Chapter 29
Fawn waited for the barmaid at the local tavern to take her drink order. She, Naomi, and Monroe were celebrating one of her last nights as a single woman. Not that she considered herself single, but the other two insisted. She could do with a night out with her friends anyway.
And Braddock stood sentry, ready to maul anyone who stared at Monroe too long.
A man sidled up to Fawn and smiled. “Are you new in town?” He had dark, curly hair, pale, beige skin, and nice teeth. Most fae men were tall, and he was no exception.
Realizing she’d been staring, she chuckled. “Am I that obvious?” She glanced at her friends over her shoulder, and they gave her a thumbs up. They’d told her if a man offered to buy her a drink, she had to accept. It was a tradition, according to Monroe.
Braddock hadn’t been too happy to learn his husband participated in the ritual at his own pre-wedding celebration, but Monroe had waved him off. “ It’s flattering —and a free night out.”
“I earn enough money to buy the entire tavern,” Braddock had grumbled.
“Let us have our fun.” Monroe had then shooed her toward the bar.
“No, but I haven’t seen you here before, and I would’ve noticed,” the man said. Fawn almost rolled her eyes. She didn’t think dealing with his ridiculous lines was worth a free drink. “I’m Sadler.”
She took his outstretched hand. “Fawn.”
“Fawn,” he echoed, with a half-smile. “I like it. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Yes, thank you.” She wanted to get this over with and return to her friends.
“Invite him to a corner table,” an all-too-familiar voice whispered in her ear.
She nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around, bumping into something solid but seeing nothing. Either she lost her mind, or her mate was playing invisible man again. “You couldn’t give me one night?” she whispered, without heat.
“Did you say something?” Sadler held out her drink.
“Nope,” she squeaked and cleared her throat.
Dean’s breath ghosted against her cheek. “The corner table, Fawn.”
“Would you like to sit at a table?” She searched the room and spotted one against a far wall. “I see one over there.”
“I’d love to.” Sadler swept out his arm. “After you.”
She hurried to the table, set her drink down, and pulled out a chair. Dean’s large hands grabbed her waist and stopped her from sitting. Her skirts ruffled and her underwear ripped away.
Fawn gasped, and Sadler’s concerned eyes traced over her face. “Are you okay?”
“He can’t see your skirts move,” Dean whispered so low she almost didn’t hear.
Sadler took a seat, and Dean slowly pulled her down into his lap. She jerked when his warm fingers circled her clit and ran through her folds. Fawn bit her lip and tried to concentrate on the man across from her. “Are you from here?” she asked, fighting to steady her voice.
Dean picked up his movements, dipping his finger into her heat. Part of her loved the thrill; the other part wanted to kill him. How in the fuck was she supposed to speak to this man with her fiancé teasing her?
“I am.” Sadler drank his ale. “Where are you from?”
Fawn had never liked mundane conversation, and she liked it even less with Dean’s fingers gliding across her slick lips. “The Mountain Kingdom. I moved here about two weeks ago.”
Sadler took another drink. “What brought you here?”
Dean roughly pushed his fingers inside up to the knuckles. The bastard curled them just right, and she squirmed, holding in a moan. Trying to think of a lie through her lust-addled brain proved more difficult than she thought. “I moved here with my friend. She’s from here.”
“Who is she?” Sadler leaned his elbows on the table with interest. “I might know her.”
Dean moved his fingers faster, and when her muscles started to pulse, he removed them. Both relief and frustration coursed through her. “Naomi. She’s right there.” She pointed at her friends, who were already watching.
Monroe waved with a goofy grin, and Braddock scowled in their direction.
Dean lifted Fawn slightly, aligned his cock with her entrance, and slid her down until her cheeks met his thighs. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sounds trying to escape. Sadler was going to think she was crazy, hovering in the air and emitting weird noises.
“To everyone else, you haven’t moved,” Dean murmured. “But they can see your face and hear you.”.
Fucking hell.
Sadler turned back to her and nodded. “You know Monroe?”
She adjusted herself on Dean’s cock for more friction, but his hands held her firmly in place to keep her from moving. It felt more torturous than when he fucked her with his fingers. “Yes. I met him at the palace when I moved here.”
“He’s a nice guy,” Sadler agreed. “His husband is terrifying though.” He glanced back over to where Braddock glared at anyone who walked too close to Monroe. “Do you work at the palace?”
Dean flexed his cock inside her, the slight jump enough to set her on fire. She tried to move her hips again, but his fingers dug into the cushion of her flesh. “Be still. You’ll warm my cock until I allow you to move.”
Fawn rolled her lips together. “I do.” Not a complete lie—being the king’s mate was a full-time job . “Tell him you’re a maid,” Dean instructed, the crowd’s chatter smothering his voice from carrying across the table.
Pretending to look around the room, she whispered, “You have to stop. He’ll recognize me when I’m announced as queen.”
“I glamoured your face when you walked in,” he said, far too amused.
She jabbed her elbow back into his gut, delighting in his surprised grunt. Who changed someone’s face and didn’t tell them? “I’m a maid. What do you do?”
Sadler’s face lit up. “I’m a cartographer for the crown.”
“You make maps?” she asked, not entirely sure.
“I do. I’m working on a new one that’s giving me a hard time.
” Honest to the gods, the man reached into the satchel she hadn’t realized he carried and retrieved a rolled-up piece of parchment and a pair of round, gold spectacles.
He slid them into place, pushed their drinks aside, and unrolled the map. “It's the capital.”
Trying not to be rude, she leaned over the table to look. Arcadia, the name of the Garden Kingdom capital, was written in perfect scroll across the top. Beyond downtown streets and a few landmarks, the page was sparse.
Dean rocked her hips to steal her attention, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “How do you know the distances between everything?” He rocked her again and she gripped the edge of the table. Fortunately, Sadler didn’t notice as he launched into an explanation about measurements and chains.
Fawn tried to pay attention to the poor man, she really did, but if not for Dean idly rocking her back and forth, she’d have dozed off within minutes. Who knew drawing maps was so boring?
“—and it takes a lot of arithmetic,” Sadler droned on. “I graduated top of my class, so it wasn’t an issue for me.”
Dean chuckled, brought two fingers to her mouth, and eased them inside. She twirled her tongue around them, and he slid them out and under her skirt to massage her clit.
“ Gods ,” she breathed.
Sadler laughed. “I know. It really is amazing. Wait until I tell you about using the constellations.”
Dean’s fingers picked up speed, and right as her body started to tingle, he stopped and pinched her clit. She hit her fist on the table and clenched her teeth to keep from cursing.
Sadler stopped talking, his hands mid-air, and frowned. “Are you okay?”
She nodded too enthusiastically and tried to laugh, but it came out strangled. “I banged my knee.”
Dean tugged her flush with his chest and whispered, “Ride my cock, darling, and look him in the eye while I fuck you.”
Needing something to cool her down, Fawn grabbed her drink, downed the clear liquor, and almost spit the disgusting drink out.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sadler had dropped his hands, his face pinched with worry.
She tried to smile back. “Just numbing the pain. It really hurt.”
Her chest, heaving and flushed, drew Sadler’s attention. The dress she wore tonight dipped in a deep V, and his gaze landed on her cleavage. His eyes darkened, as if remembering why he’d bought her a drink to begin with, and he smiled suggestively. “Want me to massage it?” What a creep.
Dean lifted her until only the tip of his cock remained inside and slammed her down, not giving her the chance to adjust before doing it again. “Oh gods ,” she choked out.
“Eyes on him,” Dean said, anger threading his voice. She knew him well enough to know he wanted to rip Sadler’s arm off for offering to touch her.
Realizing she could get payback of her own for this unfair little game, she gave Sadler her best sultry smile. “You could come to my place after.” Dean’s growl made her laugh, and she tried to pass it off as a flirtatious giggle.
Sadler shifted in his seat and licked his lips. “I’d like that.”
The warmth of Dean’s hand returning to her clit made her eyes roll back in her head. She rocked her hips with his movements and her breathing picked up, unable to mask anymore.
“Fawn? Are you…” Sadler made a choking sound, and she met his dark eyes.
“Now everyone sees you rocking that needy little cunt on the chair,” Dean chuckled. “Give them a show, darling.”
“We can leave now.” Sadler reached beneath the table to adjust himself. “This is the hottest shit I’ve ever seen.”
“He’s right, but you’re all mine,” Dean whispered, his voice rough and gravelly.
Shit , she forgot about her friends standing to the side watching them. No one could see her real face, but they knew who she was. She would never be able to look them in the eye again.
Dean slipped a long finger alongside his cock and pressed the spot she needed. She quivered and released a string of expletives.
Sadler jumped up. “Babe, we can go in the back if you’re desperate.”
Fawn cried out and jerked around Dean’s cock, coming harder than she’d thought possible.
Her cum coated his cock and dripped down the sides, sticking to their thighs.
Dean moved her body faster until his loud moan filled the air.
Sadler stepped back, confused. Strings of hot cum released from her mate’s throbbing cock until it mixed with hers and covered them both.
“Oh my gods,” she rasped. People stared, turning her on even more.
Fawn saw Dean’s long arm reach past her and take Sadler’s ale. The man’s face paled and he stumbled back. “Where did…” He looked around. “You appeared out of thin air!”
Others around them gasped and whispered, and Fawn twisted around to look at her mate, sporting his usual disguise.
“I’ve been here the whole time; you were too busy talking maps and staring at her tits to notice.” Dean chugged Sadler’s ale and slammed down the mug.
“You didn’t have to insult his maps,” she muttered, feeling a little sorry for the guy.
Dean grabbed her neck, yanked her back, and kissed her—a possessive claim, as if fucking her in front of the entire room wasn’t enough.
Lifting Fawn off his cock, he set her on the ground, stood to tuck himself back in, and nodded to Sadler. “We’d love to stay and chat, but I need to fuck her again, and that little chair won’t cut it.”
He smacked Fawn’s ass and led her out of the tavern, leaving a roomful of gawkers wondering what the hell just happened.
The next day, Fawn tried to hide her discomfort as she waddled down the hall with Cassandra at her side.
The night before, Dean had fucked her all night, in all positions, to “remind her who she belonged to,” he’d said.
She’d reminded him that it was he who demanded she sit with Sadler alone.
He wasn’t upset with her, but seeing another man go after her had snapped something inside him. His words.
She’d had fun with him at the tavern, and they’d probably do it again at some point.
The time ticked by with each step, and she wondered how much longer Dean would be.
He’d wanted her to join him in a meeting with his father, but she’d told him she’d rather walk on nails barefoot.
He’d reluctantly left her to her own devices but insisted on Cassandra or Braddock accompanying her.
She’d opted for Cassandra and a walk through the gardens to visit Tickles. At the bottom of the stairs to the main floor, she rounded the corner and ran smack into Emi.
“I’m sorry,” the girl apologized profusely. When she realized it was Fawn, her eyes widened, and she curtsied. “Your Highness.”
“Emi, right? We’ve never been officially introduced.”
Emi curtsied again. “I’m just here to find my sister, then I’ll be gone, I promise. My father asked me to retrieve her.”
Fawn’s brows knit. “You don’t have to apologize for being here.” The girl had been nothing but polite, and Fawn didn’t understand her fear.
Emi looked just as confused. “Oh, thank you.”
She started to skirt around Fawn but spun around. “Wait.” Moving closer, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Stay away from my sister.”
Fawn’s scalp tingled, and her spine steeled. “Are you threatening me?” This family had pissed her off enough. If she had to order Cali out of the palace herself, she would.
Emi shook her head and looked around frantically. “No. You don’t understand. I’m trying to help you.” The girl sounded scared, and Fawn’s confusion grew. “Please, just stay away from her. If you see her coming and you’re alone, get away as fast as you can.”
“Emi, do you know something?”
“I must go. I’m sorry.” The girl ran off and disappeared around the nearest corner.
Cassandra coiled into a small pyramid, staring at Emi’s retreating form.
“Is that why you’re always with Cali?” Fawn asked the serpent. “Do you sense she’s a threat?” Cassandra looked at her like she was stupid, and Fawn sighed. “We need to teach you to read lips.”