Page 47 of The Rat King
He spent an hour or so alternating between feeding me and giving me panty scorching kisses. I surprised myself by letting him be this affectionate publicly. That definitely would send a message, and I was becoming more and more certain it was one I wanted the people of Ras alhague to see. I was falling for this warlock and fast.
Giddiness zipped through me as I scanned the crowd wondering what they thought of us. I caught party goers watching us. Sometimes they’d approach and Nighval would introduce me. We’d chat for a few short moments before they retreated into the night. Occasionally, I’d notice a slight sneer on someone’s face as if they held some resentment toward me over Xavier, or perhaps that I hadn’t succeeded yet. Most of the party goers were kind however, and I wondered once the curse was broken, what my reception would be when we returned to Ravsted, because by all accounts, I’d return to my position as queen. Assuming Nighval planned to marry me. We hadn’t spoken about it, but he called me Her Majesty on more than one occasion, so I didn’t feel foolish to hope.
The longer we sat there, the more my anticipation coiled in my core to the point my hand quivered as I lifted my goblet to my mouth. Nighval’s gaze flicked from my hand to the full moon, crested to its highest peak in the sky, and I knew it was time.
“I’m getting tired of sitting,” I said, and rose, smoothing out my skirt. “I’m going to walk for a bit.” Without asking him to join me, I stepped down from the platform onto the crushed grass. I threw a heated glance over my shoulder at the warlock sprawled out against a pile of pillows with one leg cocked and an elbow leaning on it. Everything about him looked dominant, and so damn sexy. The unbuttoned shirt, the ripple of muscle, the way his dark eyes tracked my every move from deep beneath his brow, unflinching.
I made my way to the outskirts of the fire and stepped out of the clearing. Right would lead me to the woods, left to the palace. The question was, where did I want this to happen? In a bed or on the forest floor.
Left. Better to be in the palace in case I decided I needed to retreat. Who was I kidding? That was the furthest thing that was about to happen. Because he’d been toying with me, as I’d danced and he’d watched me, I’d felt his hot gaze. This elaborate full moon party was meant to end with this. Me beneath him in his bed, and that was exactly what was going to happen, exactly like he planned. He was done teasing.
I climbed to the top of a low hill and glanced back at the pile of pillows where he’d been reclining, which I could barely make out from my vantage point. My pulse started skittering wildly. He was gone.
Chapter 35
Nighval
Quietblanketedthepalaceas Avery took the stairs up to the front door. My magic shielded me from her view, but I knew she felt my presence as she kept shooting quick glances over her shoulder. Foliage rustled as I brushed up against one of the bushes that lined either side of the stairway. Hearing the sound, she snapped her head in its direction and turned around, darting through the door.
My heart thundered as I crossed the threshold and caught her taking the last few stairs up to the second floor. As I took the first step, wood groaned beneath my foot, and she froze. Ever so slowly, she peered down the staircase and her eyes widened when they didn’t discover my presence. I grinned.
“Run,” I whispered.
But instead of obeying, she surveyed the space, her eyes darting around the room. Otherwise, she stood frozen, like a startled deer, so I advanced. With each step, the old staircase creaked under my weight until I was almost at the top and almost to her.
“Run, Avery,” I said.
Her breath caught, and finally she turned and ran. Her bare feet were quiet across the wood paneled floor as she fled down the hallway. Our rooms were on the third floor in the east wing, and she rounded the corner of the staircase that would take her there.
As she slipped away from the party, I wondered what she would do. How I would get her alone so we could finally act upon this thing that had been building between us over the last month. Like the brave woman I knew her to be, Avery took the lead. In that moment, I was only beginning to understand I’d likely spend the rest of my life following this woman. Chasing her where she led me.
I took the stairs two at a time until we were both on the same landing. Hearing me behind her, she darted forward, trying to skip a step, but I shot my hand forward and grabbed hold of her ankle. I tugged, and she missed the step, but I caught her by the waist before she could crash into the staircase.
“If you don’t want to be caught, next time I’d suggest you run faster,” I said in a low, heat-filled tone in her ear.
I spun her in my arms and lowered her, so she leaned back on the staircase. I was hovering over her with one leg between hers and my body, about an inch of space between us. I released my hold on my magic, so it was only us. Scanning her beautifully freckled skin, my eyes tracked from her forehead to her lips to the soft skin at the base of her neck, then to her collarbone. I reached up and slid the thin strap of her gown off. Her chest heaved upward, and I brought my lips down to meet it, running them over the highlights and shadows.
Avery tilted her head back, giving me access to kiss her upper neck, the space beneath her ear. Her breath caught as I lightly bit, then licked teasingly. Like before, when I had her pinned to the tree, I felt her leg raise up to my side and her hands wrap around my midsection pulling me into her, closing that gap. I gave her what she wanted.
I nudged her legs wide, so I was settled between them. She bent her knee, mirroring the position of the other one so her thighs were hugging my hips. Gently, I pressed my straining erection into the heat between her legs. Only a few layers of fabric separated us from what we craved.
I rocked against her, and she gasped. The image of her touching herself, sighing my name, came to mind, and I said, “Are you wet for me, Avery?”
“Yes,” she sighed.
A wry smile danced across my face, and I couldn’t help myself. “As wet as you were when you touched yourself in the library, or more?” She froze beneath me, and I pressed my hips down harder into her as I leaned up to look at her expression. I could just make out the pink on her cheeks, illuminated by the glow of the yellow incandescent bulbs strung at the top of the staircase.
“Oh my God,” she bit out. I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. Still, her arms didn’t leave me, and I didn’t quit moving in unhurried, undulating motions against her. When I released her lips, she asked, “You watched me?”
Her heated gaze told me she wasn’t upset. Intrigued, maybe even turned on.
“I did. I couldn’t stop. Watching you pleasure yourself with your fingers was mesmerizing. I can’t stop thinking about it, wishing your fingers had been mine. That it was my tongue and my cock.” I watched her, wanting to make sure I picked up on any subtle negative reactions or reluctance to my words.
To my surprise, she said, “After you watched me, what did you do?” A playful smile lifted the corner of her swollen pink lips.
“I locked the door, positioning myself as you had been on the chair and then took myself in my hand, all the while imagining it was you,” I said. Her mouth fell open as her pink tongue slipped out and ran across her upper lip. Her eyes were heavy lidded as I slid off her. I gathered her skirt in my hand and pulled it up so I could have better access. “I want to touch you, Avery.”
“Please,” she said, and my hand slipped higher up her thigh.
