Page 96 of Bull Moon Rising

“What are they going to do? The family was dead, the people scattered. The king let the Raderian holders know that he wasn’t happy, but he didn’t act upon it otherwise because Raderian was now very strong and he wanted them as allies instead of enemies.” She gives me a meaningful look through her spectacles, blinking owlishly at me. “I might not know a lot of things, but I know very well the dangers of my situation.”

Brutal, but not surprising. The holders continue to have more and more power every year, it seems. “Maybe no one will find out for a while. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Barnabus already knows I am here. He’s the one I met at the inn.” She idly picks a stray orange cat hair off her sleeve, ignoring the dozens adorning her skirts. “He came to threaten me. He’s the one hiring guild teams to find artifacts at an accelerated pace so he can use them to take over my father’s keep. He doesn’t yet realize that there’s nothing holding him from taking over except for a few grossly underpaid knights who serve my father out of loyalty.”

“Your old fiancé—he’shere?”

She nods. “Demanded that I marry him.”

Everything in me clenches in anger. That fucking bastard, coming after my wife. Hot fury rushes through me and it takes everything I have not to flip a table—or go out the door to attack a lord holder. “You’re already married,” I grit. “Tome.”

“I noticed.” Her tone is dry.

And there’s another thing I don’t understand. Aspeth has a noble bloodline. She could have approached any other holder’s son and suggested an arrangement between them. “Why did you marryme, Aspeth?”

“Because I needed a chaperone—”

I shake my head. “No more lies. Why did you really marryme? When you should have married a holder’s son?”

She pauses, her gaze fixed on her wrinkled, filthy skirts. She plucks a cat hair from a crease and then flicks it away, her expression melancholy. “All my life, I’ve been who my father expected me to be. I’ve been the dutiful holder’s daughter. I’ve gone to endless parties and weddings. I’ve learned etiquette and sat up in my rooms, alone, when it wasn’t becoming for me to go out and play with other children. I figured being obedient hasn’t worked that well for me so far. I might as well be someone I want to be.” She fixes her gaze on me, determined. “And I want to be part of the guild.”

“Aspeth.”

“And I want to be your wife. I want to do the Conquest Moon with you, just like I promised.” Her cheeks flush pink. “Even if I married strategically, no one would care about me. They just want my title. When you look at me, I feel like you wantme…even if you hate the fact that you do.”

I groan, the hunger rising once more.“Aspeth.”

“I know my timing is terrible and you think I’m manipulating you. I’m not. I just…I like it when you touch me. I like talking to you. I like talking to you more than anyone else in this world. And I want more of both.” Her mouth teases up in a sly smile. “If I was truly manipulating you, I’d suck your cock.”

She pauses.

“Though now that I mention it, I really do want to suck your cock. Just like those women in the alley did to those Taurians. Is that wrong?”

I groan, because her words are filthy and yet exactly what I need to hear. This thing between us, it’s gone past a simple transaction. There’s a strange attraction between us. Ilikeher. I like her intelligence and her optimism. I like that she’s utterly frank with what she wants. “I’m not one to be manipulated by my cock.”

She bites her lip. “So that means Icansuck it?”

I groan again, scrubbing a hand down my snout and then tugging at the ring in my nose. Of all the ways I’d imagined our conversation going, Aspeth confessing her lies and then asking to suck my cock anyhow was not an option I’d considered. It could absolutely be manipulation. She’s good at hiding her feelings…and yet her cheeks are flushed, her breath escalated. Those things, she can’t hide.

Aspeth gets to her feet. “Like I said, I know my timing is bloody awful. I know I should be thinking of ways to apologize to you and to show you my sincerity, but ever since the alley, I keep thinking about you touching me, and me touching you. I thought about how you put your mouth between my thighs and pleasured me, and when I saw the women in the alley, I realized I could do the same to you. And I see it whenever I close my eyes. It’s a thing regular women do to their husbands, too, isn’t it?”

“Aye,” I say, voice ragged with need. She stands in front of me and I sink my hands into her soft, thick hair. It’s tangled from her recent bath, with just a hint of lingering soap to her scent, but I like it. “You know you could do whatever you liked to me and I’d go along with it.”

“I can?” Her expression brightens.

I nod.

She reaches for the ring in my nose and tugs my face down to hers, then plants a kiss on the end of my nose. “Thank you for trusting me.”

I want to tell her that I don’t. That I’m letting her use me because of the Conquest Moon…but it’s not quite the truth. I want Aspeth. I want her nose kisses and her caresses. I want to bury my muzzle between her thighs and make her come. I want to feel her clenching around my cock, milking my knot with her sweet, tight cunt. I want to hear her laughter, too. I want to hear her talk about Old Prell for hours on end. I want to watch her dote on her ridiculous cat because I know she’s got an incredibly soft heart that needs something to love.

I want to be one of the things she loves.

All of this was a mistake. I know that now. The gods push us in a direction, heedless of the consequences upon our lives, and the Conquest Moon is no different. I should have kept my distance, used her as needed, and moved on with my life. Now I’m too far in.

Now I’m picturing waking up every morning with Aspeth wrapped in my arms. I’m picturing her with more ridiculous cats, just so I can see her smile as she pets them. I’m picturing her with artifacts in her hands, her eyes shining with excitement.

I’m picturing her in my life, as my wife.

---