29
Alarie
Cass was leaning against the railing of the veranda, overlooking the morning sun shining over the Golden Court below. His back was corded in muscle, and his biceps were so big they looked like they would pop. I wanted to run my hands down his bare back, over the tattoo of wings that resided there in the absence of his real wings. I wanted to get on my knees right then and there and—
Cass turned his head over his shoulder to find my eyes on him, my lower lip between my teeth. He rose from the banister he was leaning against and made his way toward me, not trying to hide the desire that bulged in his pants. He kissed me, taking my bottom lip between his teeth.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“A scar. I got hit in the lip when I was a kid. You know we didn’t have a healer in town growing up, and I was too chickenshit to get it sewn up,” I replied, aching for more of him.
Cass cackled.
“I knew you when you were a kid. You weren’t chickenshit. You weren’t scared of anything,” Cass said.
“Except long pointy needles in my mouth,” I replied.
He picked me up, wrapping my legs around his hulking torso. He pressed me against the wall behind us. He worked his hard cock against me, quickly working me into a frenzy of desire. I broke free of his mouth, hot all over and gasping.
“Shouldn’t we go inside?” I asked, peering uncertainly around us. I didn’t see anyone.
We were outside on my veranda in the middle of the day. The balcony was tucked away, affording us some amount of privacy. But it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility that someone would see us.
“If they don’t like it, they can look away,” Cass replied, distracted, already pulling down the top of my dress to expose my breasts. He fed at my mouth again as he pushed aside the small piece of fabric under my dress, finding me soaked and ready for him.
He separated our bodies just enough to pull himself over the waistband of his pants. He began to rub against my outside.
“But perhaps you want someone to see us, baby girl?” he teased, playing in my wetness.
I licked my lips before biting down on the knot inside of my lip again. The thought of someone watching Cass take me in broad daylight caused a jolt of new excitement to rush through me.
Cass let the pleasure of having guessed correctly shine in his eyes.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, then he buried the entire length of himself inside of me in one quick thrust.
I gasped so loudly people across the way could have heard.
“If we are going to put on a show, then let’s make it one worth watching,” he said, lowering his mouth to my nipple and licking it until it stood at attention before moving to the other one.
“Cass, you’re —”
But his thrusting stole the words of protest from my mouth, and I began to make small, breathy noises of pleasure instead.
“Unbelievably good looking?” he asked, driving into me at the same time as he pulled my body down onto him.
“God-like in between the sheets? Going to make you scream my name for everyone to hear? All true,” he teased, finishing my sentence for me.
It took a little maneuvering, but he stood behind me now, pinning me against the railing as he re-entered me. His hand was gently wrapped around the front of my neck, forcing me to look out at the sun shining over the rooftops of the Golden Court.
“I bet there’s someone watching us right now,” he whispered in my ear, bringing his other hand around to circle my front.
I threw my head back, resting it on his shoulder. The thought of someone watching us sent a thrill of white-hot fire through my core.
“You going to tell them whose cock’s buried inside of you?” he teased, thrusting into me.
“Cass,” I mouthed, trying to catch my breath as the throbbing between my legs built to a crescendo.
He separated our upper bodies, bending me further over the railing so I stared down over it. He lined his thumbs up with the dimples above my ass and lifted my feet off the ground so that he held me up by my hips as he drove deeper into me.
“I don’t think they heard you,” he taunted.
His thrusts became punishing. He drove himself to the end of me, making loud slapping noises reverberate from the balcony.
I screamed his name as he hit the back of me, causing me to peak, then crash over the height of my pleasure. Cass kept plunging into me as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me.
“The show’s not over yet, Mand. Get on your knees,” he ordered.
He withdrew from me, and I obeyed. He gave me just enough time to hit the ground before he buried his cock in my mouth. He cupped the back of my head with his big hand, holding me to him as he spilled down my throat.
* * * *
“What’s your plan for the rest of today?” I asked after we had cleaned ourselves up. “Lots of chores to do?” I anticipated he had a list of a million items long to complete before hosting the Golden Court’s first Winter Gala.
“A few,” he replied, downplaying what he had on his plate. “But there is one thing that is more important than them all,” he said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I have to give you a tour of the Court,” he said.
“There’s no way you have time for that,” I protested. “It’s okay,” I said, trying to relieve any guilt he might feel. “I can keep myself busy. I’ll have to start getting ready for the Ball soon, anyway.”
“I’m giving you a tour,” he said firmly. He would not be deterred. “Anyway, you can help me check a few things off my list. We already checked off one item on the balcony this morning,” he teased with a self-satisfied grin.
He leaned down and gave me a quick, sweet kiss.
“Now put some clothes on, woman, or the only tour of the Golden Court you are going to get is the inside of this bedroom,” he growled.
I thought about disobeying him just so he would make good on his threat.
“Good day, Lord Davante,” a sweet lesser fae woman greeted us almost the moment that we left my room. She was mopping the white-and-gold swirled marbled floor in the hallway.
“Hey, Gladys,” he said, giving the woman a warm smile as we passed her.
The Golden Court was different from the High Court in so many ways it was difficult to put my finger on any one thing. Like seeing Gladys mopping at the Golden Court. At the High Court, there was undoubtedly a lot of work to be done at any given time—floors that needed mopping, trash that needed taken out, bushes that needed to be trimmed. But at the High Court, you never really saw that kind of work being performed. Instead, it was just done but always out of sight.
Maybe it was all the preparation for the Winter Gala, but the general feel of the Golden Court was one of industriousness. Everywhere we turned, people could be seen working.
Cass took a shortcut through one of the large kitchens. Everyone exclaimed when they saw him enter. Cass took the time to greet and smile at everyone who turned his way. Cass purloined a handful of blueberries from a bowl on our way out.
“I saw that, Lord Davante!” an amiable mixed fae woman in a chef’s hat admonished. “Those are for the pies!”
The most refreshing difference between the High Court and the Golden Court was seeing just how comfortable and happy Cass was here. I didn’t think he’d dismissed his wings more than once or twice since I’d arrived. He didn’t fidget around in a suit and tie that was too restricting to fit his massive body. He walked around laughing and calling everyone by their first names. Although High Lord Dumont was high lord of the Golden Court, it was apparent to anyone in these halls that Cass was the future of the Golden Court.
“What are you smiling about?” Cass asked me, matching my smile with one of his own. He said he was walking me to the library, which was guaranteed to be one of my favorite rooms at the Court.
“Just you. And this place,” I said with a wave of my hand, the one that was not wrapped in his grip.
“I know. It’s perfect, right?” he said.
“You have something really special here, Cass,” I replied. “And they owe it, in large part, to you. They know it. I hope you know that, too, Cass.”
“We all earned it, Mand. You, too. You may have been at the High Court at the time, but you were fighting for us in your own way,” he said.
“Cass, you’re sweet. But the things I did, the things I am trying to do at the High Court, that is all done in an effort to get the lesser fae back at the High Court and on equal footing. But what you’ve done here… You’ve created your very own haven.”
“Exactly,” Cass replied passionately. “We don’t need the High Court. Everything we could ever want is right here,” he continued excitedly. “This can be your home too, Mand. It can be our home.”
He stopped talking and looked over at me. I squeezed his hand, letting me know it was okay. I wanted him to continue with what he had to say.
“You should know that High Lord Dumont has asked me to stay here at the Golden Court and rule in his stead indefinitely. He has no plans of leaving the High Court or his access to the King any time soon,” Cass explained.
Now everything made sense. Walking around the Golden Court, the people here had felt like Cass’s people because they were. The halls had felt like they belonged to him, too, because they did. The heart and soul of the Golden Court already belonged to Cass.
“That… Wow, Cass! That’s big. You’re perfect for it. It’s perfect for you,” I said sincerely.
Selfishly, I felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of Cass ruling over the Golden Court. What would that mean for us?
“It’s going to be awhile before I will be able to step into my role full time,” he explained. “Things with the war are going to really have to calm down before I can be at the Golden Court full time.”
His words, “full time” struck me, but I tried to remain happy for him instead of thinking of myself. I didn’t get to see Cass as much as I would like to, with him having to patrol the border wall so often, but he still managed to pop down to the High Court and see me on a regular basis. How often would I get to see him if he was “full time” at the Golden Court? I could come see him sometimes, but I couldn’t be gone all the time.
“I know we haven’t been together very long, Mand,” he began, and my heart skipped a beat. “But I want you here with me. You don’t have to say anything right now, but when I do finally take my place at the Golden Court, I want you next to me.” He grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb across the top of it lightly.
I felt the warmth of a smile blossom in my heart before it made its way to my face. It sounded like a good dream—Cass and me settling down at the Golden Court together. It was a dream I could picture myself living out with him… one day.