lark? Fuck, was I too rough? Did I hurt you?”
For some stupid reason, a lump forms in my throat at his alarm. I shake my head. “I’m good. Please, don’t stop.”
Growling, he thrusts his hips. “You don’t ever have to beg. You feel incredible. Like you were made for me. I could live inside you and die a happy man.”
His declaration winds the pressure in my lower belly up even tighter. I like the possessive nature of his fingers digging into my hip. The bossy hand pinning me to the desk. I love how he takes charge, and I also love knowing he’ll stop the instant I ask. He might be hazardous to my heart, but I trust him with my body.
He pulls all the way out and slams back in. The delicious friction has me moaning. Listening for my nonverbal cues, he adjusts his position until he hits the right spot every time. With each thrust, I climb higher. My body belongs to him, but the connection I feel with him inside me isn’t just physical. It runs deeper than that, like something deep within him calls to the very essence of me.
My release closes in. Sensing it, his fingers slip between my legs. He circles his thumb once, twice. Three times. The fourth time unravels me, and with a curse, his thrusts turn frantic as he follows me into bliss.
Breathing hard, he collapses on top of me, pressing a kiss to my exposed shoulder. His heart pounds against my spine. I savor the weight of his body and warmth while I still can.
A minute passes while he strokes my hair. “I wish we could stay here all night.”
Voices outside the door interrupt my answer and snap me to attention. Someone knocks on the wood. “Instructor Thorne. I need to speak with you.”
Fear ices my skin. Torno.
Sterling’s fingers tighten on my shoulders. “Fuck. How does she know I’m here?”
Wiggling until he stands up, I yank my sleeves back up my arms and fix my bodice. I straighten my skirt next and comb my fingers through my hair. “How do I look?”
Thorne’s eyes graze over me, and the emotion in them spurs my pulse into a gallop. “You look like the woman I’d give anything to have. You look like you’re mine.”
A soft gasp escapes my lips. “I don’t…that’s not what I meant, but okay.”
Buttoning his trousers, Thorne presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. “I’ll go first. You can wait a little bit and then come out after me. I’ll try to get back to you tonight, but if I don’t, good luck in the trial. Watch your back at all times, and stick close to your flight unit.”
I nod. “Okay.”
With one last lingering glance, he spins around and heads for the door to meet a grumpy-sounding Torno. “Took you long enough. The king would like a word.”
The door clicks shut, leaving me alone in the room with just my thumping heart. Scurrying across the floor, I crack open the door, peek into the hall, and find Torno and Thorne disappearing around a corner.
Slipping out, I creep down the hall after them, pausing once I reach the corner. Another peek shows Torno slipping into the second door down. She glances behind her, and I duck just in time.
I count to twenty and then tiptoe around the corner. The door they entered is shut. Inhaling a steadying breath, I reach for the doorknob, turning it bit by bit. I send up a silent prayer and ease the door open the tiniest crack, sagging a little in relief when it doesn’t creak. Pressing my ear to the crack, I strain to hear the conversation. Torno’s speaking.
“…worried about him when she first arrived, but he must have known what he was doing…caught her leaving…quarters…and pretty sure he just…with her in the salon.”
The booming laugh that follows almost makes me jump. “Leave it to Sterling to have his cake and eat it too. Nothing wrong with getting a hot piece of ass while on assignment.”
In the lingering pause, my heart sputters. Dread floods my veins like ice water. The king resumes talking. “What’s that look on your face for? Don’t tell me you have feelings for her.”
Thorne chuckles. “The only feelings I have are the ones between my legs when I’m buried between her thighs. Pretending to return her infatuation was the easiest way to get close to her, and there’s no denying I enjoyed the perks.”
Torno scoffs in disgust. “Can you please save the gory details of…conquest for when…not in the room?”
“So? What did you find out? Is she the dragoncaller?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible, but I’m leaning toward no. She shows an aptitude with fire, but I haven’t noted any connection or effects on the dragons or alicorns.”
“Hmm,” the king says. “Well, let’s hope the trial gives us a more definitive answer.”
“If that’s all for now, I’m going to head to my quarters.” Thorne’s voice grows louder.
“That’s fine. I need to speak to the vice commander, anyway.”
Shit. He’s heading toward the door.
I don’t wait to hear any more. Pulse pounding, I flee down the hall and round the corner. I swear I hear a noise behind me, but I don’t stop to check. I race down the next hall, desperate to rejoin the safety of the crowd.
Footsteps pound after me. “Lark. Where are you going? Wait up.”
Near the end of the hall, he catches up and reaches for me. The moment he touches me, I jerk free and shove him as hard as I can. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever fucking touch me again.”
A baffled expression pinches his brows together. “What the hells has gotten into you? Are you upset that I left you so suddenly? I’m sorry, but I couldn’t leave Torno waiting.”
Reaction is setting in. I’m shaking from head to toe. If I don’t get out of here soon, there’s no telling what I might do.
The smart thing to do is feign ignorance, but the outrage and hurt battering my chest demand an outlet, however small. “I heard you. I heard what you said about me…about us.” His face falls, but I’m not done. “Now you hear me. I hope you enjoyed this hot piece of ass while it lasted, because you’ll never enjoy it again. Don’t look at me. Don’t talk to me. Don’t think about me, and trust me when I say that I plan to forget you ever existed. I knew you were broken, but I never realized you were completely soulless and empty inside.”
His skin is ashen. “Lark, you don’t know…come with me, please. We can’t talk here.”
As he gestures for me to follow him, a bitter laugh scrapes up my throat. “Didn’t you hear me? We can’t talk anywhere. I refuse.”
I dart past him, but he catches my sleeve from behind. I stop. “Let me go, or I swear I’ll scream the place down.” My voice sounds funny. Dead.
“Lark, please?—”
“Three. Two. On?—”
Once he releases my gown, I race away, but not before I hear him curse. “Fuck!”
If I didn’t know better, I could almost believe he sounds genuinely broken up and tormented. I do know better, though. I know he’s a charlatan. A beautiful face covering a rotten soul.
I slip past the ballroom, out the door, and down the trail leading to the dorms, not stopping until I reach my room. The pain in my chest is excruciating, like someone’s carving pieces from my heart, strip by strip, and shredding them into confetti. I curl up on the bed in the fetal position and drown in the agony of his betrayal.
Sterling Thorne didn’t just want a fling. It was worse. So much worse. He used me. Tricked me. Took advantage of my feelings so he could spy on me for the fucking king. He crushed my trust beneath his boots and stomped it into dust. He’s working with the very people my sister tried to warn me about. The people who want to exploit me for purposes I’ve yet to discover.
I will never forgive him for this. Never.