Chapter Thirty Riela #2
Desire shivered over my skin. This was such a bad idea. But the room was beautiful, and a peek at the bathroom made the decision for me. The bathtub in my previous room had been nice, but this one
looked big enough to swim in.
There was also a dressing room, filled with more clothes than I’d owned in the entirety of my life. My pack rested neatly
on a shelf, but it didn’t exactly match the extravagance of everything else.
I pulled down the plainest nightgown I could find, then went to soak off three days’ worth of grime.
Hot water from a pipe was a magic that I was going to have to figure out how to replicate if I ever left the castle. My fingers
had long since wrinkled from the water, but every time the bath cooled, I could just heat it up again with the turn of a handle.
The tub had started less than half full because it seemed a waste to use so much water just for myself, but now it was deep
enough to reach my collarbones. My skin was flushed pink from the heat, and sweat had broken out along my temples.
I finally rose from the water and the floor dipped under my feet. Perhaps I had spent too long basking in the heat after all.
I combed and braided my hair, then slipped into the soft nightgown.
Exhaustion crept in on silent feet, but I fought back the urge to sink into the enormous bed and sleep for a week. Garrick
had not technically released me from my vow to only visit the courtyard between sunrise and sunset, but impatience burned
in my chest.
If I was working to open the door, then surely he wouldn’t mind.
I pulled a pair of slippers and a dressing gown from the closet, put them on, then eyed the flower circlet I’d left on the
nightstand. Hiding my magic would be useful, but not if Garrick could just track the circlet itself, so I left it behind and
crossed to the outer door. I didn’t ask the castle for help because I wasn’t sure if Garrick could feel the castle’s magic
or not.
I carefully cracked the door and peered into the hallway. The sconces on the wall were barely glowing, shrouding the space
in shadows, but it looked empty. Grim was nowhere to be found, and I wondered where he normally slept.
I eased out into the hall, taking care not to make a sound. I latched the door behind me and breathed a silent sigh.
“Going somewhere?” Garrick asked silkily.
I whirled around. He was leaning against the wall across from my door. His arms were crossed over his chest—his naked chest. He wore only a pair of soft trousers, slung low and loose around his hips.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, forcing my gaze away from the delightful curve of his biceps and the hard expanse of his
chest.
“What are you?”
“You weren’t there a second ago,” I accused rather than answering.
“I was, you just didn’t see me.”
I saw him now—including the dark shadows under his eyes. “You should be sleeping.”
He pushed off the wall and stalked closer. “As should you. So why are you creeping through my halls?”
I scrambled for a reason that he wouldn’t immediately see through. “I couldn’t sleep, so I was going to the library to get
a book.”
He eased closer. “Were you?” he murmured. “Or were you planning to try the door again, hmm?”
I felt that hum all the way to my toes and my nipples tightened as a shiver raced down my spine. Garrick’s gaze dropped and
his next sound was darker and hungrier. I pressed my thighs together, intensely aware that I had nothing on beneath the nightgown.
He could ease the fabric up and find out exactly how much I wanted him. I could almost feel his strong fingers stroking over
my body.
I shook my head and put a hand on his chest, though he’d already stopped advancing. His skin was firm and my fingers twitched
with the urge to explore.
We’d both sleep much better after an orgasm or two, and it was so difficult to remember why that was such a bad idea when
he was here and warm and solid. And the growing tent in his trousers proved that he wasn’t unaffected.
I whimpered and his muscles tensed under my hand. “Let me take care of you,” he demanded, his voice gravelly with desire and
restraint.
If he touched me, I would explode.
And maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.
I took his hand in mine and guided it down my body, over the fabric of my dressing gown and nightgown. When his fingers nestled
between my thighs, we both groaned. “Make me come,” I whispered.
The silver in his eyes expanded and his teeth flashed in the dim light in either a smile or a snarl—maybe both. Then his fingers
moved and the fabric added a layer of sensation that I hadn’t expected.
My head fell back against the wall with a moan, and an answering sound rumbled from Garrick’s throat. “That’s it,” he murmured. “Own your desire.”
His fingers stroked over me, slowly driving my pleasure toward the peak. He leaned in, burying his face against my temple,
and whispered in my ear, “You’re so fucking beautiful like this.”
My breath hitched as my body clenched. But I was so empty, and I knew just what I needed. I bunched the dressing gown’s fabric
in one hand while I reached for Garrick with the other, but he caught my wrists and pinned them to the wall over my head without
ceasing the maddening strokes of his fingers.
I arched against him and he ground out a wordless curse.
The next stroke was rougher, stronger, and the damp fabric slid over my clit with maddening intensity. My inner muscles clenched
as the orgasm approached, and trapped between Garrick and the wall, all I could do was writhe and moan.
“Don’t . . . stop . . .” I half demanded, half begged.
He didn’t, and my back arched again as my muscles clenched. Pleasure exploded, whiting out my vision, and my knees buckled.
Garrick pinned me to the wall with a low groan, and I could feel the hard heat of him against my thigh.
Part of me knew it was a terrible idea, but drifting in post-orgasmic bliss, I didn’t care. I wanted that connection, that
closeness. I reached for him, but he captured my hand again.
When I grumbled, he smiled, a true smile that made him appear younger and more carefree. “This was about your pleasure, ang oydo, not mine.”
The foreign, musical words washed over me. This was the second time he’d used them. “What does that mean?”
“Little spark,” he murmured.
A bright flicker of happiness nestled in my chest, and I grinned at him. “I’m not little, you’re just huge.”
His eyes darkened and a wicked smile tugged at his lips. He leaned in, until his mouth brushed my ear. “I didn’t hear you
complaining,” he whispered.
I shivered with renewed desire. “Take your clothes off.”
His muscles locked and he sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. “No.”
The rejection stung, but it was his choice. I wiggled so he’d put me down, but all that did was remind me exactly where his
fingers were. I swallowed my moan and stopped moving.
He removed his hand and glided it up my side, his touch soft and reverent. “It’s too soon,” he murmured. He sounded like he
was trying to convince himself as much as me. “You’re exhausted. And I refuse to do something you might regret in the clear
light of morning.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I was still trying to decide on an argument when he scooped me up and shouldered his way into my room.
The sheets turned themselves down with a pulse of magic, then Garrick gently deposited me in the bed. “Let me regain your
trust. Then I’ll happily pleasure you until you forget your name.”
I closed my eyes as the dark promise in his voice stroked over my skin. I very nearly told him that I trusted him now, and while it was true, it wasn’t completely true. There was still a level of uncertainty there that he had yet to overcome. Damn him for noticing.
Garrick brushed my hair back from my cheek. “Until then, rest. The door has waited a hundred years. A few more days won’t
matter. Promise me, Riela.”
I tipped my chin up and glared up at him. “Only if you promise to rest in return.”
His smile was rueful. “I’m too tired to do anything but sleep.”
“Good.” I paused. “And thank you.”
He nodded and slipped through the door into his room. The panel clicked closed behind him, and I blew out a slow breath. Lingering
pleasure smoothed away the anxiety I should probably be feeling and eased me into a deep, dreamless sleep.