Callum doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t follow me, giving me the space I desperately need. My brain is a hurricane of thoughts. Callum is here. Lady M has my sister. Harold is going to kill the king. I might be the only one who knows everything.
And that kiss.
I don’t kiss my clients.
Kissing Callum is a good reminder why.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. Something tells me kissing my other clients wouldn’t be anything like kissing Callum. Kissing Callum was…earth-shattering and grounding all at the same time. It didn’t satiate my need for him, only stoked it.
After a minute, I turn to face him. He’s watching me with such tenderness in his eyes it almost makes everything worse.
He takes a few cautious steps in my direction, stopping just a foot away from me, his hand reaching for my waist. “Can I make a request before you tell me whatever it is you need to tell me?”
I nod, unable to form words at the moment, too many emotions and possibilities warring in my head.
He takes a deep breath. “I need the evening, my lady. This one final evening of nothing but you and me and this room.” He scrubs a hand over his face, through the stubble that’s grown over the past couple of days. “I need to lose myself in you. I need to escape, for just a little while longer. I need you to give me the strength I fear I might be lacking.”
I know I shouldn’t, shouldn’t take advantage of his trust in me in this moment. I know how much he is going to hate me when the truth finally comes out, when he learns I could have put a stop to everything but chose not to. But when he looks at me with those eyes, I can’t deny him anything. And so I nod again. “Of course, Your Highness.”
He tugs me closer, angling his head so his lips can trace the line of my neck. “Can I have my final lesson, Lady Caterine?”
I take his face in my hands. “You can have whatever you want, Callum Reid.” I can deny him nothing.
His lips brush mine, the faintest hint of contact. “Even this?”
I answer by pressing my lips to his.
The kiss is slow and unhurried, softer than the one in the alcove. He takes his time exploring, sucking my bottom lip before tangling his tongue with mine. His hands work their way into my hair, the waves soft and loose. When he tugs gently to expose my neck, I moan. His mouth moves everywhere, over the line of my jaw, down the curve of my neck, along the line of my collarbone.
His hands fist in the fabric of my tunic, drawing it slowly over my head. I wear nothing underneath, and his eyes drink me in like it’s the first time. He sits on the edge of the bed, pulling me into the vee of his legs.
I run my fingers through his curls, nibble along his stubbled jaw while his hands skim over the bare skin of my stomach, tease the undersides of my breasts.
His mouth moves lower, leaving a trail of soft kisses over the mounds of my breasts, his hands cupping them, his thumbs sweeping just far enough away from my nipples to leave me panting.
He pulls away seconds before providing me with relief, pinning me with a teasing grin. “I thought this was supposed to be a lesson, my lady.”
I try to direct his mouth back to where I want it. “You seem to be doing just fine without my guidance, Your Highness.”
“Teach me, Lady Caterine. Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I want you to put that glorious tongue to work.”
“Here?” He swipes a lick between my breasts.
I guide his mouth to my aching nipple. “Here. Tease me, Callum.”
He swirls the tip of his tongue over my skin. “Like this?”
My back arches, pressing me further into him. “Yes,” I breathe.
He pulls the peaked bud into his mouth, sucking gently. “Like this?”
“Yes.” My fingers tighten in his curls.
He grazes his teeth over my sensitive skin. “How about like this?”
“Yes, Callum, yes. More,” I demand.
