Chapter 14
Alette
Rain lashes against the castle walls in a relentless rhythm that fills the air.
Thunder rolls low across the sky, the storm stretching endlessly over the labyrinth below.
I stand beneath my bedroom’s balcony’s cover, my hands resting against the cool stone as I look out over it. From here, it almost doesn’t seem real.
The twisted paths, the dark vines, the shifting shadows. It’s all softened by distance, blurred by rain and the shifting glow of lanterns. It looks almost… beautiful. Almost harmless.
Except, I know better.
My breath slows as I lean into the railing, letting the chill ground me. It doesn’t quite work. Because I’m still warm. Still humming. My body hasn’t settled since I left him. Oberon.
The thought alone sends a quiet ripple through me, heat curling low in my stomach, lingering in a way I don’t fully understand yet.
I press my lips together, shifting slightly where I stand, suddenly too aware of myself. Of the way everything still feels heightened. Sensitive. Like something in me has been woken up and refuses to go back to sleep.
I exhale slowly. Trying not to think about the way his hands felt. The way his voice dropped when he spoke to me. The way I—I stop the thought there, my face warming. But the feeling doesn’t fade. If anything, it sharpens. Because now that it’s there… I want more.
My fingers tighten slightly against the stone as my thoughts drift, unbidden, to the others. Cassius. Steady. Careful. Sylvian. Controlled. Intense. Oberon. Overwhelming and all-consuming.
There’s something else. Something unfinished.
My attention snaps to Ashton so suddenly it steals my breath. The feeling is immediate and dangerous, all heat and reckless impulse. His grin rises first in my mind, followed by that confident, predatory edge he wears so easily. My pulse stutters.
And suddenly, I can’t think of anything else. What he would be like. How different it would feel. The way he would touch me. The way he would look at me… my breath comes quicker now, shallow, my body reacting before I can stop it.
I shouldn’t be thinking this.
Not like this.
The sound of the door behind me cuts through everything. I freeze. Then turn.
Ashton walks through the room and heads straight for me and the balcony, his long blond hair slightly damp from the air, curling faintly at the edges. His gaze finds mine instantly, that familiar, dangerous smile already forming.
And just like that, every thought I had about him crashes into the present.
“Enjoying the view?” he asks, leaning casually against the railing beside me.
I try to calm myself. To focus. Don’t think of him naked. Don’t think of him touching himself. Of touching you.
“It’s strange,” I admit, my voice quiet as I turn my gaze back to the labyrinth. “From here, the labyrinth looks almost… peaceful. Like it’s not hiding a thousand ways to kill us.”
Ashton chuckles softly, the sound rich and warm like the golden light spilling from the torches.
“That’s the trick, isn’t it? Lull you into a false sense of security, then strike.
” He reaches out, brushing a strand of hair from my face, his fingers lingering against my skin.
The simple touch sends a thrill through me.
“ But you’re smarter than that. Stronger, too. ”
I can feel the blush rising to my cheeks, and I look away, pretending to be captivated by the view. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” I tease, though my voice lacks conviction. The truth is, his compliments make me feel vulnerable, exposed in ways I’m not sure I’m ready to confront.
“Won’t it?” he murmurs, his tone low, a hint of something deeper in his eyes. The space between us disappears in an instant, and before I can overthink it, his lips are on mine, warm and inviting.
The kiss is slow at first, a gentle exploration, and I can hear the rain pattering against the stones, a rhythm that matches the pounding of my heart.
My fingers tangle in his hair as he deepens the kiss, his hands cupping my face as he presses me against the railing.
The storm rages around us, the wind tugging at my hair and clothes, but I barely notice.
All I can focus on is Ashton. His touch, his warmth, the way he makes me feel like the world beyond this balcony doesn’t exist.
When he pulls back, just enough to look at me, I can see a rare vulnerability in his eyes. “I love you,” he says, each word measured and sure.
“I love you too,” I whisper, the words feeling both foreign and perfectly natural on my tongue.
He kisses me again, a soft, lingering press of his lips that promises more than words ever could. I can feel the heat pooling in my body, the connection between us sparking like fire. The moment feels infinite, suspended in time, and I want to hold on to it forever.
Unable to help myself, I press my body against him, molding my curves to his hard body. My hands stroke up and down his chest, wanting to touch everywhere all at once. I feel his body tense, and his kisses get faster, more desperate.
He breaks the kiss. “Alette–”
I rub myself against him, and he groans.
Breaking our kiss, he pants, “If we don’t stop now…”
“Then what?” I ask.
“Oh fuck,” he mutters, then his eyes flash open and lock with mine. “Then I’m going to have to take you so hard and fast that you’ll be feeling me inside of me for a week.”
I swallow. Lick my lips, and then say something I never imagined I say, “Yes, please.”
He stares at me for a long second, and then something snaps inside him. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”
Grabbing me, he puts me up onto the edge of the balcony. I gasp, staring at the ground far below. At the rain splattering on the pavement.
“Ashton…”
“I won’t drop you, promise,” he whispers, then his lips find mine.
We kiss, over and over again. His tongue sliding against mine like he owns my mouth.
Like we’ve done this a thousand times. My body heats up, and I’m surprised I’m ready again.
It must really be something about being with a fae, because I can never imagine a woman being able to handle this many men in such a short period of time.
His lips move down my neck, sucking until I’m humming with pleasure. Then, he’s kissing the tops of my breasts. With one hand, he drags the top of my dress down, and my breasts burst free. He takes his time sucking each nipple. Lavishing my breasts with attention.
I squirm against him, desperate for more. Knowing exactly what he can give me.
He uses one hand to undo his belt and tug his pants down, and then he pushes my skirts back before shoving my underwear to the side. It takes him seconds to slam into me, and then I feel like I’m falling, only he has me tightly in his grip.
This man, this incredible man, proceeds to make love to me like he’s crazed.
He’s an absolute animal. His grip tight.
His thrusts fast and hard. Desire builds and builds inside of me until my toes curl, and I can’t hold back any longer.
My eyes roll to the back of my head, and I’m crying out, riding him back, harder and harder as my orgasm rolls through me.
Tingling and spent, he continues to thrust into me. I almost ask him to stop. I’m too sensitive. Every nerve in my body raw, but I don’t, and before too much longer, I feel my arousal building again.
“Ashton?” I gasp.
He keeps plowing into me. “It’s okay, little one. You can take it. We’re going to come together this time.”
So, I keep riding him, my hands clawing into his shoulders. I throw my body back, but he holds onto me tight, driving in harder and faster, harder and faster, until, at last, I’m coming again. And then, he’s coming too, his cum sliding into my body. Hot and sticky, and the knowledge turns me on.
We keep going, long past the end of my orgasm. Long past him finishing. And then, I collapse against him, breathing hard.
“Th-that,” he begins, then shakes his head. “That was unbelievable.”
I’m still breathing hard. “Are you sure? I know you’re… experienced.”
He pulls back from me and gives me a grin that tugs at my heart. “I’m sure. So sure I think we should repeat that. All the time. Every day.”
Holding me close, he kisses my neck. “You have no idea how happy you make me.”
I smile. “I don’t even know if I knew what it was to be happy before the four of you.”
Then, I realize where we are, and my cheeks heat. “Someone could see us here.”
“Nah.”
I punch his shoulder lightly. “They absolutely could.”
He sighs, pulls out of me, fixes my underwear, and pulls me down from the edge. Then, he puts himself away, and adjusts his pants. “I like knowing you’re going to smell like me all day.”
I blush. “Really?”
His voice drops lower. “Really.”
But then the sound of someone clearing their throat startles us apart. I whip around to see a servant standing at the entrance to the balcony, her face carefully blank. “Dinner is served,” she says, her tone polite but clipped, making me wonder how much she saw.
Ashton chuckles under his breath, taking my hand in his. “Come on, little human. Let’s not keep the others waiting.”
His grip remains warm and reassuring around my hand as we move through the winding halls. A strange ache settles deep inside me, my body still hyperaware in ways I don’t know how to handle. Everything feels… changed. Sharper. Fuller. Like something inside me has finally settled into place.
I’ve been with each of them now. The realization comes quietly, but it lands deep. Cassius. Sylvian. Oberon. Ashton. Each of them so different. Each moment its own kind of overwhelming. And yet, somehow, none of it feels fragmented.
It feels whole. Complete in a way I don’t have the words for.