Page 49 of The Devil In Blue
“I’m saying I want you to be sure.”
Drawing back, she peered up at me with the slightest hint of a pout that made her kiss-swollen lips bow adorably.
“For years, I’ve yearned for you,” she confessed. “Don’t ask me why my heart beats faster when you’re near. Don’t ask me why the thought of you stealing that innocence from me only excites me. I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. I just know that you’ve woken me from a dream I didn’t know I was trapped inside. I see more than I ever have. I don’t know who I was in life, but in my gut, I know it doesn’t matter. Here, I’m happy. And I hunger for you, Rune of the Glyn.” Her nails raked lightly down my neck, reminding me that my cock could get harder still. “My king.”
“Fuck, Briar,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. “You could have me on my knees if you asked. Do you know what you do to me?”
“I want to. You’ve given me so many experiences since I’ve been here with you. The only one I lack isyou.”
I clutched her wrist, dragging her hand down my chest, over my stomach, to the hard erection trapped behind my clothes. She sucked in a shivering breath and boldly cupped me, her heart exploding with passion so quickly the sound was flooding my ears.
“This is what you do to me,” I said. “This and so much more, Briar. Tell me again that you want it. Tell me with absolute certainty and I will make you mine. I’ll take all of you and I’ll give you all of me. Now.”
She nodded, her breath fast and deep as she stroked my cock through my pants. Clutching her hair, I tugged her head back to get my point across, desperate to devour her.
“I need more,” I said. “Say it.”
“I’m already yours, Rune,” she breathed. “I always have been.”
Those words—those simple words—destroyed and rebuilt me all in one breath. Briar was mine. A little rose that fell at my feet. My empty existence no longer felt hollow and it was all because of her.
Present
For days, I found my way to the library and lost myself in the pages of old books. I learned new things, wandered through exciting stories, and found a new appreciation for macabre charcoal art. Lucien had brought me a dozen books throughout our time together and while I was thankful for them all, I never imagined having so many to choose from. The glass table was stacked every day and by the end, I did my best to put the books back where I found them.
Eventually, I decided to start using the rolling ladder to find books on the higher shelves and discovered an entirely new world of literature. It was overwhelming in a way that I never wanted to give up. Petris, who seemed to get increasingly busy over the days, eventually caught on that I was not leaving the library and began bringing my food there rather than to my bed chambers.
On the fourth or fifth day, I finally fell asleep on the comfy sofa near the balcony with a book about an enchanted pair of boots splayed across my stomach. I hadn’t meant to but without an ability to tell time the way I was used to, I barely even knew how long I stayed awake.
I was so comfortable against the embroidered cushions, not ever wanting to wake from what was possibly the best sleep I’d had in months. I heard the faint sound of the library doors opening but was too tired to open my eyes. I was just barely entering the dream space, which, for me, was usually empty darkness or a horrible nightmare, when something soft was draped over my body. I kept my eyes closed, a sense of peace washing over me and encouraging me to fall deeper into my slumber, when a warm hand lightly slid across mine, taking the book I held against my stomach from my lax grip.
I took a long, deep breath and smelled cedar and rain and the faint scent of roses. Perhaps the balcony door had been left open…
Then that warm hand moved to my cheek.
I must have been dreaming. It would be the first time in a long time and I was thankful that the dream was pleasant. And if it was a dream, I could savor it. So I did.
I slowly turned my head into the gentle hand, a breath escaping my lips in a soft hum.
“Sleep well, little bird,” a voice said, deep and tender.
And then warm, velvety lips were on my cheek.
It felt too real and I didn’t want it to end.
But then the hand was gone. The kiss was gone. I drifted deeper into the dream until the dream turned to the sweet nothingness of a quiet sleep.
And then the music started. Beautiful music. Haunting music. It would have sung me further into my slumber, but I chased it instead. I chased it out of my dreams, reaching for the wonderful, sorrowful sound until my eyes were opening. I was awake… and the music was still playing.
I was curled up on the sofa, a fluffy cushion under my head and a plush, woven blanket draped over my body. I hadn’t put the blanket on myself so immediately I began to question what had been a tired hallucination and what had been real.
Looking at the table I’d stacked with books, I recalled an empty plate being there from the lunch Petris had brought me earlier. It was gone. So he must have ventured into the library to see me and kindly cleaned my space and put the blanket on me. My cheeks flushed at the thought of him caring for me like that. Not even Lucien had ever been so thoughtful. He always had Catlyn do those things and still, it was always out of duty more than anything because Lucien had employed her.
Perhaps it was the same with Petris. He worked for the king, after all.
Except, the things he did and the things he said were far more than obligatory acts. He didn’t need to show me the library, bring me food from halfway across the palace, or talk to me the way he did.
Rubbing my eyes, I noticed the music again. It was faint, coming from somewhere deep inside the building. The melody was easy to recognize. It was strings. A viola.
