Page 77 of Joined By Magic

Leopold shifted his shoulders. His position on the floor didn’t look comfortable. “I found out from my father right before we visited. Is there a reason we’re rehashing all of this? You’ve got everything you wanted. Until the king comes back here with his army. Or are you hoping he’s planning a party to celebrate your return?”

The prince let out a harsh laugh. “Oh, I’m well aware of what he’ll do.”

He stared at his brother for a long moment before turning on his heel and striding to the door. I followed. The prince addressed the guards. “See that he’s given food and water. The rest of his party too.”

He set off, moving without pause through the winding corridors of the summer palace. Night had fallen, and stars shone through the skylights. He reached a door flanked by two guards, who bowed low at his approach. How easily everyone had accepted him.

He nodded to the guards and pushed the door open, revealing a comfortable space decorated with a few similar touches to his rooms in the main palace. The sofas were worn, soft leather, and the color scheme more muted than the usual gaudy Ataran style. He headed for a tall glass-fronted cabinet and withdrew a bottle I recognized—his favorite whiskey.

In silence, he selected two crystal glasses and poured us each a hefty measure. He sat down heavily on the sofa, and I perched beside him, taking my glass. We both sipped. He closed his eyes. “I didn’t think I could hate my father more. This plan of his . . .” He took another sip of his drink and shook his head. “It would be the end of Atar. He’s always been a weak, self-indulgent ruler.”

“It’s disgusting. Farming people like cattle, slaughtering them when he feels like it. The whole idea makes me sick.” I paused. “What about your brother? Do you believe him?”

The prince sighed. “I don’t know. And I’m too exhausted to make any decisions this evening.”

He set his glass down and considered me through weary eyes. When he spoke, his voice was level and businesslike. “You’ve honored our deal, and I’ll do my part. You’re free to go. The staff will organize a room for you, and you’ll be paid triple the standard payout. I’d advise you to wait before collecting your sister from the main palace, but it’s your decision. I’ll remove your wristband now.”

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water, drenching me with sadness. Of course. I’d done my part in helping him take the palace. I should feel elated. I was free, and rich. More than I could have hoped for. But the last thing I wanted was to walk out of the door and leave him alone. The image hurt. It couldn’t end like this, could it? Like business partners wrapping up a long-term contract. It’d been months since we’d slept apart. Would his nightmares start up again without me there?

I found my voice. “Triple the payout? You don’t need to do that.”

The weary sadness of his expression carried through into his words. “We both know you’ve earned it.”

I slid a tentative hand onto his leg. He didn’t flinch away from me as he once had when I touched him unexpectedly. He’d grown comfortable with me in a way I didn’t think he had with anyone else, ever. “I don’t want to go yet. I’ll stay with you until you defeat your father and it’s safe to collect my sister. And I don’t want a separate room.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, a brief flash of pain that stabbed me in the chest. “There’s no need for this. You’re free, Talia. You’ve served your term.”

Acrid bitterness laced his words, and it raised a stubborn desire to wipe it out. “If I’m free, then I can choose to stay if I want, can’t I.”

A statement, not a question. A bold one. I half expected an angry response, but he studied me with a frown, as if I were speaking a strange, foreign dialect. “And what are you bargaining for this time?”

“Nothing! Not everything I do is part of a scheme.”

Silence lay heavy over us. He reached up and ran a finger once along my cheekbone before he spoke. “As a youth, I had infatuations with women, as all young men do. Every one of them wanted something in return for their affections. My status drew them to me. After a while, I grew tired of the games and satisfied myself with the Collection, where I could indulge my appetites without fear of scandal. I treated the girls cruelly, and they hated me for it. I didn’t care.” He swallowed, and I could almost feel the black pit of loneliness that occupied his soul. “No one wishes to spend the night with me for free.”

“That’s not true.” Following a sudden, mad urge, I folded myself onto his lap. He stiffened, but I leaned in and kissed him anyway, and after a moment of stunned immobility, he kissed me back. I ran my hands over the silky fabric of his new robes, tracing the muscles of his back. This could be the last time. The thought dropped in, and my fingers dug into him in a possessive clutch. If the king attacked tomorrow, we might both end up dead.

His hands tightened on my back, and he rose, lifting me easily and carrying me into the bedroom. A wooden bed with thick red silk sheets awaited us. He sat me on it, then reached for the zipper of my evening gown and slid it down. I shimmied out of it while he stripped off the top layer of his robes until he wore only the trousers.

I studied his body. He’d grown pale in the mountains, and a little thinner. He climbed onto the bed, pushing me down flat. He stretched out next to me, propped up on an elbow, and ran his hand over my stomach in the lazy way of a man intending to take his time. A small smile settled on his lips, which didn’t match the sadness in his eyes.

“I know your body better than you do,” he said, with a hint of a challenge.

I matched him. “Oh, really? And what makes you think that.”

His hand traveled up to my breasts and traced the hard points of my nipples in slow, teasing circles until I squirmed under his touch. “You think this is what you want, but when I do this”—he pinched my nipple and twisted, fingers as unforgiving as the worst of his clamps. I squeaked, clutching at his hand, until he let go—“your pupils dilate, and your skin flushes pink, and”—he slid his fingers into my now-drenched pussy—“you end up soaked. You spread your legs wider for me when I hurt you, every time. Did you realize that?”

“No.” A breathy whisper. His eyes were dark, the touch of amusement gone, replaced by feral lust. My skin heated at the way he’d observed me, cataloging my reaction as though I were one of his experiments. “What else do I do?”

He sat up and set both hands to work, eyes narrowed in concentration. “There’s a noise you make.” He focused on my clit, circling it with just the right pressure as he played with my nipple. I pressed myself up against his hand as my belly tightened, his clever fingers bringing me to the edge of release in no time at all. The instant before I would have crested, he stopped. I groaned, deep in my throat, in frustration. He looked down on me in satisfaction.

“That noise. Like I’ve stolen away your favorite treat in the world. You seek pleasure so wantonly, always greedy for more.”

I ran my hand down my body, between my slick thighs, and rubbed it against my swollen clit. So strange, having my hands free. He usually restrained me. The freedom felt good. “And what about the noises I make when I come? Why not demonstrate those?”

He made a sound that was almost a laugh, snatched my hand away, and pinned it beside my head. “I’ll miss that smart mouth of yours.” He leaned down and kissed me, gentler than I was used to, his lips soft on mine as though we had all the time in the world. His hand replaced mine, teasing me with a maddeningly light pressure. I tried to grind against him, but he shifted his weight on top of me, trapping me. He broke the kiss. “And you’ll come when I’m good and ready. Tonight, you gave yourself to me. I’m going to enjoy the gift.”

He teased me until my thighs and the sheets were soaked with my need. Occasionally, he paused to look at me, as if cataloging the moment. He traced my whole body up and down, lingering on my hips and the soft curve of my stomach. My nipples throbbed, and he pinched them until tears came to my eyes, then soothed them with his tongue, over and over. He tasted the slickness on my thighs and flicked his tongue against my clit until I clutched the sheets and begged him not to stop. It didn’t work. He held me on the edge to the point of madness, until I lost all hold of reason.

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