Page 38 of Queen Takes King
“One in the afternoon,” Guillaume answered. This time he brought my cup, rather than Daire. It was steaming hot, but smelled like tea instead of coffee. “Something new to try, if you’dlike.”
“Perfect, thank you. Where’d you put…him?”
“In the line of trees at the edge of the park,” Daire said. “I’m sure he’ll be gone bymorning.”
“What if someone finds the body? I don’t know if Stuller has a police department of their own, or if they’d have to call the county sheriff. Or the statepatrol…”
Guillaume shrugged as if I’d asked him opinion on the color of the drapes. “No one will findhim.”
“How can you besure?”
He squatted down beside the sofa and laid his hand on my arm. “Myqueen—”
“Worries for nothing,” Rik said in unison withhim.
Making me roll my eyes, as theyintended.
“No one comes down this road. No one comes to this town. And if a curious human like that woman turns at the park and approaches the house, you have two surprisingly sharp and dedicated security guards on duty who will firmly and politely get rid of them. They know about the body. Frank helped us put him there. They know that man meant you harm. And they’re paid very, very well not to ask too manyquestions.”
Looking at them, my sweet, protective, yet deadly men, my throat tightened up and my eyes burned. I’d never dreamed that even one man would care for me as much as they did. Let alonefour.
Xin might be the newest, but I felt the same promise in hisbond.
Nothing would ever get through him to hurt me.Never.
“Do you think this couch is big enough for you all to holdme?”
Evidently that was a silly question. Guillaume swept me up in his arms and turned to sit down. Daire squeezed in beside Rik. And then G sat back down with me so I was on top of themall.
It was interesting to say theleast.
And not exactly comfortable. Not with four walls of muscle. Orerections.
But I wriggled around until I was comfortable. Tucked under a blanket on the laps of four men, their big hands a steady, gentle stroke on my body. Not to arouse, but to touch. Something they’d been denied even longer thanme.
I tried to read more of the book but my eyes were too heavy. Lulled by their steady stroking, I drifted off tosleep.
18
Shara
Iheardwhispers in the darkness. I had no idea where I was, but everything was gray and cold and still. I took a step so silently that I paused and looked at mybody.
I was Xin’s silver wolf. No one would hear or seeme.
I ghosted closer to the voices. Two women. One was angry, pacing back and forth, her voice rising with fury. The other woman occasionally murmured an answer, calm to her agitation. But the wolf smelled condescension in her polite and sympathetictone.
“She killed my Blood. I wantjustice.”
My stomach tightened, my ears tight to my head. They were talking about me. The angry one was Keisha Skye. Who was the other woman? She had to be another queen. Her Paris ally? Marne Ceresaherself?
“What did youexpect?”
“I expected a civilizedresponse.”
The other woman laughed, a sweet tinkling sound of lightness that jarred with her wormwood scent. “She’s as close to civilized as you are to theTriune.”
Keisha gasped softly as if a blade had slipped between her ribs. “But you said… Youpromised…”
