Page 44 of Princess of Thorns and Ruin

“She left hours ago for the tribunal and asked us not to wake you. Are you ill?” Evangeline tucks the sheets and fluffs the pillows, her gaze darting from my coffee mug to my white t-shirt, and finally to my crotch.

My chest shrinks. “No, I—” I scratch the back of my neck, embarrassed. “Was Beaumont with her?”

Evangeline smooths down the duvet with a swift downward motion, a smile glazing her pink lips, her blond curls bouncing at the sudden movement. “Of course.”

The stiffness in my spine eases. Alec Beaumont is different. When he moves, his edges blur slightly, like he forces himself to slow down to appear normal, and the jolt of fear I get in my gut whenever I look at him tells me he’s the deadliest beast in the castle. He’s serious about protecting the princess, but I wonder why she didn’t wake me before she left for the tribunal. She must be getting hungry…

“I sent the new recruits to the laundry room, but I wanted to see you before I left,” Evangeline says as she inches closer. “Can I help you unpack her things?”

I check the last piece of luggage on the dresser, only a few trinkets left for me to sort through. “No, it’s alright. I’m almost done.”

The handmaiden laughs, and next thing I know, her hand is cupping my erection. “Let me unpack this, then.”

“Err—” I grab her hand right before it snakes inside my boxers.

She molds her body to mine, and I have to admit it’s a great one, just not the one I want. “Come on. Don’t worry about your princess, it’s allowed, Leo.” She kisses my neck with enthusiasm, the feel of her tongue eerie and yet not unpleasant, but I push her away a little more forcefully than before.

She arches a brow. “Are you gay? Because I can ask Quentin to join us.”

“No!” My cheeks heat up under her questioning stare. I just sounded like I was disgusted by the idea of being gay, but I was incensed by the implication that the only reason I could reject her would be that I don’t like women. Like there is no other reason that counts.

Like the fact that I’m fucking broken means nothing to these people.

She slips a hand below my shirt and caresses my stomach. “The first month is the hardest…let me help you feel better.”

I shake my head. “It’s all part of their plan.”

“What is?” She finally stops trying to feel me up long enough to listen.

“They let us fuck so we forget who we are. We forget why we’re here. We numb ourselves with empty pleasures like food, wine, and sex. It’s how they own us.”

She tilts her head to the side, her caresses growing bolder as she pulls down the zipper of her uniform, her bare breasts now on full display. “You’re not making sense, Leo. Have you been taking your medicine?”

“You mean the drugs they feed us to make us happy? That medicine?” I snicker.

She drops to her knees and spreads my zipper open, and I don’t stop her this time. Last night, my arousal almost had me do the unthinkable, and I don’t know how I could have lived with myself if I’d crossed that line with Arielle. Maybe I just need to relieve some pressure.

I’ve been drowning for too long. A part of me wants this. A dry, wicked part.

Evangeline pulls my boxers down and tugs gently on my balls in turn, her other hand testing the feel of my length.

Her mouth is warm and wet… I brace myself against the wall at my back and let the lust wash through me, my boxers literally wet with pre-cum. I’ve been spending the last hours—even days—in a deep pool of sexual frustration, and this indulgence might be just the thing that I need to clear my head.

At least the cheery handmaiden doesn’t own me. At least she’s human.

She licks me up and down, and I can’t resist the temptation to close my eyes and imagine the princess in her place. My dick throbs at the mental image of Arielle on her knees, in her damn corset, and my breaths quicken.

“Fuck, you’ve got the perfect cock.”

I grip Evangeline’s hair and thrust into her mouth. No talking.

Playing with fire, I imagine dark hair in my fist and a slightly fresher mouth, and my abs clench, the skin at the base of my cock so tight, I’m half-mad.

Until I gaze into Arielle’s blue eyes, her ruby-red lips opened in a perfect “o.”

Chapter 17

Pardon Me

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