Page 66 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

Her eyes brighten with curiosity, and I spot an opportunity. “What do you know about them?” I ask, sliding a coin towards her.

She pockets it as soon as my hand lifts, the coin disappearing in the blink of an eye, then she shrugs in answer to my question. “Not much, to be honest. They are from the palace, although I don’t know what they do. They are into some kinky shit and always come here together, if you know what I mean.”

Now that is new information. Raising a brow, I glance at Crux. His face gives away nothing, but I know him well enough to know he’s cataloguing everything and probably already has a plan.

Returning my attention to her, I tilt my head to one side. “They are in a relationship?”

She shrugs again. “If you can call it that. They are poor tippers, so we only do the bare minimum with them, so we don’t hear much.” Pushing away from the bar, she takes my hand and pulls me from my stool. “Let me take you to a booth.”

Diamond, our new whore friend, leads us over to the booth on the left of the advisors, their curtains now closed. We don’t need to see them to get what we need, though, and curtains aren’t good at blocking out sound.

“Come back in fifteen minutes,” Crux orders, tossing a coin her way.

Once again, the coin disappears in a flash, and she leaves us in peace. Settling against the seats, we make ourselves look comfortable, sipping our drinks while listening to the conversation happening in the booth next to us.

We don’t hear anything interesting because the advisors are too busy with each other and their whore. The noises make me wrinkle my nose, and I’m glad I’m not able to see into their booth. Crux and I make small talk about nothing so anyone watching us doesn’t get suspicious. Diamond approaches our table once more, joining us to keep up appearances. You don’t go to a brothel and not spend time with the whores.

Perching on the couch beside Crux, she shakes her hair back and pushes her chest out once more in an attempt to catch his attention.

“Are you sure I can’t help you two?” she murmurs, placing her hand on Crux’s thigh and slowly sliding it towards his crotch.

I stiffen and reach for my dagger as blinding jealousy ignites, pushing me into a rage I’ve never felt before. Before I can act on it, however, Crux’s hand comes down on hers, stopping her in her tracks. Her face twists into an expression of pain as he squeezes it hard.

“You are dismissed.”

His voice is cold and hard, not to be ignored. Several silver coins appear on the table between us, and she grabs them, leaving us in a flash, not needing to be told twice.

What in the underworld was that? I have never had a reaction like that before. We’re not in a relationship, so why would I snap so fiercely over something like that? She’s a whore, it is literally her job to seduce us, and I have never been mad at a whore for doing that before.

Crux has been watching me the whole time, his keen gaze not missing a thing, and I can see his curiosity and a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“You’re jealous.” His lips pull up into a grin as I simply arch my eyebrow, not giving him an answer, although annoyance and confusion still flow through me. Clucking his tongue, he slides closer to me. “You think I would want a whore over you?”

His voice is like velvet, and before I know it, he’s in front of me, his hands pressed against the couch on either side of me. “Tell me, would you have killed her if she touched me there? If I hadn’t stopped her?”

I could lie or make up an excuse, but alcohol has made me brave. Today has been shit, and I want to forget how Joha’s accusation made me feel. Crux can take that away.

“Yes,” I reply simply, not feeling a single ounce of regret for my answer. “One second longer and she would have been dead.”

Instead of calling me a demon for my answer, his eyes flash with arousal and approval and his grin turns victorious. Reaching out, he drags a finger down my cheek and cups my chin, lifting my head so I’m unable to look away. Despite my disguise, all I see is pure lust and obsession in his gaze. “My vicious, little Alyx.”

Giddiness flares through me at his new pet name for me, and the possession in his voice turns me on in a way I didn’t think was possible.

“You love it,” I counter.

His expression shifts, becoming more serious. “Yes, I do.”

We surge forward, our lips crashing together. The noise of the brothel fades away until it’s just Crux, me, and the burning need blazing between us. Our kisses are animalistic and rough, and we bite each other’s lips and tongue. I don’t know what this thing is between us, but I feel like I’m falling under his spell. This could end horribly, he’s my best friend, but in this moment, I can’t find it in myself to be bothered, simply needing him.

He reaches for my breasts, only to realise they are bound thanks to my male disguise. Cupping my crotch through my trousers instead, he starts to rub circles against me in time with our kisses. Sparks of pleasure shoot through me, and I’m desperate to touch him, to feel the evidence of his arousal for me.

Tugging the opening of his trousers, I struggle to get it unfastened while my mind is distracted by his lips and hypnotic touch. I just get them open when the curtains to the booth are jerked open.

We both whirl in an instant, our blades hidden but ready to go should we be attacked. However, a very drunk man looks at us with confusion, glancing at the other booths in the room. When he turns back to us, he looks us over. Holding his hands up in a gesture of peace, he takes a step back.

“Hey, man, whatever does it for you.”

Stumbling away, he moves over to the booth on our other side as we watch him carefully.

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