Page 44 of Queen Takes King
It’d only been a handful of days and I didn’t recognize myself. I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t scared. I sure as hell wasn’t a virgin any longer. Norhuman.
I’d done things in the last few days that would never have occurred to me in a million years. Like ordering the death of an enemy… without regret. Or having sex with two men at once. Riding one’s face while another fucked me. Where had that come from? Had that wanton creature always been caged inside me and I hadn’t known? Or was I changing at the very core of who I was? Was this me, now? Or had I lostmyself?
Xin settled us into a hot bath. I lay against his chest and breathed his scent, wishing his wolf could provide some clarity. Or at least serenity. The wolf hunted. The wolf killed. It had no remorse. It didn’t worry that it was becoming too wolf-like. It certainly didn’t worry about the deer it’d justeaten.
It was hungry. It did what its nature drove it todo.
Carrying a plate of steak and potatoes, Rik came into the tub too and Xin shifted me so they could both hold me between them, our legs stretched out the length of the tub, while Rik fed me small bites of food. Xin still had blood on his face. My blood. Period blood. I waited for my cheeks to fire, my stomach to clench or pitch with disgust, but I only felt… satisfaction. That was my blood on my Blood and nothing could make me happier than seeing him pumped with power because ofme.
He stroked my face, long sensitive fingers gliding like an artist chiseling a masterpiece from a chunk of marble. His eyes burned like quick silver. Hot, cold, bright, all at once. His bond a searingly cold yet eerily silentblizzard.
“She liked it that way,” he whispered, keeping his touch light on my face. “My old queen. She didn’t want to hear us. She didn’t want to feel us. We were taught early to lock our bonds down tightly. She wanted blades. Not emotions. Not men. Not lovers. Not even protectors. She didn’t want touch or conversation or service of any kind. She had servants for that. We were only in her presence long enough to receive her orders verbally. Never in the bond, unless it came from her alpha, because she didn’t touch any part ofus.”
“Even when she fed?” I asked, reaching out to stroke his face as gently as he touchedmine.
“Even then. She used a small blade and we offered blood into a cup from which shedrank.”
In some ways, that had been my existence alone, on the run from thralls. I’d had no one. I’d talked to no one. I certainly never touched anyone or fed, because I had no idea what that was. In a matter of days, Rik and Daire had managed to make me forget those lean, lonelyyears.
No wonder his bond was so far away. So silent. He’d walled himself off hundreds of yearsago.
Staring into Xin’s eyes, I wondered how long it would take me to help him forget. To fill up all those long, lean years ofemptiness.
He leaned closer and brushed his mouth ever so softly against mine. “You already have, Shara, my queen. Thankyou.”
21
Daire
Shara turnedthe laptop around for everyone to see. “This is where we need to go.” A huge plateau rose into the clouds with sheer rocky sides dotted with waterfalls. “Roraima,Venezuela.”
“Why there, I wonder?” Gina said. “It’s certainly out of the way and will be difficult to get to thetop.”
Shara shook her head. “He’s not at the top. He’s inside the mountain, like it’s holding himdown.”
“Let me make a few calls, including a courtesy call to the queen in Mexico City. We won’t stop over there unless you want to, but it’d be nice to let her know you’ll be in her region, even briefly. Why don’t you start going through the pictures Marissa uploaded and make notes of any repairs or modifications you’rewanting?”
At least Gina had brought help along with dinner tonight, so we Blood could simply sit and look at our queen rather than clear the table. The food had been fantastic, but I didn’t remember what I ate. I’d been too busy watching my queen eat and talk with her consiliarius. And I’d lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the sleeping arrangementstonight.
Rik would be true to his word. He’d refuse to allow me inside her bed. I’d be damned lucky if I was allowed to step foot in her room, even tosleep.
I’d already learned my lesson, but that didn’t matter. The alpha’s word was law, second only to our queen’s. I couldn’t possibly ask her to overrule him, when I’d been willing to hurt her to protecthim.
I’d scoped out the other bedrooms and found a full-sized bed I thought might have been hers, or at least set up for her. She’d said she rarely slept alone, even as a baby, until she’d grown up enough to take the tower room. That room still angered me… but I’d give my right arm to be there with her tonight, rather than the pink fluffy girl’s room that didn’t fit her personality atall.
“Marissa and Winston have already made notes about changes they recommend, especially the kitchens and bathrooms,” Gina added. Then on the phone, “Angela, let’s get the jet fueled and ready to go in the next fewdays.”
Shara’s eyes widened. “I’ve never flown before. Now I’m flying on my own jet.Insane.”
Rik squeezed her hand. “Wait until we go shopping. Would you rather go to Abu Dhabi or LAfirst?”
“Let’s start with LA. I’ve always wanted to see theocean.”
Fuck. There were so many things that she’d never done. Never seen. It was a good thing we Aima lived a very long time, so we could ensure she had all the opportunities she’d missed outon.
“How many more days will you bleed, my queen?” Guillaume asked on her otherside.
“Probably two more. Three at themost.”
