Page 168 of Taken By Touch and Torment

I couldn’t let her remove my skirt or touch my thighs.

She started working on the cuts across my chest and stomach, the injuries bared to her, with a mixture of energy work and touch with her hands coated in salve.

Brennan was loudly speaking to his comrades, clinking chalices. He’d not sat on Durian’s throne yet, but he’d clearly taken his place on all accounts. Court was stiff, not quite knowing how to behave in the aftermath of a coup, but keenly understanding that they were to do their damn best at feigning normalcy.

After all, capturing Rune was cause for uproarious celebration no matter which psychopath reigned supreme.

I yanked on a cord of magick, and Brennan met my eyes. I forced big tears to form, my lip trembling.

She’s traumatized. She doesn’t want to be touched by anyone but you.

This thought clearly perplexed Brennan, as if he had absolutely no concept of trauma or its effects. It took more power than necessary to root the thought deep before he acted on his desire to protect me.

“Don’t touch her,” Brennan ordered the healer. “Do what can be done without touching her.”

The witch halted, hiding her irritation poorly with her back turned to Brennan. She lifted her hands and continued to heal me with energy, working on the deeper internal bruising.

When she was wrapping up, I let out a sigh of relief. I was still armed. And I was stronger too, no longer on the brink of fainting with every sudden movement. I still ached all over, but the pain was substantially lessened. She let me rub salve myself over the rest of my visible bruises, and they began to fade at an accelerated pace.

“Come, Scarlett,” Brennan said, his tone impatient. His ego had never been grander as he beckoned me to the group of powerful, gloating men, all discussing the various ways they would parade Rune’s desecrated corpse around the born districts.

An underling approached the group as I did, dropping his eyes in respect. “We can’t find Kole. His firebird is missing from the stables. And the aunts are complaining of missing slaves,” he said quickly.

Go Rosalind. I prayed she was staying safe. Kole too, so he could deliver my messages to the kingdom.

Brennan straightened, pulling me against him so that I rested against his chest, overlooking the gathered lords.

“Kole was spooked by the violence. He’s a skittish little man,” Brennan joked boldly, and the lords laughed, feeling safe now that Kole had left. “We will write to him. He backs me wholeheartedly.”

Funny, and also false.

“As for the aunts…” he glanced around, likely ensuring my healer had departed. “We must be prepared for all manner of falsities that will cast doubt on my rule. They are loyal to Durian through shared delusion. We will need to reconsider their place in our new order if they can’t find a religious justification to fall in line.”

The lords eyed me, curiosity, distrust, and lust screeching in a loud cacophony of desire.

“Fascinating,” Lord Nereus said, his light blue eyes narrowed on me. “This little human’s uncanny ability to survive regime changes no matter which side of the aisle she currently resides.”

I returned his stare. I no longer needed to play the same game I had played under Durian. With my back to Brennan’s chest, all I needed to do was continue to uplift and soothe his masculinity.

“My heart has only ever belonged to one man,” I said, earning chuckles and sneers of condescension from several ancient vampires. Like I was a poor, lovesick child. “But a silly little human with a very breakable body needs to survive. I don’t have as many options to that end, which I know is a difficult experience for men like yourselves to imagine. Does that help illuminate my actions?”

The men were silent for a moment, and several vampires looked taken aback. It was as though they were seeing me for the first time. In a way, they were. I’d never been able to speak freely in front of any of them but Brennan, unless it was to answer orders, ever the demure and faithful slave.

I smiled as I eyed them all dangerously. Seductively.

Cocks hardened, each man envisioning how it would feel to put me back in my place. To fill my too confident mouth with their manhood until I no longer had a voice.

“I love her fire,” Brennan groaned, his own cock swelling as it pressed up against my back. “Credit where credit is due, gentleman. Without her, we wouldn’t have Rune the Ruthless chained to a wall in our dungeons. She’s elated to be free of both weaker men.”

I nodded, twisting to look up at Brennan like he was the only man in the room I saw.

“Now excuse me while I have a victory drink,” Brennan said with a smirk, enjoying that finally, after weeks of jealousy, he was the one showing me off to a crowd.

I was nothing but a prize. He perched me in his lap on the throne. His fangs poised to strike as the room of partying vampires watched in anticipation. His fingers trailed over my skin, his length hard and ready beneath me.

He didn’t trail his fingers down my outer thighs, so he had yet to notice my daggers. The silky strips of fabric of the holster were soft enough not to be noticed. I focused intently on the parts of my body I wanted him to touch, imagining them basking in golden desire, while I made the area my daggers rested black and impenetrable.

“Do you want to fuck me, my lord?” I asked him, imbuing my voice with innocence and nervousness.

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