Page 28 of Caroline the Cruel
A breeze drifted through the room and Caroline twitched, raising her chin slightly like she was waiting for something, all while keeping her eyes glued to the document in her hand. Johnneth picked up on her anxious mannerisms, taking them for paranoia, which was reasonable considering how her father had been killed and why he was there. Angus said the odd, but subtle behavior was her waiting for the Gods’ summoning, whatever that meant. And now she expected this summoning after what she’d done to Felix and his bride.
Caroline released a breath then her shoulders lowered. The breeze wasn’t them. Her uncanny ability to always be alert was making this a challenge. He could kill her in her sleep, but even then, her eyes flashed open at the slightest movement. But Caroline was tired and lonely. Surely, he could use that to his advantage.
Signs of tension and fatigue would spring up in subtle ways he suspected only he and Angus caught. She was wary, constantly on guard, and he begrudgingly admired her constant vigilance. She and Angus had even gone as far as rebuilding the areas in Roskide which she frequented, so there was no chance of someone hiding in the room without her having a direct line of sight. The woman took no chances.
But Johnneth would succeed. There was no choice. Only more time to bide, he reminded himself. The queen had waited months to get her revenge on a lover. He could wait years for the perfect opportunity if he had to. His success must be absolute. The rosenwood dagger, which he always had on him, burned hot in the concealed pocket of his pants.
Caroline flicked her gaze to the window, listening as the vining rose bushes outside rustled, then went back to work. Her paranoia didn’t stop her from tending to her duties as monarch. For a queen, Caroline had an uncommonly small administrative staff. While Johnneth loathed every fiber of her being, he was coming to respect her work ethic. He wasn’t sure he knew a royal who put in such long hours or who liked to deal with so many things personally. It was as if she enjoyed it, which he didn’t believe. She loved the control.
Since Angus had returned from fetching her former lover, he was constantly around. He was her commander and her second personal guard, all in one. Couldn’t she send him away on another task? He needed to get some uninterrupted time alone with the queen.
Caroline sighed, drawing Johnneth’s attention. Her delicate hands kneaded the base of her neck, which had been craned over papers all day, again. These days were the most mind-numbing. He wasn’t sure how she did it.
At least the Petitions, the biweekly events at which the queen permitted the public of the kingdom to bring their concerns before the crown, created some interest. In Veetula they’d of course heard of the infamous proceedings. They were the primary setting of the stories of Everstal’s wicked queen.
It was true, she ruled swiftly and without regret, leaving no room for interpretation of her supreme authority, but so far, herpunishments, as she called them, were relatively reasonable.Compared with the stories. Outside of poor Felix and Jaine, of course. That was savage.
Johnneth coughed, and Caroline regarded him. He held his hands in the air and made a squeezing gesture. It had been months, and he was making no progress. Time to up the odds.
“What? Now you’re my personal masseuse too?” she asked, a wry grin dancing across her lips.
“I live to serve,” he dared, his returning smile almost asking for permission.
Caroline beckoned, giving him the go ahead. She threatened him with punishments on a daily basis, but he sensed that secretly she liked his confident demeanor. For that, he added a trace of swagger to his steps as he approached her.
Johnneth moved aside the edges of her silk blouse, so the pale skin of her neck was exposed, and wrapped his nimble fingers around her shoulders, working the tense tissue.They’re just shoulders. Focus, he cautioned himself. Caroline shattered the thought with a groan, leaning back into his hands as his thumbs worked their way up her neck.
This was the closest physically she’d permitted him, and he really needed to find something else to fill his mind with. Like how this would be the perfect place to strike from, and he could feel her relaxing with every rub.Perfectif it weren’t for the mirrors strategically placed around the sitting area she’d chosen to work in today. The second she sensed something was awry, she’d be in control, and it would be his life. A chance he’d fought for five years to gain, wasted.
The room was smaller than the war room, and informal. But it was no more comfortable and had an identical wooden chair to the other ones she used in the different rooms she frequented to do her work. There was a patterned lack of routine to her movements about Roskide. The way she sprinkled her presence about the castle would be impossible to track, much less catalogue. Every action the queen took was designed to keep herself alive.
Caroline cleared her throat, and Johnneth glanced at the mirror connecting their gaze. “You stopped,” she said, raising a brow. Caroline held the eye contact, assessing him. “What is going through your mind, Johnneth?”
“Nothing. My apologies,” he muttered, chastising himself for getting lost in his thoughts. Touching the queen had the opposite effect than what he’d intended—he was the one losing focus.
“I can compel you to tell the truth, or you can tell me on your own, because I knownothingis not what’s distracted my personal guard, Specialist Althorpe.” Caroline smiled in mock sweetness at his reaction.
Johnneth admonished himself for the vulnerable position he found himself in. He had to say something believable. If he couldn’t, she’d force him to tell her he’d been contemplating how easy it would be to kill her if it weren’t for the mirrors.
“I was having inappropriate thoughts, Your Majesty. I’m ashamed to say.” That was enough of the truth. Let her take it as she likes. Johnneth darted his eyes away as if he were embarrassed to be caught, then flicked them back to see if she’d bought it. “I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable,” he attempted, hoping she wouldn’t ask him to stop. And only because this physical contact was a step in getting her to let her guard down with him. No other reason.
As if sensing his thoughts, Caroline wetted her lips with her pink tongue and gave a little moan on the next squeeze, which shot straight to his cock. He should have gotten laid before going to the selection. He hated the way his body was drawn to the animal attraction between them. How was it you could have despised someone your whole life, yet want to fuck them still? Thank the Gods, Caroline’s head was between his hips and the mirror.
A toothy smirk crossed her face, knowing her motion had its intended effect. “What I wouldn’t give to be inside your mind.”
He was having a similar thought, though her mind wasn’t the body part in question.Johnneth ran his fingertips across the tops of her collarbones and up her neck. She gave a little shiver and gooseflesh trailed behind. He made to retrace the motion the other direction, but Caroline was gone. The queen had disappeared, and his tempted fingers were met with air where her smooth flesh had been a half-second before.
The Gods had summoned her.And not a moment too soon. If that had continued any longer, Johnneth couldn’t honestly say that he would have stopped whatever that massage was leading up to.
He surveyed the vacant room. Angus had warned him about the inevitability of her being whisked away by the vengeful Gods to pay the price for using the Gift. He’d been watching her use it for months now, with no consequence. The stunt she pulled with her former lover and his new wife had pushed them over their limit.
How long did he have before she returned? Surely it was long enough to find one of the castle girls who offered sex for coin and deal with his condition. He preferred the brothels or the women his appearance attracted in the taverns, but a castle attendant would have to do.
Johnneth stormed down the hallway toward the lower levels of Roskide, shifting his still firm erection in search of relief.
Chapter 9
Thelinenclosetthey’dfound was a tight fit. There was enough space for two bodies and some jerky movement. The petite blonde castle girl had been all too willing when he’d asked, not so subtly, if she knew any ladies willing to help a lonely guard out.
