Page 82 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

He quickened his pace, but otherwise didn’t respond. We came to a brief stop, but he didn’t put me down. Maneuvering the arm bracing my back, he shoved the key in the lock and twisted. The door swung open silently.

Vareck stepped inside and kicked it closed with his foot. The arm beneath my knees dropped away. My legs fell, but he slowly eased me down, dragging me against his body as he reached behind him and flicked the lock back in place.

I reached up, my hands skimming his shoulders, moving to wrap around the nape of his neck and through his hair. I pulled, trying to make him lower his face to mine, but the king remained as immobile as a statue.

The frustration from earlier resurfaced. A low keening whine built in my chest. “What in the nine realms are you waiting for?” I demanded.

Gently, he reached back to wrap his fingers around my wrists, prying them from his body. “Bath first.” He jutted his chin toward the door to my right.

“No.”

“Meera, this isn’t a negotiation.”

“Either you fuck me or so help me gods, I will find someone else?—”

“Do notfinish that sentence,” he snapped. His voice was ice-cold yet burning with fire. I growled under the compulsion, wanting to fight it, but unable to with how the pixie dust was affecting me.

Vareck reached around me, opening the bathroom door. He pressed one hand to my hip and the other to my lower abdomen, pushingme firmly toward it.

“This is ridiculous,” I groaned. “I want you. You want me. It’s not like we haven’t done this hundreds of times?—”

“Strip.”

My hands dropped, pulling at my shirt and cardigan without hesitation. Any stubbornness I had died a swift death now that he was speaking my language. I didn’t even need the compulsion to obey, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t do something for me.

My leggings clung to my thighs, damp from my arousal. Vareck turned on the bath, testing the water temperature before stepping back. Once naked, I reached for him again.

“Get in.”

“But—”

“Get in,” he repeated, this time using persuasion.

Unable to fight his commands, I stepped into the clawfoot tub and sank to my knees. The water was only a couple of inches high but filling quickly. I leaned back, gasping when my bare skin touched the cold cast iron.

Vareck paused, tugging off his gloves, his dark gaze zeroing in on me. His eyes, usually so blue, were nearly black from how dilated they were.

My breath hitched.

He resumed undressing. “How familiar are you with pixie dust?”

I licked my bottom lip. “Heard of it. Never used it. My brother had a problem with it for a while, and I didn’t want to touch it after watching him go down that road.” Lust made it hard to focus but easy to talk.

He nodded, hanging his cloak on one of the mounted wall hooks. “It hits hard and fast, but unlike drugs you consume, the effects of pixie dust don’t start to wane until it’s off your skin.” Vareck glanced at the tub. “Which is why we’re both going to wash up before I take you to bed.”

My heart rate ratcheted up. My hand touched my throat, then slowly descended my naked form. Water dripped from my fingertips as I circled one of my nipples. They were already sensitive, and I had to bite back a moan.

Vareck let out a harsh breath as he quickly unbuttoned his shirt. His focus was locked in on where I touched myself, expression feral.

I loved it. I needed more.

He whipped off his undershirt, revealing the gleaming muscles of his bare chest. Without hesitating, he started on the laces of his pants. “You’re toying with me.”

“I’m horny,” I corrected. “And you’re holding out on me.”

Vareck grunted, leaning over to tear his boots off, then his socks. My hand slid between my breasts and down the soft swell of my stomach. “I’m making sure we don’t end up in Warwick for a week because we can’t stop fucking. I’d love nothing more than to lose myself in you.” His pants dropped, revealing the lack of boxers or any type of underclothes. “But if we’re going to do that, it won’t be under the influence of pixie dust.” My hand slipped beneath the water, traveling toward the apex of my thighs. Vareck wrapped his fingers around my forearm, stopping the descent.

I lifted my chin, meeting his eyes in a challenge. A sexy smirk curved up his face. “Scoot forward. Let me take care of you.”

---