Page 24 of Heavy is the Crown
“This is more than a nightmare,” he says, his voice far from tender or understanding. “What did you see?”
I push away from his arms, forcing myself to walk toward the shower and away from Shadow before I break and tell him everything, confess the darkness invading my mind. “It was nothing, Shadow. I’m fine.”
He doesn’t argue, doesn’t say anything or even come after me, but I feel those eyes burning into my back as I shut the bathroom door on him.
(“Something To Hide” – Grandson)
The lights of The Playground pulse in time with the music vibrating through the air. From my perch atop Drago’s lap on the main stage, I can see the bar is bustling with activity, people moving in and out of the VIP hallway in steady droves, and high up on the second floor, the majority of the windows are occupied by various pairings. The window closest to me has a woman bound in silk wraps, her legs spread wide as a man eats her like she is his last meal. Her head is thrown back in rapture. Another man moves up behind the one between her legs but doesn’t move to touch them; he just watches as he casually strokes his hardened length.
We have been spending most of our time in Club Eufori, but tonight, Drago and I came to my club instead. He seems to have sensed my anxiety, a claustrophobia that has been slowly drowning me every day since that vision came up again. Shadow has been avoiding us like the plague—we enter a room, and he leaves. Very rarely do I see him, and when I do, he isn’t sober. The room he crashes in has a permanent aroma of Eufori, the sweet, spicy smell of the drug now burned into my core memories. I thought he would have broken down by now, butgiven it’s already been two months, I’m starting to lose hope in him mating us.
“Where did you go,rakkaani?” Drago whispers in my ear. He brings me back into the moment, and I smile, my gaze refocusing on the pleasure being displayed in front of us.
Drago’s rough voice caresses the shell of my ear as he pulls me back against his body. His thick length presses into my back. “You're making it very difficult not to touch.Not to have you coming all over my fingers in front of everyone here.” His tattooed hand roughly squeezes my bare thigh, silver rings digging into my milky skin. I bite my lip hard, desperate to avoid the moan threatening to breach my mouth. The idea of everyone here seeing that has me squirming on his lap and ready to beg.
He chuckles before wrapping my long fishtail braid around the fist of his other hand, then he pulls me back, nose tracing the length of my neck as he breathes in my scent. My legs spread a little wider in response, the edge of the white throne chair I’m sitting on digging into them now. As owner of the club, I have a long history of sitting here and observing my court. Since moving in with Drago, he’s been joining me over the past couple of months, but tonight is the first night he’s made any indication he wants to play with me here.
Or play at all.
Drago has done a frustratingly excellent job of keeping his distance, given Shadow is still refusing us. My vibrator needs to be charged every day, at this point. I have no qualms not hiding what I’m doing, either—if I’m going to suffer, so will they. It’s been a long two months.
His fingers trace my leg, each pass getting closer and closer to the apex of my thighs. If the lighting were brighter, people would see the wet stain on the white panties I’m wearing. “You’ve been very naughty, Ava.” He plants a kiss on my bare shoulder. “I heard you this morning, stuffing your tight cuntwith a poor substitute for my cock.” His fingers sweep over my center, and I whimper at the light touch, pussy clenching, desperate to be filled. “Such a little slut for it.”
My body feels like it’s on fire, sweat dripping down my temple as I strain not to combust on his lap. Nothing else matters at this moment, my focus only on the way his hands feel pressed against my body and that empty space in my chest pulsing with need. The entire club dims around us, as if we are the only two here, yet I’m hyperaware when he spreads my thighs wide, cupping my pussy possessively as he dips into my soaked undergarment.
“Fuck,” he growls. “You are so wet for me. Or are you wet because of all the people salivating at the sight of you?” He pushes one finger into me, and my hips buck as the heel of his hand presses against that tight bundle of nerves. He releases my hair and drops his hand to my neck, bracketing it and squeezing lightly. A moan squeaks out of me in a breathless whoosh. “Such a tease. Fuck, the sounds you make.”
“Drago . . .” I finally manage to get his name out of my mouth, barely containing the need and desperation behind it. His name is a plea on my lips. It’s a prayer that I hope he answers.
He pushes another finger into me and slowly pumps in and out, those silver rings brushing my sensitive skin. He nips at the side of my neck before licking directly over the claiming mark left by Shadow all those years ago. The feeling sends a pulse through me and my core tightens, desperate for release.
“All these people are so hungry for you,rakkaani, they want a taste of what is mine,” he says. “Look at how turned on they are just by me fingering your tight cunt.”
I didn’t realize my eyes had closed, and I blink them open in a daze. We’ve gathered an audience, people sitting in chairs watching as they sip on drinks, eyes hooded with desire. But it’s the ones who are so obviously aroused that push me over,make me want to come, make me ready to fucking beg. I watch as a shifter in front of us takes his cock out, his knot evident at the base, and begins stroking himself as he zeroes in on Drago’s fingers in me.
A whimper escapes me as I roll my hips, desperate for him to move faster, but he keeps up the lazy pace he’s set. “Fuck, I want to come in your little pussy so badly. Fill you up, fucking mark you.” His fingers start to thrust harder and faster, until I’m bouncing on his hand, head now thrown back on his shoulder.
“Oh, shit, I’m going to come,” I cry. Drago doesn’t stop me as I fall over the edge, my release dripping down into his lap. I fuck his fingers hard until the very last waves of my orgasm fall away. He allows me to slump against his body as he slowly pulls his fingers out, and I follow with my eyes as he brings them to his mouth and licks them clean.
His eyes roll back in his head at the taste. “Next time, I want you coming on my tongue,” he whispers, his voice full of promise. I capture his mouth in a deep kiss and taste myself lingering on his lips as the promise of what could be dances over our bodies. Sadness encroaches, however, with the realization that we may never bond like we should because our hearts also belong to Shadow. I pull back off him, a sad smile sweeping over my face, and see the same feelings displayed in his eyes.
I go to open my mouth, to say something, anything really, to try and ease our shared pain, but his blue eyes sweep over my head, his face turning neutral and distant in a blink. I whip my head around to see what has captured his attention and see none other than Ciaran, arms crossed and leaning against the dark wall. My mind involuntarily flashes back to that vision, and I have to force myself not to shiver in fear.
I unwind myself from Drago’s lap, and he stands up behind me. “What is he doing here?” I ask, turning to look up at him.
But Drago doesn’t answer, he only kisses me on the forehead, shoves his hands into his pockets, and disappears into the slowly dispersing crowd of voyeurs.
THIRTEEN
To share a vision of the future is taking a calculated risk. The future is always uncertain, and if one were to share what they’ve seen with others in an attempt to change the course of their vision, they could doom them to a worse future.
– Carmine Family Grimoire
Shadow
(“STILL NUMB” – Ryan Oaks)
The music pulses in my head as I stand at the bar. The strobe lights flashing over the dance floor briefly illuminate the writhing bodies. The smell of sweat hangs like a heavy fog over the room. Right under that scent is arousal, followed by vomit. On top of it all is the thick red haze of Eufori. This was a dumb idea, Drago keeping us here for three months. Ava agreed for us out of necessity, but I know the motivation behind it. They thought the longer I was with them, the easier it would be to finally get me to cave.
