Page 102 of Court of Secrets and Flames

Sterling mouths,On three.

After I nod, he reaches for the door.

One.

My heart lodges in my throat as we ready our weapons.

Two.

His fingers grasp the handle.

Three.

My throat tightens as Sterling flings the door open.

Nothing’s ransacked or strewn across the floor. There’s no hideous creature. Only a man’s bare ass as he thrusts into a woman he’s got pinned against the wall. Her moan morphs into a squeal of surprise. Blond hair fans out over her chest, and blue eyes widen in shock as she tries to push her dress down.

Sterling glowers. “For fuck’s sake.”

Blair Jameson staggers backward, giving us a full view of his erection as he reaches for his pants and starts tugging them over his waist.

This was not the beast I expected to find.

Hastily, I yank my gaze off Blair. My attention lands on the woman instead, who straightens her dress at an impressive speed before hurrying out the door.

Sterling sheathes his sword. “Sorry we interrupted your fun.”

His flat tone implies he isn’t sorry at all.

A mortified noise gets stuck in Blair’s throat, and I thank every single god above that the soldier is fully clothed again. “No harm done. We were just…finishing.” He grimaces.

Oh gods.

“And I definitely did not need to know that.” I try to clear the image of Blair’s arousal from my brain, but I fear that may scar me for life. “We actually came here for a reason.”

Blair raises his eyebrows at my short sword, like he’s just now noticing it. “Problems?”

I return the ornate weapon to its sheath. “We were tracking something so dangerous the entire flock of dragons fled in terror. Only to find you in here, responsible for the noises we heard.”

Blair averts his gaze and clears his throat. “Right. Uh, I’ll just be going then…unless you need me to do something?”

The prince shakes his head. “Oh, I think you’ve done plenty already.”

“Right,” Blair repeats. “In that case, I’ll just…”

He beats a swift exit.

“What do you want to bet Blair’s rushing to find his lady friend?” I say as I check the room. Despite a few overturned buckets in the corner, everything seems normal. If there was something suspicious here, Blair and his companion would have already seen it.

“No wager.” Both annoyance and amusement dance in Sterling’s eyes. “I am never letting him live this down.”

“Hey, go easy on him.” I give him a playful smack on the arm. “They’re not the only ones who have to sneak around to have any time alone.”

Sterling’s gaze heats as it tracks over my body. “That’s different.”

“How so?” I open the next door, where the scraps are stored before disposal. The clean, tidy room appears to have been recently washed. With this level of care, I doubt the trouble with the dragons is related to the food they’re given at the palace.

“Because.” Sterling’s eyes sparkle, and I get the feeling he was appreciating my ass while I was checking out the room. “That was technically my stable. I took care of it.”

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