Page 30 of Hell's Queen

“Hey,” Ozias says, making me jolt and wipe my tears away. “Are you okay?”

My head hangs. “Yeah. Just… Dad told me there were books here that might help us.”

“Would you like help?”

The question has tears stinging my eyes, and my bottom lip quivers.

“Oh, fuck,” Ozias says, closing the space between us. He lifts my chin, and I try not to look at him. I rarely cry and to cry over a question seemed stupid. “I meant with the book. We can search together, okay?”

I look at him, taking in his almost black eyes. “I… I’m sad, Ozzy.”

“I know, my queen,” he whispers as he ushers me to the couch to sit, pulling me into his lap. I don’t even question it, finding comfort as he wraps his arms around me. I bury my face into the crook of his neck. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head.

He pulls my legs over his lap, takes my book, and opens it. He sees the handwriting. “I miss him, too.”

I bite my lip to keep from crying.

He flips to the next page and what I thought was a book is a photo book. The first picture is of my father with me on the throne. I’m a baby here, chubby and round.

“Aw, you grew into your big head,” Ozias teases.

“Stop it,” I say while hitting his chest lightly.

On the next page is a picture of Khazon, Ozias, and me. We were all young and dressed in princess dresses that I had made for us.

“We need to burn that.”

I giggle, grabbing the book. “No! You look so…” I wanted to say sweet, but he looked pissed.

“Happy?”

We laugh together. “Very!”

“You were a bossy child,” he states.

“Oh no, I wasn’t!” I study him as he snickers. He looks at me, and we pause for a moment. I didn’t realize how close we were and how this felt so comfortable to do. I am in his lap like I’ve been so many times before, but it is different this time. My eyes drop to his lips, and he reaches up and cups my cheek. My heart pounds in my ears as my breath hitches.

“Can I kiss you, finally?” he asks.

“Please,” I say quickly, breathing out the moment he captures my lips. He tastes like whiskey already. His thumb rubs my still-wet cheek as our lips intertwine. The world around us stops, and I can only think about his taste. It’s intoxicating, causing a heated pool between my legs. His cock grows right against my ass, making him pull back.

“Fuck,” he whispers, lifting me to fix himself. “I know you’re sad today.”

I blink. “So?”

He stares at me. “I can comfort you more. Make sure you’re okay.”

“I feel like I can breathe when we kiss. I feel like I’ve been holding myself back for too long, Ozzy.”

He lets out a breath. “Asura.”

“Ozias,” I say breathlessly.

“Don’t say my name like that.”

I can’t help that I’m turned on while melancholy. I’ve been dying to taste him, feel him, and he’s denying me of it. “Please, Ozias. I want to feel you.”

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