Page 30 of Twisted Empire

9

Tatum

There wasa blissful ache between my legs when I woke up. As much as it had bothered me earlier that Elias wouldn’t let me come, it actually felt good now, in a simmering, anticipatory way. My climax would be ten times more explosive than usual when he finally allowed me to let go.

I yawned and stretched, then winced as a cramp spread over my abdomen, dulling the pleasure below. It felt a little like a period cramp, but it couldn’t be that. I knew it was quite normal to experience sensations like this in early pregnancy, though, and with a couple of deep breaths, the pain was gone.

I exited the van to find Elias sitting on a large log, stoking a campfire with a stick. Bright sunlight shone on his head, making his light brown hair gleam with golden highlights.

“Hey,” I said, smothering a yawn. “What’s the time?”

He looked up from the fire. “Just after ten. How are you feeling?” he asked, forehead creased with concern.

“A few cramps, but I haven’t had any nausea for a while, so that’s good.”

He smiled. “You hungry?”

“Starved.”

“Well, we’re in luck,” he said, rising from the log. He stepped over to a large blue cooler bag which sat on the other side of the fire. “We have bacon, eggs, sausages and bread.”

My brows shot up. “From where?”

“The campground owner stopped by earlier. He said those teens camping at the lake asked him to keep all their breakfast stuff in his fridge, but they left early—I think one of them was sick—and forgot to get it from him. He’s a vegetarian, so he figured he’d offer it to us.”

As he unzipped the cooler bag, I frowned and nibbled the inside of my cheek. “Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked.

“It’s all fresh.”

I shook my head. “No, I mean: what if he’s somehow connected with the society and it’s poisoned or something?”

I knew it sounded crazy, but I wouldn’t put anything past Crown and Dagger. Their dark, slimy tentacles were everywhere.

Elias put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine. Believe me, if they knew where we were, there’d be five cars and twenty men here in a fucking instant with black hoods to stick over our heads. They wouldn’t try to carry out some long-winded poisoning plan. Besides, I used to come here all the time when I was younger. The guy knows me, but he doesn’t know who I am, if you know what I mean. He’s just a friendly guy who likes the rural life. The food is just food.”

My shoulders slumped with relief. That made sense. I was just paranoid after everything we’d been through. “It was nice of him to offer it to us. I’ll get a skillet.”

I retrieved some cookware and crockery from the van, and twenty minutes later, a divine-smelling breakfast awaited us. The bacon sizzled and spat in the skillet as Elias kept it warm over the edge of the fire, and I fished out a couple of pieces so I could make a bacon and egg sandwich with the bread.

“I know it’s not exactly fine dining, but it’s still a decent breakfast,” Elias said, loading up his plate with a couple of sausages and fried eggs. “Better than the boring muesli and canned fruit I packed for us.”

I let out a moan of bliss as I bit into my sandwich. “I think it beats fine dining any day,” I said after chewing and swallowing. “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”

He chuckled. “Really?”

I cocked my head to the side, brows drawing together. “Maybe it just tastes so good because it’s the first proper meal I’ve had since we escaped,” I said slowly, the stark realization finally dawning on me. “It’s the first meal I’ve eaten without being a prisoner in almost six months.”

“Freedom has a nice flavor, huh?”

I smiled. “Yeah. That’s it.”

I took another bite, and Elias watched me, his eyes twinkling with affection. “There’s something I want to run past you,” he said a moment later, pushing his plate away. “I have an idea.”

I swallowed my mouthful. “Oh?”

“While you were sleeping, I was thinking about a bunch of shit. For some reason, words like ‘empire’ and ‘queen’ were floating around my head. The whole royal theme shook something loose.” He tapped the side of his head.

“What?”

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