32
Alarie
Walking up to House Heroux that evening, I recognized the same honeyed voice I’d heard at the high lady’s soiree before. I quickly scanned the room, finding the handsome young lord on the far side of the room. The singer spotted me, giving me his usual playful grin and wink as his nimble hands skillfully moved over the strings of his guitar.
“Good evening, love.”
“Jay,” I breathed out, jumping in surprise. I hadn’t noticed him approaching me.
I was there to pass my social test for the liaison program. Jay had explained that prior to the magic waning, this portion of the liaison program would have been an opportunity to showcase any magical abilities I had. But, luckily for me, that kind of magical test had fallen to the wayside with the magic dying. Now, all I had to do was survive the evening without pissing off anyone, beginning with the high lord himself.
“My lord,” I crooned, “that’s a fine suit you’re wearing,” I said, discreetly squeezing his toned arm to quell the possessiveness I knew was always lingering near the surface for him.
With one raised eyebrow, appeased, Lord Vitruvian gave me a smirk that didn’t quite make it to his eyes. He offered me his elbow.
“The King, the High Council, and then some, are in there,” he warned, leaning his head down to whisper to me.
I tensed up at this news.
“You got this, love,” he whispered, lightly and lovingly touching the arch of my lower back.
His hand dropped from me before we walked in, approaching the King and his soon-to-be-queen; High Lady Tragon and her son, Cole Tragon; High Lord Rein, Lady Rein, Rhett, and Luke; and the Lords Preston.
* * * *
I walked into the hall, making my way back to the gathering after taking a quick break from everyone under the pretense of using the bathroom.
“Alarie,” a man called out. “Al.”
Only Luke and Rhett called me “Al.” But I didn’t recognize the voice that called out to me. I stopped and turned to face my pursuer.
“What are we going to do about this?” the grinning musician with the enchanting voice asked me cockily.
I responded to his question with a bemused expression.
“And what exactly is ‘this,’ Lord…?” I trailed off, waiting for the young lord’s name and giving him the slightest flirt of a smile.
“Stefan. Stefan Jovian,” he offered, extending his hand.
“What are we going to do about this?” he said, indicating the feel of his calloused hand in mine.
I took my time examining Stefan from head to toe, not veering away from his directness, and ending my journey at his eyes with a look that told him I wasn’t impressed, which, if I were being completely honest, was not entirely true. Stefan let a frustratingly knowing smirk slide onto his face.
“Well, Lord Stefan, it seems I’m at a disadvantage here. You know me, but, regretfully, I do not know you,” I said coolly, trying to cut through the cocky smirk on his face.
“Ouch,” he replied, like he had been pricked by the thorn of a rose. “Well, I’ll take the blame for that. I’ve been up north and away from the Court too much for my taste lately,” he said. “Look, I have a proposal for you,” he said, glancing back toward the room where everyone else was gathered.
I looked back at Stefan, coolly.
“High Lady Tragon would like to offer you a role in her House as coordinator,” Stefan volunteered.
Of all the things, that was not one I’d expected to come from the overconfident lord’s mouth. How could the high lady realistically expect me to be receptive to her offer? I’d made my dislike of the high lady’s son quite plain on multiple, very public occasions. But, if liking Cole Tragon was a criteria for working at House Tragon, then his mother would be the only one still there.
“And you’re what exactly to the high lady?” I asked, still trying to figure out the motive behind the offer without revealing anything myself.
“Consort,” Stefan answered in a clipped tone, some of his arrogance deflating.
And that’s when I remembered where I’d first seen Stefan. At the Summer Ball, he’d stood next to Cole Tragon, shifting uneasily on his feet as Cole and I had exchanged barbs. And then I did not see him again for months, until Lady Tragon’s soiree the other day.
“Hmm,” I mused.
“So, you know Luke and Rhett?” I guessed, changing the subject.
He had called me Al, so that meant he knew Luke, Rhett, or both. Hanging out with Cole was an immediate red flag, but if he knew Luke and Rhett, then maybe he wasn’t so bad.
He nodded his head. “They told me all about you.”
“You can’t believe half of what those guys say,” I joked.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” he replied, his voice smoldering.
“So, what are you going to play for me next?” I asked, sidestepping his overt flirting. He was being a bit heavy-handed for the usual High Court games.
“Absolutely anything you want,” he said, suggesting it was more than just my choice of songs that he would be willing to give to me.
I rolled my eyes at his persistence.
“How about you just play the next one for me, ok?” I replied.
“Deal. But you have to promise to think about my offer,” he said.
And then he turned away, flashing me one more mischievous smile over his shoulder before heading back into the parlor to get back to his performance. I took my lower lip between my teeth, biting it and thinking about everything Stefan had said as he disappeared back into the main room. Then I went back to the party, joining Luke as Stefan played in the background.
“It’s weird to see Jay here,” Luke said.
“Yeah, why?” I replied, still distracted by my conversation with Stefan.
“It’s just that he never used to come to these kinds of things before. This definitely would have been something he would have sent me to handle for him. Before you, he used to only go to House Heroux functions and then maybe the seasonal galas,” Luke explained.
“And the King and the entire High Council too,” Luke whistled. “This must be the best attended liaison dinner of all time. Normally, it would just be me and some other agents on behalf of each House.”
“Speaking of House agents. I’ve heard you’ve been telling lies about me to Lord Stefan,” I said, changing the subject.
Luke gave me a sideways assessing gaze before responding.
“Only if it’s a lie to say you’re the most brilliant woman I know. Hot, too,” he said, wagging his eyebrows at me.
“Luke,” I exclaimed, “save it for the other ladies. I know your games all too well, and they don’t work on me,” I continued, playfully bumping my shoulders into his.
His brick wall of a body was unfazed by my effort.
“Don’t they?” he asked confidently, flashing me one of his white toothy grins, the kind of smile that could melt a glacier.
“They just need a firm hand,” Cole said loudly enough for everyone standing in the vast room to hear.
He was standing with Rhett and Lord Preston, and his husband, Jamie. Jay stood next to the King talking across the room. High Lady Tragon and Gloria had run off somewhere long ago. Stefan was across the room, beginning to pack up his guitar for the evening.
Other than the high lady’s unusual job offer, everything had gone well so far that night. If we ended the night then, I had no doubt that I’d passed the informal social test necessary to progress out of the liaison program. All I had to do was leave without rocking the boat. But I’d heard this diatribe by Cole before, his snipes about the idea of a Golden Court and the lesser fae wanting to be called the gilded, not lesser, fae instead.
Approaching Cole, I retorted, “Cole, the only firm hand you know about is the one you give yourself every night alone in your bedroom.”
Rhett barked out a laugh, and Lord Preston made a more discreet snicker. Our exchange had immediately drawn the eyes of everyone else in the room to us.
“What do you know, mutt?” Cole retorted, falling back on his trite name calling.
I felt the familiar tension in the air that I had come to recognize as Jay’s power. I found Jay’s eyes and subtly shook my head, telling him not to come over to where I stood. Fire blazed behind his gray eyes. Grey put a casual hand on his friend’s shoulder, distracting him.
Luke walked over and stood next to me. Jay’s eyes seared into Luke’s back.
“I know the guy you’re talking about—Don Davante—and I know that if you try to take a ‘firm hand’ with him, he will break your hand, and then your arm, and then that sword at your side like a twig.”
“I’m not worried about Cass,” Cole sneered.
Cass? I wondered at Cole’s familiarity.
“I guess that answers the question we have all been wondering about then—you really are that stupid,” I said.
Blustering, Cole replied, “I will not be talked to this way by some small-town mongrel. When I’m through with you, no one at the High Court will offer you a job,” he spat through clenched teeth.
“Well then, you better go talk to your mother because she’s already offered me a spot in your House.”
Cole looked over at Stefan, who gave him a nod, confirming I was not lying. Cole gave me one disgusted look and then turned on his heels, storming off.
Jamie looked uncomfortable and wandered off, muttering an excuse about needing to find Gloria. Lord Preston was still chuckling as he made his way over to Jay and the King.
Rhett’s and Luke’s chuckling finally began to subside.
“She really offered you a position with House Tragon?” Luke asked, incredulously.
“Yep,” I said, trying to find Jay’s eyes and see how he felt about this news, but he was still talking to the King and wasn’t looking my way.
“Are you considering it?” Rhett asked, neutrally, ever the diplomat behind his Prince Charming facade.
“And work with that gem?” I joked, gesturing toward where Cole stormed off.
“Good. Because if you’re leaving House Vitruvian, then it better be to come and work for my House,” Rhett replied.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re done here for the night,” Luke said.
“I’ll walk you home, Al,” he continued, grabbing my elbow and beginning to pull me toward the door.
“No need, Luke,” Jay said, appearing next to us, although he had been across the room seconds before.
“Lady Armand, you can join me. I’m heading back as well,” he said, stiffly holding his elbow out to me.
I looked back at Luke and Rhett.
“‘Night,” I said, pulling out of Luke’s grip and taking Jay’s elbow.
When we were out of sight, I felt Jay’s discreet but possessive touch on my lower back.
“Did you enjoy the evening at the King’s house, Alarie?” he asked, engaging in small talk we could easily exchange in case of prying ears.
However, I could hear that something more severe than the possibility of eavesdroppers was underlying the faux formality in his voice. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed about my scene with Cole or the high lady’s offer, or perhaps both.
“It was quite the party,” I responded, generically, biding my time to find out the reason for Jay’s undertone.
“What did you enjoy the most? The food? Or perhaps it was the music?” he spat, emphasizing the last word, leaving no doubt in my mind as to the true reason for his mood.
My heart jumped into my throat as my exchange with Stefan replayed in my mind. I’d flirted with the musician, but my flirting had been no different from the flirting I usually faked to wheedle information out of people. But even as I tried to convince myself of this, I inwardly admitted that it was not entirely true. And somehow the high lord knew this as well. I couldn’t explain it now that I was no longer in front of Stefan, but in the moment, I’d felt myself being a little too receptive to his blunt advances.
“The food was delicious,” I responded, taking a subtle deep breath to slow my pounding heart.
I knew our charade would drop the moment we stepped through the door of the foyer. We spent the remainder of our walk in silence. As we crossed into the foyer of the manor, the high lord’s hand encircled my wrist, turning me toward him. I pretended not to pick up on the heat practically rolling off the him as I faced him, staring too innocently into his face.
He held my gaze a moment longer, then sharply dropped my hand, taking a single step back from me and purposefully reaching for the belt at his waist. Silently, his eyes bore into me as he began methodically taking off his belt, sliding it meticulously through each loop before folding it in half and holding it ready at his side.
“I…” I began, eyeing the belt in his hand, a tantalizing new kind of excitement rushing through me.
I gulped down air, not knowing what excuse I could come up with. But before I could finish my sentence, his tongue was prying my mouth open and exploring each crevice as if to flush out the lie that had been on my tongue. He roughly placed his hand over the top of mine and squeezed my hand over the hard length of him.
“This is where your hands belong,” he commanded.
The young lords who had once been an impetus for the game Jay and I played suddenly became the fuel for a different kind of fire. Forgetting whatever excuse I’d wanted to give, my need for him seared through me. His jealousy rode my body and electrified me as if I’d been struck by lightning. He broke away from me abruptly, grabbing my arms, digging his thumbs into them as he turned me around and pushed me toward the closest wall.
He gripped both of my wrists in one hand, pulling them together above my head and deftly wrapping his belt around them, tying my hands together.
“If you can’t keep your hands off other men, I’ll do it for you,” he growled, yanking the leather tighter until it bit into my skin.
“Yes, Jay,” I responded breathily, excited for what appeared to be a new lesson.
He wrapped his arm around my waist while he kissed and bit at my neck and fumbled with loosening his pants with his other hand. Finally freeing himself, he used his free hand to hike my dress above my waist and pull my panties to the side. I was panting, his every touch like a direct line of fire to the throbbing between my thighs.
Then Lord Vitruvian pinned the tail end of the leather belt and my bound wrists to the wall, mounting me forcefully from behind. My wetness allowed him to easily slide into me. He slipped his hand inside the front of my panties and began to roughly flick the raw apex at the top of my sex while plunging himself deeper into me, as if trying to fuse his shaft permanently to the end of me. The leather of the belt dug into my skin with each thrust.
“Give me what’s mine, Alarie,” he demanded, tugging the leather of the belt tighter, bringing me to stand on my toes in my heels.
“Now,” he said as he continued to fiercely drive himself into me.
And I did, the roughness in his voice and our lovemaking quickly pushing me over the edge. As his teeth grazed the top of my shoulder, I couldn’t help but turn my moan of pleasure into his name.
My knees began to buckle with my pleasure as he continued to plow into me harder and harder.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “You. Are. Mine,” punctuating each word with a punishing thrust.
“Fucking say it, Alarie! I want to hear you scream it,” he demanded, a rare obscenity slipping from his lips.
“I’m yours, Jay. Just yours,” I insisted as he thrust into me harshly and drove all thoughts of Stefan and anyone else but him from my mind before he lost himself deep within me.
Still inside of me, his body pressed against the back of mine, his hand tightly wound around the leather digging into my wrists, he warned, “Don’t let me ever see you take that lip of yours between your teeth for another man.”
Then he withdrew from me so abruptly that I almost fell to the floor, my hands still bound, my legs weak from my all-consuming orgasm, and his arm no longer supporting me around my waist. Before I could turn away from the wall, Lord Vitruvian was walking away from me, not bothering to retrieve his belt that still bound my wrists.
“You passed, by the way,” he said flatly over his shoulder. “Congratulations,” he said as he finished buttoning his pants.
He didn’t look back at me as he left the room.
At least I knew what had given me away. With the emotions of the night raw and whirling within me, I walked to my room and reflected on the relapse of my loving Jay to that of my exacting tutor and high lord.
Although I had passed the last test for the liaison program, for the first time in my life, I thought that I may have failed a different test that night. I had no doubt that the high lord had just given me a very thorough lesson and had meant to instill in me that I was his. But the only lesson I’d learned that night was that I very much enjoyed being tied up and fucked.