19. Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Luke
My father calls eight minutes late. He isn't running behind. He’s just proving his time is more important than mine.
"Lukas."
"Sir."
There's a second voice on the line, a woman from the House office who gives her name and then says nothing else. She's there as a witness.
"I've heard you're involved in the Fourth House review," my father says.
“I am.”
“How involved?”
“I'm helping Jessica.”
“That's what I was afraid of.”
“Why?”
“Because Draeven is one of the three Houses whose history she's questioning.”
“She's questioning the history. Not Draeven.”
“You think everyone will make that distinction?”
“I don't care what everyone thinks.”
“You should.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to step back.”
“No.”
“Lukas.”
“If Draeven wants it made clear that I'm acting on my own, make it clear. I have no problem with that.”
“And being seen with her?”
I almost laugh. “She's my mate.”
“I'm aware.”
“Then I'm not going to pretend she isn't because it's inconvenient for the House.”
“That's not what I'm asking.”
“It's exactly what you're asking.”
My father is quiet for a moment.
“Keep Draeven out of this.”
“I have.”
“Keep yourself out of it.”
“No. Where I stand when I'm not in a hearing isn't a House matter. I'm not negotiating it."
My father breathes out.
"You'll speak to the office before the next session."
"I'll speak to the office. Personally, not officially. And one more thing, since your colleague is writing this down. Jessica is not a route to anything. If someone from the House decides to ask her about the review — casually, helpfully, over a drink — I'll take it as directed at me."
“Speak to the office before the next session.”
“I said I would.”
The call ends.
I stand there with the phone still in my hand. I can’t believe my father wants me to stay away from my mate. Not happening, dad.
I put the phone in my pocket.
She's waiting at the north stair, sitting on the second step with her bag between her feet.
"You're late," she says.
"I'm a victim of my father's dramatics." I pull her up by both hands. "Have you eaten?"
"Hi Jessica. I missed you Jessica. You look gorgeous Jessica. Why is ‘have you eaten’ the first thing you say to me?”
"Because I know what you look like when you're hungry. And then I have an excuse to get you back to my room."
The halls are almost empty. She walks with her shoulder against my arm, and halfway along she puts her hand in my back pocket, and I smile.
My room is at the end of the east corridor. I've got the lights on and on the counter there's a pot of the good coffee and a plate of the pastries she and Renzo fight over.
Jessica stops in the doorway. "You stole those."
"I negotiated for those."
"What did you give up?"
"That’s a state secret." I take her bag off her good shoulder.
She laughs and comes all the way in, and the door shuts. Then she looks at me.
She takes a pastry, sits on the end of my bed, and folds her legs up. "What did he want?"
"They want Draeven's position on the review to be Draeven's and not mine. Which is fair, and which I agreed to." I turn the coffee pot handle toward her. "They'd also prefer I stopped being visible next to you while it's going on."
Her chin comes up. "And?"
"I told them that part isn't available. And that if anyone from the House gets friendly with you and starts asking questions, I'll take it personally."
She's quiet for a second. "You didn't have to do that."
"I know."
"It’s probably going to get worse, Luke."
"I know and I’m prepared."
I don't tell her that I spent an hour this morning with the panel's secretary. I don't tell her I asked whether a House could fund additional personnel for a two-night block, or that the answer was that the finding wasn't about resources. I don't tell her I asked twice.
She eats. I pour her coffee before she asks for it, and then I hear myself say, "There's bread as well if the pastry's not enough, and I can get more hot coffee, and if you'd rather sit by the window I'll move the—"
"Luke."
"Yes."
"What do you want?"
I open my mouth and what comes out is, "You."
Jessica sets the cup down and looks at me with her head tilted.
"You have me."
I laugh, but I'm tired.
"All right." I look at the desk, and then I make myself look at her. "I want an evening with just the two of us. No prying eyes. No houses. No politics."
"Mm," says Jessica. "And that also happens to align perfectly with what I want." And she stands and walks over to me.
"You know what I like about sharing what we want?" she says against my throat.
Swallowing as my mouth is suddenly dry with her so near. "What do you like about it?"
"When you lose your train of thought because my lips are distracting you."
"I can keep on sharing as much as—"
She presses herself against me and kisses me properly. I stop talking.
Her hand slides into my hair and closes, and she makes a small impatient sound into my mouth.
I grab her ass and lift her, which she was not expecting, and she laughs into my neck as I carry her to the bed.
"Show-off."
"You've no idea." I settle her against the pillows, and she moves until she's comfortable.
Her shirt goes first, and I take my time over what's underneath it. I like watching Jessica lose her train of thought too. When I put my mouth at the base of her throat and stay there she says my name, and I stop taking my time.
"You're stalling," she says.
Laughing I tell her I was counting how long it would take her to get impatient.
Then I stop laughing, because she's got her hand in my pants, and she's looking at me with her lower lip caught.
I put my mouth on her nipple, suck it in and bite it gently.
She arches, and swears again, and her right hand squeezes me just shy of pain.
"Luke — I want—" and she pushes me over onto my back.
She gets my pants open and pulls my cock out, licking a stripe from base to tip.
“God, Jessica–” I get out before thought ceases.
She licks and sucks until my hips are thrusting up into her mouth. I clench my fists and breathe for a second, because I need to.
“Jessica, come here.”
She crawls up my body and seeing her breasts sway over me almost sends me over the edge right then.
I grab her hips as she slowly slides down my length.
“Fuck, you feel so good.”
"Yes, oh god right there," she groans as I grind her now on me.
"Jessica—"
We find our rhythm and she is clenching on each down stroke. I keep hitting the same spot and she’s close. I put my thumb on her clit and watch her mouth open on a scream. Then we are both shouting as we come together.
Afterward she lies with her head on my chest and asks how many of those pastries I stole.
I laugh and get up to grab a cloth to clean her up and get her highness her pastries.
She drops crumbs on me without apology. I go and get us water and she drinks half of it and hands it back. Then she takes my shirt off the end of the bed and puts it on. It's mine, but I will not be getting it back.
"Can I ask you something?" she says.
"Go on."
"Do you actually want the Council work? Or is it just the thing they handed you?"
"I want it," I say. "I'm not a reluctant heir pining for a cottage. I like chambers. I like the moment when a room stops arguing and starts drafting."
"Okay." She sounds pleased, which I hadn't expected. "So what's the problem?"
"The problem is that they've decided the work comes with a right of inspection over everything else." I get my arm around her. "It doesn't. I can do the Council work without giving them the rest of my life."
"Do you need my help with that?"
"God, no. You keep doing exactly what you're doing. I'll handle my family."
Jessica turns her face into my shoulder and laughs.
"Then I want something too," she says.
"Name it."
"This. When nothing's wrong." She pushes herself up on her right elbow and looks down at me.
"I don't want to only do this after somebody gets kidnapped or everything goes to shit.
I want an evening with you on the calendar, and I want you to be as annoying about protecting it as you are about everything else. "
"That's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me."
My phone goes on the desk, twice, the double buzz that means the House office and not a person.
Jessica's eyes go to it. She doesn't say anything.
I ignore it and start proving I can focus on her, not just my house.