Page 116 of The Duke and the Disciple

“Oh, that... That all sounds intriguing,” Aesylt said, trying not to let her eyes wander downward. “I’m flattered by your offer, but I’m still trying to decide how I want to spend the evening.” Unsure why, she lifted her wrist to show him she was red. She felt a stab of pride, like it was proof she wasn’t afraid. “But I’m here to do more than learn.”

The man’s eyes widened approvingly as his head tilted. “A first timerandgoing all in? I’m impressed. And a little afraid for you.” He threw his head back with a deep laugh. “Do be careful, love. It’s so very rare to have someone who is both newandwilling to do anything anyone wants. The wrong man or woman hears about you, you’ll be in for quite the night.”

Aesylt curled her mouth defiantly. “Maybe that’s what I’m here for.”

“Then off goes the robe, love.” He flicked his fingers. When she hesitated, he laughed again. “You’ve already denied me once. I won’t suddenly change my mind when your bracelet is showing.”

Reluctantly, Aesylt peeled the robe away. A nude attendant tried to take it from her, but she wasn’t ready to part with it. It was her breakfrom all of it, as Proctor had explained, and without knowing how the night would go, she couldn’t guess how often she’d need a moment to herself.

“You are a vision, love.” The man licked his lips. “But I am a man of my word. May your evening provide infinite rewards. Find me again at the first snow.” He sashayed off.

Aesylt had never felt so exposed. The need to be robed again was almost stronger than her determination.

Men and woman alike eyed her like prey, a feeling both unsettling and seductive. She’d never been the woman who commanded a room. Never had needed to be. Yetsomethingabout her was enough to stop conversations as she glided slowly down the hall, wearing a level of confidence she had yet to earn.

Right as she was looking in on a room that seemed to be filled with only the color yellow, powerful hands gripped and tugged her hips from behind. She gasped, trying to turn, but the man’s hold was like iron.

“Wait,” she croaked, but he marched her to a settee against the wall and bent her forward over the arm, then smashed her face into a cushion still warm from when someone had sat there.

Rahn kept findingher and losing her.

For such an apparently secret society, it seemed like half of Wulfsgate was in attendance. He could tell a lot about people by the way they stood, how they held themselves, and there were enough naked highborns in the hall for a proper scandal.

He spotted her talking to a tall, naked man and pushed through a crowd to get closer. But by the time he was free of the tangle, she was alone again and continuing down the hall.

Without her robe on.

His pulse hastened as he moved faster, determined not to lose her this time. He was smashing into so much flesh, he no longer bothered to apologize. Before... Years ago, Revelry would have lighted every one of his unusual sexual appetites, but his blood and bones were ice, his mind consumed with a single purpose.

Protect her.

Rahn gasped when a man grabbed hold of Aesylt from behind and dragged her. Rahn led with his elbow, pushing and shoving until he ran smack into a nude woman dangling two drinks.

“I suppose this one’s for you, seeing as you clearly need it!” she teased, shoving some bubbly concoction under his nose. He tried to get past her, but she matched his side steps like it was a game.

“I need to?—”

She nudged the glass to his face, clinking it against his teeth. He shoved it away, right as he saw something that made every nerve in his body stand on end and the ice in his blood turn to fire.

This is happening.This is really happening. This will really, actually happen unless I rip off my bracelet.

But this is what I want, and it’s why I’ve come here.

The man’s hand shifted to the small of her back, holding her in place. His cock slapped her ass a few times before he lined it up against her.

Who are you? she wanted to ask but wouldn’t. What was happening in that sordid moment was the entire point. Why she’d come. Her notes would be magnificent, and her heart would mend, but she had to relax.

Aesylt crushed out a gulp when the stranger penetrated her. Her hands slid down to the cushion and wrapped beneath the sides, bracing her through every vigorous thrust, her robe pressed between her body and the cushion. He grunted different variations ofyesandso good,but they sounded absurd. None of her interludes with the scholar had prepared her for it, because the two things were nothing alike at all. That had been intimacy. Being taken by a stranger was carnal. Empty.

“You want me to fill this cunt, girl?” He moaned.

She tried to answer, but her voice creaked.

The man gave one final, forceful shove, and it was done. His warmth spread through her, sending her heart into palpitations, but she was risking nothing. She was already late, already in trouble. If she couldn’t get ahold of her vedhma’s tea soon, she’d be in an entire world of it.

The man patted her back like she’d done well, helped her stand, and disappeared like a thief in the night. She glanced around, worried what others were thinking about her brash affair that had been over as quickly as it had begun, but everyone had their own explorations to occupy them.

I just laid with another man. A man I’ll never know or meet again. A man incapable of breaking my heart.

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