Page 127 of Taken By Touch and Torment

Rune had been looking between the words on the page and my face for the past ten minutes, studying me as if for the sake of science.

Now, his gaze was glued to my curved lips. “You’re fucking terrifying.”

It didn’t take Kole long to link me with Brennan. They seemed to believe my cover story, which was that I was staying in Rune’s chambers and knew he was guaranteed to be gone nightly at nine—to where, I had no idea. I emphasized the mystery of his strange behavior, embellishing details about how he dressed and acted when he left. All to distract from the implausibility of Rune leaving his correspondence journals vulnerable to me.

People believed what they wanted to believe when it came to matters of sex and love, far more often than one would imagine.

It was humorous to envision Brennan and Kole each taking turns writing to me in the same room, hiding their disappearing notes from each other as they did. Brennan couldn’t let Kole know his feelings for me lest it risk his position with Durian. Kole could be more conspicuous, but he had reason to keep his cards close to his chest for his own plans. These men were vying for power over anything else, and they certainly couldn’t be seen making decisions solely on behalf of a human woman.

It was all very hilarious.

I had to find humor in it all. Especially when I knew my days operating from a distance were numbered, and soon, my existence wasn’t going to be all that funny anymore.

After tonight’s chess matches, I sat in Rune’s lap in the dining room, where he was forcing me to eat a late dinner.

“You can’t skip meals, baby,” Rune said. “I won’t allow it.”

I took a bite of buttery steak, sighing in contentment. Rune’s chefs were the best in Aristelle.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I tensed, a flashback of Durian entering my mind beyond my conscious awareness. Telling me to take care of his property or face the consequences.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Rune murmured. “I only want you strong and healthy.”

I relaxed, taking another bite.

“Brennan is more obsessed with you than I’d ever imagined,” Rune said, wrath in his tone that drove warmth to my core.

“And, more importantly, he hates Durian. Now more than ever.”

“What if he stages a coup before you even arrive?” Rune asked.

I shook my head. “He won’t. He might hate Durian right now, but he also still loves him, deep down. And he’s terrified. He’s not ready. He needs a push.”

Rune was looking for any avenue to prevent me from leaving. Any loophole, any flaw in my logic.

I finished eating, relaxing into Rune’s hold.

“I hate this,” he whispered, his breath cool as it feathered across my neck. His shadows crawled up my legs, and when a tip brushed over the apex of my thighs, I squirmed.

Rune locked me still.

“I know,” I whispered. “I’m yours, Rune. Forever.”

“That’s fucking right,” he growled, lips grazing his old bite marks.

I moaned, anticipation building. I was radiating heat, desire thick in my blood.

He sucked on my sensitive skin. At the gentle brush of his fangs, I bucked.

Rune chuckled. “When this is all over, I’m taking you everywhere. I want to show you off in every major city in Ravenia. I want depictions of us drawn into every history book. I’m going to feed you the best food you’ve ever tasted, and you’re going to sit in my lap, just like this, while I taste you.”

I saw this vision of our future devastatingly clearly. It didn’t matter that I knew Ravenia was at war, or that Rune would still be the clan leader after Durian was dead. I wanted to believe in a future where Rune finished his novel, and I studied music all over the realm. We would live out infinite lives, each richer with adventure and beauty than the last.

“Or perhaps you’ll be under the table, servicing my cock while I drink your blood from a chalice,” Rune said. “You’ll have to earn the release of my saliva in your veins.”

I gasped, the shadow doing more than teasing between my legs now. Rune shoved my thighs apart.

“With people watching?” I squeaked.

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