Chapter 17 #2
A draft threaded through the gaps in the doorway, tugging at the lace against my calves.
I fought to steady my breath, to keep my face blank, to make my knees stop quivering like a thing that wanted to run.
Each footstep outside the room set my heart to a different tempo.
I told myself to stay small. Stay useful. Stay invisible enough to survive.
Then the door opened, and the king came in.
A wave of heat washed over me, clinging to my temples in the form of sweat. I wanted to run and hide as he stepped towards me. Slow, intentional. The heels of his shiny black boots drew closer.
He stopped in front of me, but I couldn't bring my trembling head up from my hands, kept clutched in my lap.
“Look at me.” He spoke softly, but there was something darker beneath the layers of his voice. An authority I dared not disobey.
I dragged my gaze up from the floor to look at him. His cold, grey eyes mapped my face with a hunger I’d only ever seen in one man before.
Rhodes.
White, straight hair tumbled over his shoulder as he reached out, his right, ungloved hand, tracing my bottom lip with his taloned thumb. Without pause, he shoved it into my mouth. I gasped, but didn’t dare jerk away as he slowly pulled it back out, tugging my bottom lip down as he did so.
He tasted like death. The sour tang of blood lingered on my tongue and I longed to spit the taste onto the floor, to be rid of it once and for all, but I kept my mouth wired shut.
“I’ve been thinking about you.” His words slithered across me effortlessly.
I pushed away the fear that clawed at my throat, silenced the voice in my head that told me to run, and plastered on the prettiest smile I could muster. “As I you . . . King.”
The corners of his mouth picked up, his teeth gleaming under the low light. “You can call me Snake.”
“Whatever you wish, Your Highness,” I gently moaned, hoping that if I played along, I’d get out of here quickly.
His eyes grazed my face one more time, then he spun on his heel and strode towards the large bathtub that sat near the fire a few paces from me. I stayed kneeled on the floor, not daring to move, even though my legs were becoming void of feeling.
Snake stripped bare and climbed into the tub, facing me so I could watch him bathe. He was beautiful in a vile sort of way. Toned body, hair down to his waist, glinting jewels adorning every second finger on his hands—even the gloved one—which he kept hung over the edge of the tub.
I couldn’t tell how old he was. Who knew how long he’d dwelt in Oscuro, he could be hundreds of years old, yet he looked no younger than me.
“How long have you been in Oscuro, Sapphire?”
My name rolled off his tongue, and I had to force my body not to respond to the chill that ran up my spine. “Just over a week, your highness.”
Water sloshed against the side of the tub as he lifted a leg to scrub it. “And what did you do in The Grey before gracing my kingdom with your presence?”
I huffed softly, and gestured to the web of lace covering my body. “This.”
Snake grinned. “I look forward to this evening then.”
I feigned a smile, not wanting to give him any indication that as soon as I could, I would flee from this room, from this palace, from this light forsaken place. My eyes tracked his every movement as he climbed from the bath, obviously not caring that his naked body was on full display.
He strode across the room with confidence, a towel wrapped low around his hips, before rummaging through a small table with a drawer. I held my breath as he sauntered towards me, eyes locked tight.
The sound of metal clinking on itself sounded in the room when he dropped a bag of coins on the floor beside me. I flinched as he dragged his right hand through my hair, fisting it before yanking my head backwards to look up at him.
A small cry slipped from my lips, but I refused to give him any more than that.
“This is payment for your services. You will do as I command until I find my release,” he said, his tone smooth . . . final. “Do you understand?”
My pulse thudded in my ears. Every instinct screamed to bolt, but I kept my chin lifted.
His words were a cage dressed in velvet, but they were still a cage.
And still—I’d known worse. Far worse. If this bargain kept me untouched by the cruelties that lurked in the rest of Oscuro, then it was a price I could pay.
“I understand,” I said, the words tasting like ash.
His eyes narrowed, searching my face for cracks, for rebellion. Then he released my hair, satisfied. “Good girl. You’ll find obedience has its rewards.”
Without time to even think, Snake moved to stand in front of me, dropping the towel from his waist. He wrapped his hand around his cock and pumped until it stood erect in front of my face. “Open.”
It wasn’t a suggestion, but a command.
My jaw dropped lower. There wasn’t time to breathe before he shoved his hardened length into my mouth. I forced back a gag, grateful that at least he bathed so I didn’t have to deal with bodily odour.
His right hand fisted into my hair again, thrusting my head further onto his length. I couldn't hold down the gag. It rushed up my throat before I could stop it. My eyes watered, but Snake just moaned, taking pleasure in the fact that I could barely breathe.
“Take it deeper,” he commanded, placing his gloved hand on the back of my head and thrusting his hips. His cock wasn’t the biggest I’d seen, but large enough to touch the back of my throat.