Page 45 of The Rat King
Finally, I felt like I had some agency, which was almost as healing as the innumerable tears I’d shed. Not having control over anything made me feel like some sort of sliced in half human being. I knew it had eaten away at my resolve, but now having it back, I could breathe again.
Still, while things were going well and my workload occupied most of my time, loneliness crept in reminding me of the curse’s dwindling timeline. I wished we had more time. That it would have been Nighval instead of Xavier who I’d been betrothed to. Getting to know him gave me the most normalcy I’d had since I’d been here.
Since he didn’t come to my bed once this week, I actually hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with him as I’d grown accustomed to over the last two weeks while we were traveling, and the loss of his constant presence nagged at me.
So when I wasn’t working, I found myself traipsing through the empty corridors, searching the vacant rooms for him under the guise of exploring.
The palace overall was amazing. It was surrounded by gardens, had various little sitting rooms, and a sizable library. While the library at Ravsted was stocked with historical tomes, spell books, charts, and ledgers, Lieden Palace’s library primarily held books intended for entertainment. Some were from my plane, and others, I was thrilled to discover, were entirely new tales, and I was tearing my way through them with abandon.
It made sense. Castles were places where royals went to rule, while palaces were places where royalty went for leisure and this home was exactly that. Finally, I’d landed somewhere in this plane I might actually enjoy.
I was thumbing through a section of fairytales when I heard Nighval’s voice. “Would you find it trite if I told you I’ve missed you?” he asked, his voice low and midnight kissed.
The flower of anticipation that had been blooming in my stomach before was now an unruly garden, full of heavily thorn-covered rose bushes and night-blooming lilies. “No,” I said, breathy and too eager. How was he doing this to me?
His hands were in his pockets as he casually strode down the row of books. When he reached me, he took the book from me and set it back on the shelf. His hands came down on either side of my head, giving me a split-second of déjà vu.
Anticipation curled deep in my belly, and Nighval didn’t make me wait. His lips met mine with an urgent heat. All the unacted-upon lust that had been building surged and my kitty came to life, the needy thing that it was. Especially when I was around this intimidating man.
Nighval had been doing this, finding me during the day when I wasn’t expecting it and kissing me senseless. That’s all he ever did, though. Once, after I’d had a little too much wine at dinner, I’d tried to pull him toward my room, and when he hadn’t given in, I tried to unbutton his pants in the hallway. The longer he held out, the more I wanted to get my hands and mouth on the thick length I’d seen outlined in that underwear.
Resisting seemed to be a part of his game, however, which annoyed me. Why not give into what we were both clearly feeling? But maybe men here were demurrer than I was expecting, and I was the horny one. I pulled his hips into me, and I felt my answer. No, it wasn’t just me, so definitely a game.
Pushing him away, I said, “You really shouldn’t start something you can’t finish.” I slipped under his arm, my lips deliciously swollen. I wished I had a vibrator because the device would be put to good use. As it was, I would need to sneak away to my room, lock the door, and use my fingers to make myself come because he wasn’t going to do it, and I was going crazy.
What was he waiting for? Then it occurred to me,the full moon party. So much in Ras alhague happened around the monthly lunar event I bet that’s what he was planning to make it memorable.
Expectant jitters fluttered in my stomach as his hand wrapped around my arm. “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he said. As he loomed over me with darkening features, my heart started beating wildly.
“I do,” I said. He did this occasionally, and I was coming to understand I liked the fact that he frightened me, as messed up as that was. Because it wasn’t horror like I’d felt with Xavier. It was something else entirely. Something primal. Feeling that heated attention on me from this powerful man was almost too much. My adrenaline surged, and my fight or flight activated. I was an artist, a creative, not a fighter.
Nighval’s rough hand wrapped around my neck, and he leaned down so his breath was hot beneath my ear. My back arched toward him in a jerk, but he held me firm. “Be a good girl and go to your room, Avery. Take care of yourself and while you’re doing it, you can imagine it’s me.”
He pulled away, and I swore my face was the color of a stop sign. Jesus, how did he know? He released me, along with a dark, heady chuckle as he sauntered away. Before he exited the library, he called back to me, “I’m looking forward to the party. I can’t wait to see what you’ll wear.”
The door clicked shut, and I slumped into the nearest chair, trying to catch my breath. I didn’t know if I’d make it back to my room. I was so wound up.
I glanced at the closed door. I was alone. Oh God, was I going to do this in the library? I threw a second glance at the door, just to be sure. I’d hear someone as soon as they entered, and this chair was facing the outside wall. Screw it.
I leaned forward, reaching for the hem of my skirt. I rucked it up in the center so my inner thighs caught the draft in the room, and I shivered. Sliding my panties aside, I ran a finger through the wet heat, then swirled my clit, all while finding it unbelievable how turned on that man got me.
Just the thought of him. I made another pass, and I moaned. I was so sensitive this would not take long. I plunged a finger inside and my head rocked back against the chair. Using my other hand, I played with my clit and, working my hands in tandem, had my hips rocking up off the chair. A glorious minute later, the tingling turned into gushing pleasure and my inner walls were clamping down on my deeply embedded finger.
“Nigh,” I said on a breath as the last wave shocked through me.
I sat there for a moment, panting. Perhaps that wasn’t such a great idea, because as the fireworks went off in my mind, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d have been able to hear the door. I glanced around the room and didn’t see anyone. Shoving my skirt back down, I jumped up, grabbed my discarded book, and fled the scene.
Chapter 33
Nighval
Istartedtoleave,but recalled a volume that might be useful in the land ownership case I was working on. That’s exactly what I need to distract myself from the rampant desire coursing through me. I changed directions, releasing the door I’d pulled halfway pulled open. I collected the book and was making my way down the row when I caught sight of Avery plopping down into a wingback chair facing opposite the entry. As she tugged at the hem of her skirt, and I realized what she was doing. The fabric made it to her waist and she was pushing her panties aside. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed.
Did Avery know I was still in the room and had a perfect view in the reflection in the window of her achingly perfect pussy? It probably made me a despicable man, but I didn’t want to embarrass her, and I didn’t want her to stop. I wanted to see how the woman who was my waking fantasy made herself feel good.
My cock strained at my pants as she swirled her clit and then dipped inside. Fuck. Quietly, I raised my hands to brace them on the bookshelf that had shielded me from her quick scan of the room. I would watch, but that is all that I would let myself do. What I was doing was wrong enough, though a part of me suspected if she knew I watched, she’d be even more turned on. She did try to unbutton my pants after all.
I bit my knuckle to prevent myself from groaning as she began working herself in earnest. The way her head tilted back, and her delicate neck arched toward the sky made the urgency I felt soar. I had to figure out how to get out of here so I could get my hands wrapped around myself and relieve this ache.
