Page 33 of Settle Down, Princess

“Yes, I am.”

His head tilted sideways, and those green eyes suddenly became as hypnotic as a snake’s, as it reared above its prey. I went to pull my hand away from his injured leg, but he grabbed it, cruelly pushing it down harder, as if to staunch the blood flow. The slight trickle didn’t warrant that kind of behaviour, nor did it logically lead to his hips jerking upwards as something long and hard twitched inside his breeches.

“Is that why you…?” My eyes traced the line of his member within his pants before I forced them up again. “Is that why you showed me how to use a knife?”

“No…” The word came out as a long purr. “You’re going to need all means possible to survive in Khean. This…” I was thrust forward by the rock of the carriage and my hand shoved harder against the cut. “Is just a quite lovely side benefit.”

“A cut is…” I was about to snatch my hand back, to fall onto the cushions on my side of the carriage, to respond with all the habitual horror my upbringing had instilled in me.

But where had that gotten me?

The ladies of court would have fallen to the floor in a dead faint if one of my father’s knights offered to teach them how to wield a weapon. We were like soft, plump chickens, clucking away in our coops, completely oblivious to the foxes that lurked outside.

And right now, I had a fox pinned to the carriage seat, staring at me with hungry green eyes.

Silas let out a sigh when I dropped the blanket to the floor, his breath coming in fast pants. He tensed when my bare finger tested the ragged line of the cut. His eyes widened, unable to look away from mine as I mapped its length. Blood smeared across my fingertip, just a little, making me wonder.

Had the tip of his finger felt as slick as he slid it along my seam? It felt like this was much the same thing, but I had yet to find the sensitive spot that would make him writhe as his comrades had done to me. There. A little hiss of pain as I found the point where the tip had buried deepest. Still only a shallow cut, but you’d never know it from the look of him. His teeth sank into his pillowy bottom lip, a moan was stifled as his hips twitched under my ministrations.

“You like that…?”

“More than you can possibly know, Princess, so you need to pull your hand away right now.”

“And if I didn’t?” I rubbed my finger back and forth, and his eyes rolled back in his head as his whole body jerked off the seat. I hadn’t expected such an intense response, nor the low, carnal chuckle that came once he relaxed back down.

“Oh, I’d be putty in your hand, lass, but you’ve worked that out already. Gods…”

I tested a theory, pressing a nail to the cut and, sure enough, he responded as if it was an intimate and sensual caress, riding the sensation with small thrusts of his hips.

“This inspires a sexual response from you,” I said in wonder, reaching one finger to trace the evidence of that. His hand slapped down over mine, forcing it to wrap around his hard length.

“So very much.”

His grip was brutal, and so was his gaze as he stared at me. My hand was forced to move, to stroke him as I had his brothers the other night, and the leather of his pants slipped under my now sweaty palm. And my other hand? I stroked the scratch at the same pace, forcing him to writhe. Silas was big, powerful, adept with a blade, and allowed to ride free in the world and find his fortune. And yet, here he was. Writhing, helpless under my grip, his response rapidly escalating.

“And what would you give,” I asked, “to spill in your pants, just like this?”

“Whatever you want, lass,” he growled, his eyes turned to green fire. “I was teaching you how to use a knife to defend yourself, but I think you’ll do just fine. What do you need? Because I need—”

He was about to tell me, we were about to broker some kind of deal, one that might allow me to slip free of his comrades’ grip. Perhaps he might come with me, be my protector, for coin and for this. It seemed like nothing—no, more than nothing—to perform such an act. There was a pleasure to it, though I was willing to bet mine differed to his. I was the one doing the hurting rather than being hurt. I was in control in what felt like the first time since we’d left, with hope springing anew. I’d slice Silas from one end of his body to the other, then kiss the cuts better, if he’d just help me to be free…

But such traitorous thoughts always require an answer.

The carriage came to an abrupt stop, the only warning I got, so I was in the process of throwing myself against the other seat when Arik jerked open the door. He stared at the two of us, taking in Silas’ dishevelled state, then my bloodied fingers. I waited for recriminations, for a torrent of abuse to fall upon my head, but instead he shook his head and stepped back.

“We’re stopping for lunch. Come and eat, and be quick about it. If you want to sleep in a proper bed tonight, we won’t have much time.”

I twitched my skirts about me before climbing out of the carriage, straight-backed and ignoring Arik’s sharp look. It wasn’t for him to question what I did, and I swept past him to where Creed was assembling a midday meal from the saddlebags.

“How’d your knife practice go?” he asked me with a gentle smile, handing me my plate as I drew closer.

“Illuminating.” My eyes flicked to the carriage as Silas clambered out, knocking aside Arik’s shoulder when the other man tried to get in his way. When I looked back at Creed, I smiled up at him, and he mirrored my expression. “I feel like I learned a great deal.”

“Well, that’s good, lass. Silas is a tricky bastard, but he sure knows his way around a knife.”

“Indeed.” The man in question met my eyes across the clearing, the intent still burning there. “I look forward to seeing what else he can teach me on the second half of our journey today.”

“Knife lessons are over for today.” Arik strode over and took the food offered to him with a nod, but his focus was trained entirely on me. “I saw the state of the carriage, and I fear for your safety.”

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