Page 61 of A Queen's Game
Marietta laughed, watching Keyain continue to drink as she drained the last of the whiskey. She stood, leaning to place the empty glass on the table, letting Keyain see exactly how little the nightgown covered. When she sat, Marietta draped her legs over his lap, tucking her head into the crook of his arm. Keyain tensed for a moment, then relaxed, his hand finding her leg once more, fingers grazing the skin.
“This is nice,” she said quietly, gazing into his face.
His lips parted as he leaned in, kissing her. Marietta cupped his cheek, kissing him back, ignoring the resentment in her chest. Keyain had killed her husband and forced her to Satiros, and there she was, kissing him as if she could ever forgive him. The plan—it was just for the plan.
There was a thud as Keyain reached to set his glass down, not breaking his face from her own. One arm slid behind her bent knees, the other finding her lower back, shifting Marietta to seat her in his lap.
Marietta’s lips and tongue slid over Keyain’s, the oaky flavor of the liquor fresh. He pulled back with a molten gaze, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Keyain shifted Marietta so that her legs straddled his lap.
The buzz of alcohol silenced the rancor in her head, allowing her to block out who she kissed. Instead, she focused on kissing along his jaw. Under the nightgown, Keyain explored her body, his rough and calloused hands pawing at her curves. When she reached the shell of his ear, she moaned softly as he caressed her ass. “Mar,” he said, his voice rough.
Little fabric remained between them as she straddled him, his excitement clearly pressing through his pants against her. She pulled back, grabbing his chin and turning his head to the side as she kissed along his neck. Keyain’s head tilted back as his breathing quickened, near moaning with her effort.
“Are you enjoying this?” Marietta asked.
Keyain’s eyes were half-closed as he nodded.
“You want me to keep going?” she murmured into his skin. Keyain’s body writhed, his grip tighter as he nodded again.
“Then tell me about the Exisotis.”
“What?” Keyain asked, breathy and scowling.
A rock of her hips caused his head to drop back again. “Just share what you know, then we can keep going.” She grabbed his hands, placing his grip on her hips as she continued to move.
“Mar.” Keyain’s voice was gravelly and filled with a warning, caught between what he wanted to do and what he should do—exactly where Marietta wanted him. Pride be damned. She needed to know the truth.
The nightgown rose as she led his hands up her body. Keyain cupped her breasts, thumbing the tips. “You just have to give me some information, and I’ll be yours. I promise.” She smiled at him playfully, her voice like honey.
“Marietta, I can’t. Not no-” He stopped mid-sentence to let out another moan, her hips grinding as Keyain tried to lift off her nightgown.
“Not so fast. You can have all of it. Just talk to me.” One hand held his chin, and the other one explored the hardness in his lap, earning a writhing shake.
“Marietta, please,” Keyain said, his head dropping back.
Her mouth found his neck again, working her way to his ear as she moaned Keyain’s name. He panted, straining against his self-control as he thrust his hips.
“Tell me, Keyain.”
“No.” Anger laced his voice as he held her away from his body.
“This is what you want, right?” Marietta reached to cup his face, but he snatched her hand.
“Not like this.” The muscle in his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth. With gentle and exact movements, he lifted her off and left the couch. He kept his back to her as he leaned against the fireplace, attempting to regain his composure.
“Keyain, please tell me.”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“When Queen Valeriya asked about Tilan, saying he was in the Exisotis, I didn’t have an answer. So tell me, because thatinformation is the only way I can defend myself here.” Marietta stood, her voice rising.
“Queen Valeriya didn’t know about Tilan until you said something. And you think I want to give you information abouthimwhile you grind on top of me? Are you kidding?” Keyain faced her with his upper lip curled. With a deep breath, he grabbed his glass off the table and started for the other room.
“Maybe if you thought of me as a person instead of an object to have, then I wouldn’t need to put on a show for you,” she said, her words like venom dripping from her teeth.
Keyain paused in the doorway and turned around, his eyes shadowed with a sneer on his lips. “So that was a little show. Congrats, Mar, you gave an excellent performance—the most convincing one you’ve had since arriving in Satiros. If this marriage doesn’t work out, then maybe I’ll drop you off at a brothel. You’d be a great whore with an act like that.”
“I didn’t ask to be here, Keyain. You tookeverythingfrom me for your own selfish, little needs. I was only an object for you to possess back then, and you haven’t changed at all,” she yelled, her face snarling. “Like I would ever marry you. Tilan loved me for who I was, something that you could never do. You will never compare to him.”
