Page 37 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

“Oh, he’s buried in the books he’s found.” Casimir grins fondly. His voice is back to its usual smoothness now, all traces of his illness gone. “I don’t think he’s in any hurry to return to the rest of the world.”

I try to laugh, but it comes up in a hitch. “At least that’s one of us.”

Casimir studies my expression, his hand rising to stroke up and down my back. “Are you all right, Ivy? Sulla’s mentioned that your sessions with her are going well, but you’ve seemed more and more tense the past couple of days.”

I give my body a little shake as if I can shed the worries that’ve gnawed at me. “I am getting better at controlling my magic. There’s just so much of it to contend with. I feel like I’ve only just learned how to stack pebbles and I’ve got a whole mountain looming inside me.”

“If there’s any way any of us can help…”

“I know.” I lean into his touch, unable to hold back a sound like a purr when he trails his fingers right up the side of my neck. “Unfortunately, since the magic flows through me, it’s really up to me to handle it on my own.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility for any one person to have to take on.” Casimir caresses my cheek and teases his fingers into my hair, sending tingles over my skin. “It’s been weighing on you. Hmm. You’re done with your training for the day, aren’t you? How would you like to take a break from having to be in control?”

I peer at him through lowered eyelashes, swaying with the pleasure his touch provokes. “What do you mean?”

The courtesan offers a smile of promise that sends another tingle straight down the middle of me and clasps my hand. “Come with me, and I’ll show you. It’s been too long since I got to do any real pampering.”

Ooh, Julita murmurs. I want to see where he’s going with this, but then I’ll give you your privacy.

I’m not going to deny my ghostly passenger a little taste of the bodily pleasures she can no longer experience herself. She never sticks around for very long when things heat up with my men.

Casimir leads me through the Haven to the building where we’ve been sleeping. Most residents have made do with plump mattresses right on the floor, but one of the rooms has a full if low wooden frame. After we first explored the rooms, the men insisted I take that bed.

“Wait here for a moment,” Casimir says. He vanishes down the hall and returns holding a bundle of silky fabric. He tugs the door shut behind him. “Let’s undress you first.”

“Just me?” I ask as Casimir sets the fabric down on the bed and reaches for my plain dress. “Shouldn’t the nakedness go both ways?”

“I’ll take care of myself and you. All you’re going to do is enjoy the experience.”

Julita giggles. Well, I think that’s my cue to go. She dwindles into the faintest of tickles at the back of my skull.

I’m not sure I’m totally on board with Casimir’s goal. The courtesan has a habit of putting everyone else’s needs—and pleasure—over his own. But for the moment, I gamely help him strip off my dress and underclothes, everything except the ribbon I keep tied around my upper arm in memory of my little sister.

The magical warming system in this building takes the edge off the autumn chill. Casimir nuzzles my cheek with a gentle kiss, his closeness warming me even more, and then nudges me over to the bed. “Lie down on your back.”

The cozy fabric of the blanket cushions my old scars. As I comply, Casimir picks up his bundle of silk and unravels it into a few separate strips of fabric. He winds the end of one around my ankle and glances up at me to judge my reaction.

My heart skips a beat. “What exactly are we doing here?”

Casimir dips his head to press his lips to the top of my foot. “Making sure you’re fully aware that you’re not in control of this interlude—and you don’t need to be. What do you think, Kindness? Can you let me completely take over?”

When he says the words in that heated tone with the gleam of desire in his eyes, it’s hard to imagine why the idea should unsettle me. Of all my men, Casimir has never hurt me even unintentionally.

I trust him with my life. Trusting his skills with my body is nothing compared to that.

Still, my limbs have tensed at the idea of being bound. Casimir strokes his fingers over my calf, watching me.

“We don’t have to do this. But I think it might be good for you. Offer you a chance to remember that you can give up control without any kind of disaster. If at any point your feelings become too intense and you want to stop, all you have to do is say so.”

I drag in a deep breath, anticipation and my own desire overcoming my instinctive reluctance. “Okay. Keep going.” I let my gaze rove over his lean, graceful frame in the simple tunic and trousers he’s wearing. “But you did promise I wouldn’t be the only one undressed.”

Casimir chuckles and obligingly strips off his shirt and pants, leaving only his drawers. While I ogle his deliciously toned body freely, he ties the end of the cloth around my ankle to one side of the footboard. Then he repeats the process with my other ankle on the opposite side.

He’s left me spread open, my sex bared—and dampening with a heady heat as he flicks his hungry gaze over it.

But the courtesan isn’t finished preparing me yet. He moves to the top of the bed and binds my wrists together over my head, just snugly enough that I’d struggle to release them but not to cause any discomfort. He attaches that strip of fabric to the middle of the headboard’s slats.

“There you go,” he murmurs, bending over me. His lips graze my cheek, my jaw, my throat. “There’s nothing you can do. Nothing you need to do. I’m the one in charge here, and I’ll play with you as I see fit.”

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