Page 28 of A Tale of Treachery

He bowed his head and whispered, “Was it George?”

“No, it’s nobody you would know.” And he wouldn’t. Eulalia and I had spent many nights at the tavern, nights that had resulted in a fling or two. Flings with mages or other magic users. Flings that had always been done in good fun. In the magical world, purity made you a target and was rarely held onto, but in Cambriel, it was important for a woman to maintain. I was so used to having each foot set in two worlds, both with different religions and social expectations, that I had completely forgotten how frowned upon my actions were in the moralistic society of Cambriel. “Does that bother you?”

He took a moment to answer, and from the pursing of his lips it was clear that, yes, it did.

“Yes,” he bit out. “I’ve never done that. I’m just surprised that you have. I don’t even know where or when you would have gotten the opportunity if it wasn’t with George.”

I grabbed the blanket beneath me, wrapping it tightly around my body in a desperate urge to cover my nakedness. Aiden was a virgin, which was a complete surprise, considering who his best friends were. I felt like such a fool. A disgusting, undeserving fool.

“Oh, Gods!” I blurted out, then corrected myself once I realized my slip of the tongue. “I mean God! I’m so sorry, Aiden. I thought this was going somewhere that it clearly wasn’t.”

“Don’t,” he whispered and sat down next to me, taking ahold of my fists that were tightly wrapped in the blanket. He searched my expression for approval, and when I didn’t say anything, he spoke, “May I?”

I nodded, still unsure of what he was asking.

He slowly moved my hands away, prying my fingers open just enough to release the cover that shielded me. Aware of his eyes, I folded my wrist inward to cover the silver tally mark hidden on the inside of it, but he was too busy gawking at my body to notice. The air whooshed from his lungs as he lifted his hand to stroke the skin of my stomach.

A giggle escaped me at the ticklish feeling his touch invoked, and he smiled at the laughter in my voice.

“I’m sorry,” Aiden said softly, his eyes looking into mine with awe. “I just hate that your first time wasn’t with me.”

“It’s all right, Aiden,” I reassured him. “I can’t go back and change the past. I’ve loved you forever, but never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. If I’d known…I would have waited.”

His eyes glowed, and he directed a blindingly bright smile at me. “You love me?”

I slapped his chest. Naturally, that was all he heard. “Of course I do.”

He cleared his throat and nodded. “I want to do this. I’ve waited long enough and have never slipped, despite everyone around me living in sin. You and me… we’ve always been inevitable. So, to hell with my father and his expectations. We will find a way to make this work.”

My eyes searched his, watching them harden to iron as he made his decision and bent over to kiss me.

The kiss was soft at first, as if he were testing the waters, but slowly grew more intense with each swirl of the tongue. And when I kissed him back, he groaned loudly and folded his body over mine.

There was no going back now.

I pulled away from him and gasped for air. “Aiden. Do you want me to take the lead?”

His eyes narrowed on me. “No. I’m not a complete idiot regarding these sorts of things. I’ve seen it happen many times before.”

With a father like his, I’m sure he had.

He pushed me onto my back and climbed over me, breathing heavily and moving his legs to kick off his pants. He was clumsy and nervous, and when he brought his hand to my face, it shook. I wanted to chuckle at his nerves or say something to put him at ease, but judging by the look on his face, that would be a bad idea. Aiden was serious and tense as he lined himself up at my entrance. It was not the time for laughter or platitudes as he was embarking on an action he believed sinful.

When he slid in slowly, we both groaned, and I hugged his body tightly, pulling him closer to me. The veins in his neck bulged with restraint as he hit that wall inside of me, and his breath warmed my neck. I tilted my pelvis up, urging him on, but he placed his hand on my stomach and held me still as he choked on air.

This was all new territory for him, and I couldn’t begin to imagine the internal battle taking place in his head, so I gripped his jaw lightly and twisted his face to mine. “Kiss me, please.”

His lips touched mine, and my tongue slipped into his mouth in a lazy kiss meant to relax him and slow the muddled thoughts in his mind. The hint of mint tea flooded my tongue, and a low noise spilled from my throat. He moaned at the taste of our kiss and began to move his hips at a slow rhythmic pace that made my core melt.

He broke apart from our kiss and nestled his forehead into my neck. The pace he was moving at intensified, and the slow burn in my center grew into a raging inferno.

“You feel so good,” he grunted. “So. So. Good.” Each word he spoke was enunciated with a deep thrust, and I held back the whimper that wanted to spill out.

The walls of the tent were too thin to veil the sounds coming from inside, and I grimaced at the thought of Brandon or George hearing any of this. They would never let either one of us live this down.

But when Aiden’s pelvis ground against me, I couldn’t hold back the loud cry that echoed around us. The sound only spurred him on, and his hips began to move at a frenetic unrelenting pace.

A slew of vulgar words spilled out of his mouth, words I would never have imagined him uttering as he plunged into me. And when I shattered around him, he buried himself deep, finishing with a deep guttural groan.

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