Page 160 of Insolence
But I didn’t need to say anything. Requiring no explanation, she simply held me, rocking me and stroking my mussed hair while I wept into her neck.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I sniveled, my hands balled in her dress. “I should never have left you. I never wanted any of this. I thought I wasprotectingyou for gods’ sakes.”
“Shh. I know, sweetheart.” She offered her handkerchief. “You didn’t mean for this to happen. It’s all right.”
When my tears finally ran dry, we took our seats at the table. “So why are you here, Tiss? What do you think you’redoing?”
“I came to rescue you.”
It was her turn to snort. “I’m serious, sweetheart. What the hell’s going on?”
“It’s true! I’m here to take you away. We’ll leave together. Go to Ariter, just like you said the last time we were together.”
“No, beautiful.” She blinked, disappointment flashing through her features. “That's never going to work. It’s not the same thing at all.”
“How isn’t it the same thing? I’ve got plenty of money. Tell them you’re showing me around the temple grounds, and we’ll just—”
“Slip away into the mountain mists?”
“Why not?” I huffed, feeling terribly foolish all of a sudden.
“Because they’re not going toletme showyou around the temple grounds. Look around you, Tiss. This is a prison, not a garden party. Youknowthis.” Leaning back in her chair, her eyes narrowed in thought. “Escaping a place like this takes time. Resources other than money—although that does help. And accomplices you can trust with your life. Surviving out there afterward? Without getting caught and sent right back?” She shook her head. “Time. And careful, precise planning.”
“All right, so I have no idea what I’m doing. Obviously.” I propped my elbows on the table and buried my head in my hands. “I’ve been lost without you. Adrift.Untethered. I needed to find you and apologize, even if you didn’t remember me. Callit foolish if you want, but I was desperate. I figured the rest would work itself out.”
Her shoulders shook with silent laughter. “While that’s incredibly touching, it’s not exactly helpful, my heart.”
I wanted to be angry with her; I really did. I tried, gods help me. But how much had I missed her cocky little grins? The arrogant cant of her head?
“Well?” I said at last. “You’re the high priestess. What do you, in your worldly wisdom, suggest?”
Leaning forward, she motioned for my hand. When I placed it in hers, she caressed it with the utmost tenderness, as if I were a precious artifact. A cherished, delicate thing.
Lifting it to her mouth, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to my knuckles one by one. The impressions of her lush kisses burning on my skin, she turned my hand over to stroke my wrist and drop a lingering kiss on my palm.
Hazel eyes pinning me, she murmured, “I suggest you get any remaining notion we’re going to be together out of that beautiful, stubborn head of yours. Go back home and live your life without me, Lady Madoc.”
I was afraid of that. “Right. Well, I can’t go back.”
“Why not?”
I raised my chin, taking care to enunciate: "Because when I said I’d done something terrible, priestess, I was referring to the fact that I killed Illiam.”
Chapter 46
El
Approximately 7 Years Ago
I’ve wanted this for so long. Aching to take her, I have to force myself to slow down.
Taking my time with her, we discover her nipples are too sensitive for much direct stimulation. But she moans and squirms delightfully when I lick and kiss around them. As perfect and pink as they are, they’re only a detour on my journey of exploration.
Kneeling between her legs, I kiss a path down her stomach. Dip my head between her legs. Bring her to orgasm on the tip of my tongue before sliding a finger slowly inside her. Then two.
I find the spot right behind her clit that drives her insane. Stay on it, working her up again agonizingly slowly. Teasing and tracing her clit with my tongue until she practically sobs.
When she’s ready, I press my free hand down on her lower abdomen. “When you feel your climax coming on, push against my fingers. Here.” I knead a spot deeper inside her, further back toward her navel.
