“Did your papa find out about our adventures in town?” He nipped her lower lip.
“He did not. But—oh, Berim—my sister found them endlessly entertaining.”
In this way they talked nonsense between feathered kisses and wandering hands. An explorer taking to the ripples of his abdomen, she traversed hills and valleys until she reached the flat plain that ran from his navel to the south. Her fingertips located two grooved ravines, and she followed the trails down, down, down, dipping into his trousers.
He moaned into her mouth and as his fingers wound their way beneath her layered skirts. And then the race was on once again. Without breaking their kiss, he pushed the fabric up ever higher, until she could feel cool air against her exposed thighs. He found her center as she claimed his hard length, running her palm along it before squeezing gently and beginning to stroke.
“Oh, Bear,” shemoaned, having given his alias a new nickname.
He teased her dexterously, trailing his wide thumb up and down the length of her slit before applying gentle pressure near her entrance, parting her. Slick with her need, he slid up her wet center, locating and teasing her most sensitive spot in exactly the way she needed.
Hev— Saka leaned forward into Berim, reaching down into that space between them as she twisted and tugged on his substantial member with an urgency she could not begin to question. She just knew that she wanted to bring him pleasure, drive him wild with need, as he was doing to her.While she wound him higher and higher, shoving her other hand into his pants to grasp his sack, his own roving fingers slowed their activity.
He’s close. So close.He tightened beneath her massaging fingertips as his shaft expanded in her fisted hand. She focused her attention on the lip of his head, swirling her own thumb against his sensitive skin, her fingers squeezing and pumping rapidly. A muscle in her forearm burned, but she would not stop. Not until he came for her.
A groan into her mouth, an explosion into her hand, and the king’s— Berim’s shuddering body curled over her, bringing her immense pleasure. He panted for air before capturing her mouth again. She gyrated wantonly against his clever fingers, seeking more pressure, silently begging him to resume his attentions.
And he did, the pad of his thumb swirled against her clitoris as his palm applied gentle pressure to her mound. She bucked into him. “Not yet, Saka,” he commanded before dipping down and taking her breasts into his hot mouth, one after the other. “I need to taste you,” he bit out, laving his tongue over her rose-tipped peaks.
She was so tightly coiled she could only manage a mewling sound in response.
Dropping to his knees before her, he stared at her for a moment, down there. “So perfect.” Those big hands came around her thighs. He tossed her legs up over his shoulders and lowered his head.
When his hot, wet tongue found her center, she screamed. Fleetingly, she worried the guards would burst in, before remembering she’d locked the—
The tip of his tongue teased her, and she arched, pressing her swollen sex against his mouth. She wanted him to eat her up.
He brought his hands beneath her to cup her bare bottom and raise her off the countertop for easier feasting. And feast he did, lapping firmly and suckling her tenderly, teasing and retreating from her sensitive bud over and over again until she thought she might scream out once more. Her thighs tensed, squeezing his ears as she trembled beneath him.There, there, there.And she broke through the finish line, shattering into a million tiny pieces as she shuddered around him.
He set her back down, sliding his hands out from beneath her bottom. Then he reached up to the back of his head to unclasp her fingers and unwind from them the tangled strands of his hair, which she hadn’t even realized she’d done. She lowered her legs, sliding them down over his arms until they dangled above the floor.
“Well.” Berim grinned, like a cat who got his cream.
“Well,” she replied, panting and feeling quite the same way.
“Shall we return to Hewran Hall?”
“I believe that would be wise.”
He gave her his coat to wear, in case his temporary magical bodice should fail. And they snuck out a side door and into the waiting carriage, which would make a return trip for the abandoned members of their party.
eleven
Ehmet steeples his fingers.
Ehmet rode alone onhis return trip to Kirce Palace, with the exception of his guards, of course. His belongings, his manservant, and the carriages would follow eventually. After his unexpected guests departed, there was nothing worth sticking around for. So, he fled—essentially.
With an earthshaper soldier on one side, and a windshifter on the other, the trio made decent time on the road southwest. He had two good men with him, the quiet sort, who did their duty well and stayed out of his personal life. They didn’t mind at all when their king spent a solid day and a half grumbling and grousing unintelligibly at whatever was going on inside of his head.
Feeling rather morose, his thoughts pinged around, reflecting on the strange turn the symposium had taken. There hadn’t been as much relaxation as anticipated, but he’d come away with surprising new friends from his gaggle of houseguests. The retired merchants, Teymour and Shilan Gulan from Kashoorcih, were quite jovial and wonderfully sensible after he broke through their reservations. It hadn’t come to fruition until breakfast that final morning, but he got them there. He’d hosted a meal for his guests and invited his old tutor to join. Despite sitting with seven others to draw his attention, Ehmet couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting to Lady Hevva as he conversed with therest.
Mr. Gulan made an offhand comment about how well Rohilavol was cared for compared with his hometown, prompting both he and his wife to widen their eyes in terror. Ehmet asked where they were from again, and when they replied, “Kashoorcih,” he wasn’t surprised.Fucking Yusuf. Apparently, the king’s consistent oversight still wasn’t enough to keep things running smoothly.
Ehmet ensured they knew he had repealed sedition laws for a reason, they were free to speak about him and fellow nobles as they wished. “And,” he tacked on, to soften them up a bit more, “I am not particularly fond of that duke, either.”
Lord Kas laughed at his comment, Lady Hevva grinned, and Ehmet’s heart skipped a beat. She likely knew of Yusuf’s underhanded remarks and not-so-subtle ranting about deserving the crown: He was atwin, born at the “exact same moment” as his brother who’d been handed the crown. Sodreadfullyunfair, the Duke of Kashoorcih had certainly been slighted, and needed the kingdom to know it.
By the end of breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Gulan made him promise to respond when they wrote, and Ehmet promised to tell his staff their letters should be placed directly on his desk. When Shilan hugged him goodbye, he felt a bit like he’d added an aunt to his family. She urged him to visit and made him swear by the gods that he would stay with them when next in town. Chuckling, he agreed.
