Page 22 of The Sorcerer of Shadowholde

“High Consul! Please. It’s just a story. It means nothing.”

Vita was desperate for him to stop, her face burning with shame. The High Consul of Shadowholde had read her story, the scene she specifically wrote after her night with him. If she could crawl into a hole and never see the light of day again, she would have in this moment.

He stalked over to her, setting the journal on the side table. She trembled in her bed, but all he did was sit down, taking her face in both of his hands.

“Do you want me on my knees for you?”

The words sent an electric jolt of arousal straight to Vita’s core, and she couldn’t stifle the whimper in her throat.

The High Consul leaned in, pressing his soft lips against hers.

She whimpered again, arms frozen at her sides as he kissed her, smelling of wine and roses. After a moment, she relaxed into him, allowing him to support her with his firm embrace. His tongue flicked across her lips, and she let him in, eager to replace the memory of Amulius. Gently, he brushed across her teeth and tongue, her stomach clenching with need.

Before she could reach for him, the High Consul pulled away, a smirk on his face. He kissed her on her scar, then again on her soft jaw. Another one on her neck and he inhaled deeply, as if taking in her scent.

The High Consul tensed, then slowly released her from his grasp.

“I will see you soon, darling,” he said as he stood, striding over to the window. “And know this. The Praetor will not harm you ever again.”

With that, he was gone, and Vita sat on her bed, confused and alone.

CHAPTER 10

Renatus

“OUTRUNNING THE DAWN AGAIN?”

Renatus was silent as Aurora made her way around the room, drawing the curtains on the few remaining windows. When she turned to him with a mirthful grin, he matched it, though he did not feel like smiling.

“Did you get what you wanted?” she asked as she stepped up to him, straightening the neckline of his tunic and studying his face with golden eyes.

“I did,” he answered simply, though it most certainly was not true.

After all this time, it was difficult to know exactly what he wanted anymore.

Renatus took Aurora’s face in his hands and gave her a long, sensual kiss. When he pulled away, he looked at her, his chest clenching with some unknown emotion. He had difficulty identifying what the emotion was, even though it belonged to him. Perhaps longing? Worry? No, no, it couldn’t be.

“I need you to go to Praetor Amulius and invite him to dinner tonight. Vita must join him. You cannot let him refuse.”

Her lips curled into a smile. “Of course, dear.”

Renatus held her hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it, an unasked question hanging heavy in the air like a storm cloud. There was a surge of electricity under his skin, one he did not experience often.

At least not anymore.

Now it was Aurora’s turn to cup his cheek. “Is there something you want, Renatus?”

Oh, there was something he wanted. But so little quenched his hunger anymore, the deep pit that radiated through his entire being. That kiss with Vita…

Aurora brushed her plum braids behind her shoulder, exposing her neck. He licked his lips absentmindedly, though did not move. His thoughts were of Vita, the whimpering mewls she made as he kissed her, her scent of musk and lemon. That raven hair and sepia skin, the hazel eyes and the red scar, both familiar and not at the same time. Her warmth, unlike any he had experienced in… well, quite a while.

Vita was an innocent flower. What right did he have to pluck her?

Still, he could not leave her there with the Praetor. Renatus had seen the way the man had leered at her. It didn’t surprise him in the slightest when Vita said he had assaulted her.

Today would be the end of that.

Not to mention her handsomefriendsfrom the tavern. When he saw the man with his hands on her… Renatus could have torn his throat out right then and there. But he had controlled himself. Some years ago, it would have been a different story.

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