Page 78 of Joined By Magic

“Please. I can’t stand it anymore. Please, Adante!”

He stopped his torture and raised his head to look at me. I opened my mouth to apologize for the slip, but something on his face froze the words before they came out. A deep intensity shone behind his eyes. “Say that again.”

I felt almost shy under that black stare, but his fingers returned to rub over my desperate clit, and primal need took over. “Please, Adante.”

He sat back, shed his trousers, and climbed on top of me, then plunged his cock deep inside. I’d never been so wet and ready for it, and I wrapped my legs around his back so he could go deeper. His eyes never left my face, and his hand gripped my cheek, holding me tight as he slammed into me. Every nerve in my center was primed to breaking point, and the rhythm of our bodies moving together was all I needed.

“Adante. Please. Yes. Please.” I babbled incoherent nonsense as I rocketed toward the edge. He stared at me, lips parted, as though I might disappear if he blinked. My eyes closed, and I lost myself in animalistic passion as he finally, finally let me find release. Pleasure erupted from deep within me, an unstoppable flood that coursed through my body. My legs spasmed, and my hands clutched his back with a weak, useless grip as he pounded into my pussy. The pleasure so long denied stretched out beyond reason, every thrust drawing a renewed burst of sensation.

His grip tightened, and he pressed his head against my shoulder as he sped up. His body tensed, and he speared into me one final time, pinning me to the bed as he gasped out, “Talia.”

I lay like a rag doll, drained of everything. My thoughts drifted in a far away, happy haze, where nothing mattered beyond this moment. Just me and the prince. Nothing else. When he pulled out, he shifted around to the side and tucked me against his chest with an iron grip, holding me as though he had no intention of letting me go.

But he would. And I’d leave. I had to. A deep, sad ache disrupted my happiness, and I snuggled in close to his warm body. We had tonight. That was all I’d think about. I didn’t want to sleep, but my eyes fluttered closed anyway, impossible to resist. I managed a sleepy whisper. “No collar tonight?”

He stroked a finger over the soft skin of my throat. “I don’t own you anymore.”

I sighed, unsure if I felt sadness or relief.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Talia

Iawoketothebuzzing of the prince’s link-up. He answered right away—he must have already been awake. Had he been touching me in my sleep, as he liked to? I stretched, enjoying the freedom of waking with unrestrained hands, as he snapped, “What is it?”

I could just make out the voice on the other end. “It’s Garron, Your Highness. He’s awake.”

The last of my sleepiness washed away, and I shot up. Garron’s betrayal had niggled at me since it happened, and I knew it drove the prince insane not knowing why he’d done it. Now he could get some answers.

He looked at me and frowned. “Come with me. If he’s lying, you might be able to tell.”

I preened under the compliment and rushed to get dressed. The prince was all business this morning, not a trace of the sadness he’d shown last night. Clothes had appeared in the living room, and I chose an extravagant dress with a fitted bodice and a curling train. Might as well look the part and enjoy it. It’d be jeans and cozy jumpers again for me soon, once I returned to the mountains. The thought brought forth dual pangs of excitement and regret.

Three guards stood outside Garron’s cell. They bowed as the prince approached. “He’s up, Your Highness, but he’s still pretty out of it. Don’t expect him to be too coherent.”

The guard’s voice held a trace of worry, and I wondered if he and Garron knew each other well. The prince nodded. The door opened, and we entered.

Garron lay on a thin mattress, on a metal bed attached to the wall. No blanket or pillow. His eyes widened when he saw who loomed over him, and he pushed himself up to sit with what looked like great effort. “’Scuse me for not bowing. You’d have to pick me up off the floor.”

His slurred speech and the way he sat, one hand clutched to the side of his head, showed the guard was right. We might not get any sense at all out of him.

The prince bent at the waist, low enough to stare into Garron’s face. Only our breathing filled the silence. After a long time, the prince simply asked, “Why?”

Garron worked his tongue over dry lips and rubbed his eyes. I expected a mumbled response, but the clear venom in his voice shocked me. “Elle.”

The name electrified me. I tried not to think of Elle, as I still felt guilty for my part in her downfall. I gasped, and the prince glanced at me, a frown on his face, before returning to Garron. “Who?”

“Of course you don’t know who she is!” Garron winced, as if his own voice hurt. “You nobles treat those girls like they’re nothing but holes to shove your dicks into. I loved her! And she was doing okay, until you.”

Understanding hit me all at once. She’d been rumored to have a secret, forbidden boyfriend in the palace, and it’d been true. Of course he’d hate the prince. My stomach churned at what he must have gone through.

The prince’s expression settled into deep confusion. Whatever he’d been suspecting, this wasn’t it. “You betrayed me, almost cost me my life and my kingdom, over a Collection girl?”

Garron smacked his hand on the bed, but his burst of energy was fading. He slumped, head in his hands. “A person, you sick fuck. A beautiful person that you beat and raped and treated like she was garbage. She used to weep in my arms after you had her and then you tossed her out. Left her broken and penniless. You’re as fucked in the head as your father. I hoped Leopold would burn both of you out of existence, but you’re cockroaches, surviving everything and feeding on death. I suppose he’s dead now, and I’ll join him soon. Just get it over with.”

I tensed, waiting for the flash of purple light I knew was coming. The splatter of blood, the body hitting the floor. It had to happen. He’d killed people for far less.

No flash came. The prince stared at Garron, his hands balled into fists at his sides. He wanted to do it, I could tell from the tension coiled through him, but something held him back. “She performed the role she signed up for. She knew what—”

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