Page 60 of Hallowed Games

With my arms tied, he stood over me, peering down at me. “You must be feeling something now.”

Dizziness swept through my mind, and I rolled onto my back, hands beneath my hips. I bent my knees, and the nightgown fell up around my thighs. With my arms wrenched back, I felt as if my nipples were straining against the delicate material of my nightgown. And it was a strangely pleasurable feeling…

Maybe I liked being vulnerable with someone as powerful as Maelor…

My pulse raced, and I opened my eyes to find him watching me with curiosity. “Give me the math.”

He moved closer, and my breath grew shallow. The mattress depressed as he lay next to me on the bed, propping up his head. He reached down to one of my exposed thighs, fingers stroking me, languid and teasing.

“Why are you always trying to tempt me with your body?” His voice was a low purr. The slow brush of his fingers over my skin made me want to clench my thighs around his hand. His dark eyelashes lowered as his gaze slid down my body. “I’m here to test you, but now I feel as if the Archon is testing me.”

“You’re distracting me,” I said. “You were supposed to give me a question.”

“How about this for a question: are you aware that you drive me crazy? Your skin looks like honey, and I want to taste it.”

He lowered his mouth to my breast, over the thin fabric of my nightgown. His mouth closed around one of my nipples. Through the fabric, the wet heat of his tongue made my back arch, and his hand slid further up my thigh, brushing against my sex. A light touch—too light. I wanted to writhe against him. Right now, I’d do anything he asked.

“You’re not focusing, are you?” His deep voice ripped me out of the fantasy.

My heart hammered hard as I realized Maelor wasn’t actually next to me on the bed, but rather sitting upright. He was sitting on the edge of it, by my thighs. And right now, I was thankful my hands were tied because I knew exactly where they’d be if they weren’t.

I took a shaky breath. “Deus Invictus, Archon Magne.”

He arched an eyebrow, eyes transfixed on me. “You didn’t hear my question at all, did you?”

“What was the question?”

“A merchant is riding from Ebeline. Twenty miles on day one, and fifteen on day two.”

He reached down, grabbing my hips, and rolled me onto my front. I turned my head to the side on my pillow, still trying to catch my breath. I was flushed, breathing fast, and I had the mortifying feeling he knew exactly how turned on I was.

“Focus, Elowen. How many more miles must he travel to arrive in Shalem if it’s forty miles from Ebeline?”

He raised the hem of my nightgown to my waist, then pulled my hips up, so I was kneeling. My bound wrists lay against my hips behind my back. With my arse in the air, exposing my underwear, I tried to remember the question.

“What are you doing?”

“Honestly, Elowen. If you’re going to act like a shameless whore, I think you might need some discipline. Don’t you?”

My core clenched, my body humming with need. He yanked down my underwear to my knees, exposing me completely. The cool castle air slid over my bare skin, between my thighs. He could see all of me, now, and I wanted him to.

My pulse raced as I realized he’d know exactly how aroused I was. Why was I so desperate for the Raven Lord?

“Now,” he murmured. “Why don’t you try answering the question?”

Before I could get the words out, his hand came down on my backside. Hard. So hard I was sure he’d leave a red mark. And to my horror, pleasure rippled through me at the strike. Against the cotton nightgown, my nipples felt exquisitely sensitive.

My mind flared with depraved images of everything I’d like him to do to me.

I’ll fuck or take what I want. If I lose control of myself, I’ll do anything for pleasure.

Archon, how I wanted that.

I could no longer remember exactly what I was supposed to be doing because all I could think about was the aching need for him to fill me hard and fast. He was the Raven Lord himself, and I was desperate for him to fuck me hard.

He smacked me again and again, each time, his hand moved lower. “Do you have an answer, or do I have to keep doing this all night? I can feel your arousal, Elowen.” His fingers slid down between my thighs—then stopped. I needed more friction, and he was denying me. He was in complete control here, showing me just how hungry I was for him.

I didn’t care how shameless it was anymore. I moved against his hand, desperate.

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