32. It’ll Be Worth It
It’ll Be Worth It
SERAPHAE
Caelan had spent the better part of the evening slamming me into dirt.
After a full day of court, I figured perhaps he’d like to rest. Which meant I would get to rest. The balls of my feet hurt, my back ached from standing too straight, and I seriously considered resigning from my position indefinitely.
Then I remembered how much Caelan was paying me and decided my suffering was worth the coin. I could rest later. Preferably rich.
Caelan grabbed my shoulders and kicked my feet out from under me. My back met the ground hard enough to rattle my teeth.
After Mirror Lake, the men unanimously decided that I needed more training. It was not because I was incompetent. But admittedly, I was not used to fighting against more than one person at a time.
Caelan did not go easy on me. Never had.
Riven trained me mercilessly, but he showed restraint as if he were afraid to hurt me. The best fighter among all of them, and he refused to show me.
Sparring with Maelor was extremely educational in the sense that he did more talking than actual fighting.
Riven and Maelor had gone against me simultaneously once.
The experience had been humbling. I had never questioned my competence as aggressively as I did when I was put on the ground before I even touched one of them.
“You’re distracted,” Caelan said.
He pulled me off the ground. My dignity did not come up with me.
“I’m exhausted.”
We circled again.
“Do you want to stop?” he asked. “We can work on detonating your magic.”
I grimaced.
If we weren’t acquainting me with the earth, we were teasing the angel of death by testing out the extent of my magic.
“You mean the kind where I can only do damage by borrowing your power?”
I shoved against him. He didn’t budge.
“It’s incredibly effective,” he said.
“I know. Maelor still gets nightmares about it.”
As did half the soldiers in the yard that day. We still hadn’t repaired that stone wall.
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
I made use of the distraction and shifted my stance, turned, and tried to sweep his legs.
He stepped over it but lowered his guard in the process.
I clocked him across the jaw. I felt the blow through the bond.
His head snapped to the side, and surprise flashed across his face.
Then he came at me hard.
I pivoted.
He twisted mid-step and aimed low, landing a blow to my ribs.
I hated him instantly.
He grinned, and I realized I had momentarily lost my focus. He grabbed my entire person and slammed me to the ground.
I twisted, he grabbed my shoulder, and I hooked my leg behind his knee. We rolled on the ground in a tangle of limbs, scrambling for leverage like animals instead of a prince and his guard.
His hand closed around my throat when he pushed me back down.
I bucked my hips up, and he pressed himself against me harder.
I stopped moving and tried very hard not to smile.
This position, his hand on my neck, was fantastic.
My heart pounded against my chest.
His grip on my throat stayed, but it wasn’t tight. More like it was there to make a point and not to restrain. His eyes had gone from focused to hungry.
Good.
Then he let go of my neck and braced himself over me instead.
“I have something for you,” he said, voice rough.
I blinked up at him.
“What?”
He pulled me up to my feet, seemingly ending the fight.
I brushed the dirt off my legs and smoothed my hair.
“Why don’t you go get cleaned up first.” His gaze swept over me. “I need to finish up some things. I’ll see you tonight.”
I let the words settle. He was going to see me tonight.
Heat rose to my cheeks.
“Okay,” I said with a careful tone of neutrality.
His eyes glinted with amusement as he watched me. Then, with a smile, he took my hand and pressed a kiss to the knuckles.
“I’ll be quick.”
I stood there and watched him go for approximately ten seconds before I nearly ran back to my room to prepare.
Whatever he was going to give me.
I had already decided I’d like it.
We did not go to his bedroom.
Not that I had assumed that. It was simply a calculation I had made, based on probability. The bedroom ranked highly.
We went to his study.
A place for petitions, documents, and court matters. Not kissing and touching and running fingers through hair.
I was absolutely not disappointed, and nothing on my face suggested otherwise.
He closed the door and glanced at me.
“You look disappointed.”
I made a dismissive sound and crossed to the cabinet beside his desk. An impressive whiskey collection and expensive artifacts sat behind the glass. The golden compass looked particularly interesting.
His footsteps sounded behind me. I watched him from the mirror that lined the back of the cabinet.
Warm hands slid around my waist. Soft kisses peppered along my neck, stopping just below my ear. “Are you ready for your gift?” he murmured.
I looked up at him. “Does it involve a certain body part of yours?”
He laughed, low, with eyes blazing. “Careful. You keep daring me, I might take the offer.”
Before I could say something deeply inappropriate, he turned me to face him. Dug into his pocket and held out a closed fist. When he opened it, a necklace dangled from his fingers.
My smile came slowly.
The pendant was set in silver. Its crescent-shaped stone was smooth and raised, scattering green, blue, and silver light against the walls. The engraving along the edges was impossibly fine.
I leaned closer. “Serpents.”
His lips drew into a boyish grin. “Turn around.”
The chain settled cool against my throat. In the mirror, the stone sat at the hollow of my collarbone. The color of it matched my eyes exactly.
“When did you get this?”
His hands settled back around my waist, watching my reflection. “Mirror Lake.” His finger brushed the pendant.
I thought of him in that cavern, plucking a piece just for me.
Something ached in my chest. A feeling pressed at my throat, at the tip of my tongue. The shape of it unfamiliar. Words, maybe. I didn’t know which ones yet.
“Thank you,” I said instead.
He smiled into my hair. “You’re welcome.”
His fingers left the pendant and traced along my collarbone.
I watched him in the mirror as he dipped his chin to brush his lips along the crook of my neck. Every touch sent sparks racing straight between my legs, and I knew I had grown slick. I felt him harden against me, and I pressed back deliberately, earning a low groan.
If I suffered, so did he.
“I love the way you smell,” he said into my skin. “It drives me crazy.”
I turned my head, and our lips met in a heated kiss. My hips rocked back on their own, and I did it one more time just to spite him for being noble.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, pupils blown. “If there’s something you want,” His hand slid down my hips, slipping under the slit of my dress. “You could’ve just asked.”
Fingers traced the edge of my underwear.
I shifted, trying to get them where I needed them to be.
His mouth pulled into a smug grin. Then he finally dragged two fingers through my folds, circling my swollen clit with slow, teasing pressure. A moan came out of me, and he made a low sound of appreciation.
His other hand slid up my ribs and cupped my breast through the dress, thumb dragging over my hardened nipple. He pinched lightly, then soothed it, making me whimper against his jaw. He slipped the strap of my dress off my shoulder, letting the fabric fall.
I turned back to the mirror, and his eyes met mine in the reflection.
“Look at yourself,” he commanded softly next to my ear. “Look how wet you are for me. How beautifully you fall apart.” His thumb pressed firmly against my clit, making me buck into his hand. I turned my head to kiss him again, but his hand left my nipple to guide my chin back toward the mirror.
“Eyes on the mirror.”
I tore my gaze from him and focused on the mirror.
Watching him touch me made the heat between my legs unbearable. But watching the expression on his face while he was doing it nearly pushed me over the edge entirely.
He pushed two fingers inside me, curling deep while his thumb kept working my clit in slow circles.
He pumped his fingers slowly at first, pulling all the way out before delving back in.
And when my breathing turned fast and shallow, he went faster, the wet sounds of my arousal filling the quiet study.
He watched me in the mirror, eyes never leaving mine, lips grazing the shell of my ear as he whispered things I’d never thought I’d hear from a prince.
“That’s it,” he said. “You’re going to come just like this, watching yourself in the mirror.”
Pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. My thighs trembled. I moaned, hips rocking shamelessly into his hand as he curled his fingers against that perfect spot again and again.
“Come for me,” he murmured. “Let me see it.”
The orgasm crashed through me hard. I cried out, possibly cursed twice. Walls pulsing around his fingers, my reflection showing every gasp, every shudder as pleasure tore through me. He kept stroking me through it until I sagged back against his chest.
I turned in his arms, breathing hard.
He pressed a kiss to my lips and smiled. “Good girl.”
His hand rose between us, and he turned his fingers. The evidence of my orgasm gleamed against the lantern light. His pupils dilated, breath catching as the corner of his mouth lifted with satisfaction.
I grabbed his wrist and slid both fingers into my mouth. He watched me suck them clean before releasing them with a wet pop.
“Gods, help me.” His breath left him in a sharp exhale. Fingers still in the air as if he couldn’t comprehend what I’d just done.
I pressed my hand against his chest and pushed him backward until he hit the chair.
He sat, thighs spreading. Raw desire cutting through the glint of amusement that had been previously in them.
I gathered my skirts and straddled him where he signed treaties and ruled his kingdom. Tonight, it was where he would sign away his composure and lose control.