Page 84 of A Dance of Shadows

To me.

When his mouth closes over my sex, it’s true that any lingering discomfort from my shoulder washes away with the wave of arousal. My breath breaks into pants as he works me over, flicking his tongue around my clit and between my folds, suckling me harder as he dips one finger and another into my channel.

He might not have carved as many notches into his bedposts as his twin has, but he clearly ensured he picked up the mostimportant skills. His fingertips press against the most wanting spot inside me, and my hips buck toward him of their own accord.

I squirm, unable to hold back a mewling sound. Marc takes that as his cue to lathe my clit even more avidly.

He swivels his tongue, pumping his fingers inside me against that perfect place, and I can’t deny the sensations whirling through me. I come with a sob and a quiver of my hips around his face.

As I come down from the high of my release, Marc plants a few more kisses on my thighs. He eases my dress back down to cover my legs. As he leans over to brush his lips against my mouth, he runs his fingers over my hair in a gentle caress.

The crotch of his trousers bulges with his own arousal, but he makes no mention of his needs.

“Let it never be said that I can’t listen,” he murmurs. “Now it’s your turn to listen. Get some sleep. I’ll check on you later, wife.”

He tugs the other side of the bedspread over me and heads out into the hall, leaving my eyelids drooping and a strange ache closing around my heart.

He shouldn’t be allowed to act so nice when I still have to kill him.

Chapter Thirty

Aurelia

The dining room in the Rodrige’s imperial palace is a smaller space than the royal one, as is the entire palace compared to the royal family’s. That hasn’t stopped the Lavirians from going all out with their hospitality. Tonight’s dinner feast only includes about half as many courses as yesterday’s birthday extravaganza, but by the time we’re through, my stomach is aching from the richness of all the incredible flavors.

My shoulder is still aching too. I hold my injured arm gingerly by my side, using my knife as little as I can get away with, not letting on to our courtly audience that anything’s all that wrong.

Marc hasn’t stopped doting. He motions for the servants to bring over the most elaborate dishes and keeps his arm by my back to protect me from jostling when we get up from our chairs.

The unnerving mix of shame and pleasure that filled me this morning stays tangled inside, one part or the other spiking hotter at random intervals.

I hate feeling this way. I’m not sure how long I can stand it before the conflicted revulsion starts shuddering through my limbs.

If only I could erase that unwanted interlude with the one that should have been.

Perhaps I can. As we walk along the table, I catch Lorenzo’s eye. My hand flicks by my skirt.I need you three.

He lets his gaze slide over me, but I see the hasty twitch of his fingers on the table.Go to your window.

Marc walks me back to my bedroom and guides me inside, but as I anticipated after the way he talked this morning, he doesn’t linger. He claims a lingering kiss that I have to fight the urge to break free from and trails his fingers along my jaw. “I’m taking tomorrow too. After he got two days in a row, I should have the same. You’ll get a little more time before you have to deal with him again.”

I smile with a pointed question held back behind my teeth.How about you deal with him for me?

Maybe Marc will. Maybe he’ll lay into Linus tonight about harming me, and Linus will snark back with all his overconfident paranoia, and the sense of caution or brotherly loyalty or whatever else that’s stopped Marc before will snap.

All I can do is hope and keep fanning the flames on both sides.

He leaves me to my rest as if he’s a perfect gentleman. I wait until the next ring of the hourly bell to be sure he isn’t going to return. Then I drift over to one of the bedroom windows in the dim glow of the single lantern I’ve lit.

With a click of the latch, I push the wrought-iron-laced pane open to let in the cool night breeze. My bedroom overlooks ashort stretch of neat garden beds and a sprawl of city buildings beyond.

It only takes a few minutes before Lorenzo’s illusionary voice travels into my head with a single word.“Alone?”

I nod yes and gesture to indicate,Safe.

“Bastien will bring you down. Climb up on the ledge.”

I drag over a chair to make it an easier scramble one-handed and clamber onto the stone surface. A warble of wind surrounds me. When the current tugs me forward, I step out onto the cushion of air that’s formed beyond the window.

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