My mind came up blank, so I acted on instinct. Unfortunately, my instinct was to deny it.
“That’s not mine.” I shook my head, shuddering as the cold draft rushed through me and into the steamy bathroom.
His eyebrow twitched, “it isn’t?”
My gaze flickered from the tiny orb of light to his face.
“Nope, never seen it before.” I replied just a little too quickly, feeling my stomach drop when his eyes lit up with interest.
He had caught me. He knew it and I knew it. Since I was in no position to face him, that only left me with one other option. It was cowardly, but it would buy me some time.
“Really—” He started walking towards me.
“Maybe you should ask Apollo, he likes sparkly things—” I cut him off and stumbled backwards into the bathroom, slamming the door right in his face.
I flicked the lock shut and turned around, letting out a deep breath. St
Everything happened in the span of seconds. He lifted both his hands, and every projectile I’d sent rushing through the air was violently flung backwards with much more strength than I could ever manage. Shampoo bottles exploded against the wall, one of the wicker benches shattered on impact, and the vase went soaring out the window, taking the flowers with it.I could feel fatigue begin to weigh my arms and legs down, so with the last bit of magic I had, I sent it right towards Dain’s chest. The best I could manage was a rough shove, but that was all I needed to make him stumble over the edge of the pool.Turns out I wasn’t the only one with tricks up my sleeve. I got a taste of my own medicine when something shoved me forward, and Dain’s outstretched hand latched onto the towel wrapped around my torso. There was no time to brace myself as I was ripped forwards, slamming into his chest the same moment I felt the cooled bathwater hit my skin.
He hooked an arm around my thigh, pinning my hips to the bed so that I couldn’t move. His mouth latched onto my clit the same moment one of his long fingers slid past my entrance. It was those two things that sent me toppling over the edge, headfirst into the most powerful orgasm I’d ever had before.My vision went black, and a stream of sounds left my lips that seemed to spur Dain on until he lapped at me ravenously, wringing out every drop of euphoria until my legs were numb and trembling.As the pleasure-filled haze began to fade from my head, I startled when I felt a hand brush the hair from my face and hurried to sit up. Dain was knelt on the bed, the midnight button down shirt he had been wearing sat in his hands.“Hold out your arms.” He said softly, though something about his tone gave no room for argument.I did as he said, counting the number of times his fingers grazed me as he slid his shirt onto my body. I was still a
I slept better that night than I had in weeks and woke the next morning ready for training. There was a nervous flutter in my stomach that hadn’t been there before but left me feeling lightheaded whenever I thought of Dain or what happened last night.The word ‘virgin’ circled around my head, still refusing to sink in even though I had slept on it all night.Adley and I had just finished breakfast when Leslie knocked on the door and peeked her head inside.I had spent the last half hour shoveling fruits and tartlets into my mouth to avoid Adley’s interrogation, so I was more than ready to get out of the suite. The last thing I wanted to hear about was the other outcomes she had seen.Still, letting her make her own assumptions was turning out to be another mistake entirely. If I heard the words, “passionate angry sex” one more time I swore I’d go running from the room.“The king needs both of you for
I knew my question caught him off guard because he immediately tried to deflect. Whether or not he thought my attention span was that short, I’d never know but I was too hung up on my curiosity to drop the subject.“Is that really what you wanted to ask me?” He chuckled, and the smooth sound of it would’ve been convincing if I didn’t know how well Dain could hide his emotions. “Why would you think I have something against her? She’s my sworn warrior’s daughter.”“You look at her differently than you do Ally, and don’t try to deny it. You’re not the only one who pays attention.” I narrowed my eyes at him, seeing through the bullshit smile that made my heart race.“Jealousy so early in our relationship?” Dain shook his head teasingly, but this time the distraction wouldn’t work. He knew how to get a reaction out of my body, but once my mind was set on something—th
Ugh, everything hurts.Every limb and bone ached like I’d been hit by a tractor trailer, even my eardrums rang painfully. Light flashed behind my eyes, blinding me before I had the chance to open them. There was this wetness all over me, and I couldn’t tell if it were blood or sweat. I couldn’t smell it—not through the flames.Adley—her face came to mind, frozen in panic. Somehow, I found the strength to open my eyes, and instantly regretted it. There was too much to take in, from the burning furniture and the noxious stench it unleashed into the air, to the collapsed ceiling and fallen beams. The fire was everywhere, devouring everything. I could see that much from where I laid sprawled out on the floor, my right shoulder pinned down from a fallen china cabinet.“Adley—” I screamed above the crackle of flame and the shrill piercing sound of a fire alarm.I heard nothing, not even the shift
I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him talk this low before. That deep voice of his, it sounded like a purr as he pushed me into embrace of an armchair and shoved an ottoman under my feet, murmuring something about magnets and trouble. It could’ve been because of how fast he moved, blurring as he darted from one side of his suite to another.Without looking, he waved a hand and made an arched doorway appear on a blank space of wall. If my mind had been clearer, I would’ve found it curious that I’d never seen this door in his room before.What I did notice, as the door opened and Dain rushed inside, was that obsidian box of his sitting on a desk towards the back of the room. It was no longer in its original spot, and quickly faded from my mind as the door swung shut and vanished.Within half a second he was knelt in front of me, his hands holding my jaw steady as he brought a glass bottle to my lips.“Drink this…”
When I finally opened my eyes, it took me several minutes burrowed beneath the blankets to work through everything that happened. I spent most of that time trying to remember what I had done the moment of the explosion and wondered if it had any effect on the man that started it. As I relived the last few hours, I stopped short when Dain whisked the two of us away to his bedroom. I could tell from scent alone that these blankets I hid beneath were mine, but that wasn’t what I found odd. I remembered the explosion with perfect clarity, but the memory of being cradled in Dain’s arms felt different. Like a rose-colored filter had been placed over it, dulling some things while enhancing others. I remembered feeling weightless in a pool made of midnight tiles, cradled in his arms, but couldn’t remember the pain as he pulled the chunk of wood from my stomach. Rayna stretched as she finally woke but asking her would do no good. She had been knocked out cold
The memory of Dain’s voice filled my head, stealing my breath and fueling the fire in my veins.…ill-tempered and hot headed…He wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the kind of thing a person was willing to admit in the heat of the moment.I was flushed all the way down my neck. Images of myself naked and nestled in Dain’s arms flashed in my head, covered by a sugary-sweet haze that I now knew was from being drugged. My anger was tinged with a heavy dose of embarrassment, and it was that festering emotion that made me see red.Adley’s cherry-blossom painted lips opened, “I don’t think you should—”It wasn’t a place I pictured in my head as I turned the closet doorknob, but Dain’s face—his hair drooping in his eyes, and his lips tilted in a cocky smirk.I held my breath the moment I stepped through the doorway and into Dain’s bathroom, willing some