Page 35 of Caroline the Cruel
If he weren’t leaning against the lip of the pool, he surely would have fallen back at the generous gesture. “But I haven’t been serving you for long enough,” he stuttered, trying to think of any excuse for her not to grant him leave.
“Not directly, but five years is a long time to go without a visit. You seemed like you missed them.”
Shit.That was more thoughtful than he expected from her and not at all what he’d intended. “I’d love to see them, and I appreciate your kindness, but I’m getting the hang of my rotation. Maybe after a year, I’ll be more comfortable.” Then a thought occurred to him, and he let a sensual grin play across his face. “If I were to leave so soon, I wouldn’t want you to replace me.”
Caroline nodded. “Very well.” Perhaps it was a good sign that this man who clearly missed his family preferred to stay near her. Watching Johnneth walk into the stone cavern wearing a towel and carrying a bottle of wine was a sight she could get used to. His muscles flexed across his towering frame with every stalking step he took. The man moved like an animal, and she could see how he’d passed Angus’s tests with such ease.
Johnneth scratched his nose, which was a perfect pyramid, straight, regal and a little square down the ridge. It made his sharp cheekbones and his deep-set eyes staring at her beneath a strong brow stand out. What would his hair be like if he let it grow out from the tight cut all the guards wore? Straight, wavy?
“Can I ask you a question?” Johnneth said, eyeing her as she studied him.
“Have I ever denied your curiosity?” she answered. His inquisitive nature was one of the many things she found appealing about him. And he was always asking her questions.
He lowered beneath the water, then rose and shook the water from his scalp, like he was stalling to consider his words. “That thing you did with the raven…”
Caroline raised her eyebrows, waiting.
“You don’t actually communicate with them, right?”
She had taken a sip of her wine and promptly spit it out as a laugh expelled itself from her belly. Johnneth grinned, then he laughed too. Once they’d started, they didn’t stop until tears were streaming from Caroline’s eyes.Gods, he was attractive when he laughed. His smile lines deepened, and she wanted to run her fingers across them. Wanted to kiss that mirthful, parted mouth and swallow the happy sound that came out of it.
“I’ve never actually done that before… Wasn’t even sure it would work. I don’t know what I was thinking. Can you imagine what the rumors will be now?”
“Everstal’s Cruel Queen controls man and beast alike,” Johnneth announced, egging on her giggle fit. The carefree way she laughed made her look like a woman, more human in a way, not like the storied queen she was. The radiance on her face lit by the sconce on the wall drew him in. He wanted to thread his hands through all that hair and pull her to him.Mine.As the thought came and went, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d had it. Like a fading memory of a dream briefly remembered after waking but burned away with the rising sun.
“You know, I got a scolding by Angus after that, too. Somehow, I’m the queen, but my commander never hesitates to reprimand me.” Caroline shrugged and narrowed her eyes in his direction, catching the change in his expression. The queen had learned his mannerisms in the few months he’d been with her, like now, how the space between his brows pinched as he considered what he wanted to ask her.
“Go on. Ask,” she said.
“You and Angus, you never, you know…” Johnneth started.
“Had sex? Got involved romantically? Is that what you mean to ask?”
“I’m sorry if that is too personal.” He shifted uncomfortably and eyed the exit as he awaited her response.
“No, it was never like that between us. Angus found me when I was fourteen, after my father and his wife had been assassinated. He’d been following me through the halls as I snuck my way around, trying to assess the damage they’d done. Then one day decided to make his presence known. He was the grounding force that gave me the strength to rebuild. Everyone had abandoned the castle or been murdered. His father was among the dead, Torac, my father’s commander, so we bonded over that. But that is all. He’s my dearest friend.” Her only friend was the truth he suspected.
“The only thing that was left of my father was a bloodstain.” Caroline shook her head. “I don’t like to relive the memories.”
“No, of course not. Thank you for sharing what you did.” Johnneth’s eyes burned as he imagined the pain the adolescent princess must have experienced. His mission became harder when he thought of the child she once was.
A bolt of fear struck through him, and he turned away. He pressed himself up out of the water, not worrying about hiding his body from her. Snatching his discarded towel, he rushed to the entry room and dried himself off. “I’ll be waiting whenever you’re ready to leave. Take your time, Your Majesty.”
He quickly got dressed and fished the drops from his bag, placing two in each of his eyes. The familiar sting faded in a few seconds, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Johnneth wrapped the dagger in the used towel, stuffing it into the satchel and assumed his position by the door to wait for the queen.
With Angus gone, Caroline was more at ease to ‘misbehave’ as she deemed it. Unfortunately, this only served to make her more appealing over the past two weeks. He needed to do this before she had him any deeper under her spell. He shifted the rosenwood dagger around to his back pocket and gave a little wish to the heavens, to his ancestors they would guide his hand and his tongue. It was the latter he would need to lull this queen into a state of vulnerability.
“Close your eyes,” she demanded, her flirtatious voice more tempting than required. He was days, if not minutes, from being hers. From claiming her for himself like an uncharted territory conquered and relishing in the spoils. Johnneth exhaled and shut his eyes. Her soft fingertip traced across his lips sending gooseflesh across his skin. “Open.”
His body responded, eager to obey her command. She slipped a round sugary object into his mouth, which caused his mouth to salivate. He chewed and swallowed whatever she’d fed him.
“You can open now and guess what that was!” Her voice was excited like a child’s might have been on their birthday.
“You really love sweets, don’t you?” She nodded. “Well, let’s see,” he played along. “Carmel, and the flavor of an apple, but rounded, and the inside was creamier than the outside. We must not have those where I’m from.”
“It’s a truffle. Isn’t it divine?” She held up a tray of the toffee-colored treats to him, and he picked one up and gestured for her to open her mouth. He placed it between her parted lips, letting his pointer finger linger. She closed them around it and the evil creature sighed as she sucked the sugar off the tip.
He knew exactly the little game Caroline was playing. She was toying with him. He was going to play along and see how far it could get him.
