Page 83 of Downfall of a Princess

I waited for him to lift his hips again for his cock to emerge out of the water, eager to take him in, but Salas kept his body down and his hand under my jaw.

“Are you sure about this, Ari?”

He worried about me because he now knew all the dark parts of my past. But that was exactly why I had to do it. I used Salas’s taste, his scent, and the feel of his skin to erase every sensation that had been forced on me by others. I used him because I knew he would let me.

“I’m sure.” I nodded. “Please let me taste you again.”

He lifted himself out of the water, exposing his cock for me. I wrapped my lips just under his crown, the place where he said he felt the pleasure. He tasted like the rose water of the bath. I sucked then licked, delighted by his tortured groans.

“Ari, I—” He gripped my head, his fingers sinking into my hair.

He lifted me up and off his cock. Then dropped his hips back into the tub, water splashing out. I pumped him with my hand for his climax to erupt. His release spread through the water in tight creamy spurts, and I felt grateful to him for keeping it out of my mouth.

The dark memory churned in my head with a brief swirl of nausea in my throat. Then, it passed, and I knew it would never torture me with the same intensity ever again. Salas proved to be a perfect cure for my sickening past.

I gently stroked up his thigh and over the rugged surface of his scar. His skin suddenly wavered with shimmer, mirroring the mother-of-pearl swirls of the rose oil in the water—a wave ofreflectionran through Salas.

I’d never seen himreflectbefore, not when he was flogged, not when he faced the guards in the city at night, but he did now while looking at me.

“You’ll be my ruin, Ari,” he said with a quiet conviction.

The smile slipped from my face. My heart tightened at the foreboding in his words.

A princess and a slave were already a highly unlikely pair. A princess and a man with Salas’s past? I couldn’t even predict all the repercussions we both might face if it ever came out.

If I was to be his ruin, then he certainly could be my downfall.

AFTER DRAINING THEtub and taking a shower together, Salas and I snuggled under the blankets in my bed.

“Have breakfast with me,” I said, curling against his wide chest.

He threw an arm around me, holding me close.

“It’s way too early for breakfast.”

“Tea then? I’ll call for it right now.” I climbed out of bed and pulled on the ribbon of the bell before he had a chance to object.

He sat up in bed. “Wouldn’t the kitchen be closed at this hour?”

“Not in Egami Palace.” I found and put on a nightgown. “The Queen’s Court is huge. Someone is always hungry, day or night. The cooks rotate in the kitchen.”

Salas hid behind the silk screen when a maid came, and I ordered us tea. After my order had arrived, we sat in my bed, shoulder to shoulder, our backs against the headboard, the tea tray on our lap.

“Where did you learn how to serve tea?” I watched him expertly fill the infuser with tea leaves then add just the right amount of dried berries and herbs for extra flavor before submerging it into the porcelain teapot. “You don’t need to answer it, by the way,” I added promptly, afraid of what kind of memories my question might stir in him. “You don’t ever have to answer any of my questions about your past.”

“I don’t mind,” he replied calmly. “My memories hold no power over me. With you, I can talk freely, now that you know everything.”

I envied his composure. I could only wish to get to that level of calm and control one day.

“I learned many ways to serve tea in the lady’s manor,” Salas explained. “Back in our house, Mother kept things simple. We had one fine tea set that came as Father’s dowry. But it was mostly displayed in a glass cabinet. I remember taking it out only when Mother’s friends came over or when her sister visited, which she didn’t do often.”

He poured the tea into two cups, then added some cream to one of them before handing it to me.

“Thank you.” I accepted it, noticing he remembered how I liked my tea.

“A sandwich?” He offered me the plate with tiny pastries and some meat sandwiches.

“No. I’m good.” I waved the food off. “You have some.”

---