But I am not clean. I am both ruined and remade. The shame has returned—a cold stone in my gut—but it’s tangled now with something hotter—something darker and more compelling.
He made me admit it—admit to taking pleasure in what the vines did…in what he did. He even made me come while I was admitting it. That isn’t how I was raised.
This quest is changing me…and I’m not sure it’s for the better.
But I can’t be mad at Valen—he looked into the heart of my secret pleasure and called it beautiful. Not shameful or wrong or forbidden as I’ve been taught all my life.
I wish I could believe him. Maybe I’m closer than I was before but it’s hard to overcome an upbringing like mine.
As he stands, I can’t help following his motions—admiring his tall, muscular body. The fear of pregnancy, of lost value, is a distant echo. All I can think is how hard he made me come…
And how I want to let him do it again.
48
VALEN
I help her out of the bath and start drying her off with a large, puffy pink towel I found on a bench near the tub.
“I can take care of myself,” she protests, trying to take over.
“No, you can’t, Princess.” I brush her hands away. “Just be still and let me dry you.”
She subsides but I notice her wincing when the soft towel brushes her nipples. Quickly, I pull it away.
“Did I hurt you?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“No, I’m just really sensitive there.” She looks down at herself. “Maybe swollen too. Do you think it’s because of the flowers? Because of the, uh, honey they put on me?”
I shrug.
“Could be. I’m not really used to dealing with magical plants that fuck you.”
She blushes an angry red.
“I’m not either, you know!” She shifts from foot to foot. “But, well…I feel swollen down below too. In my forbidden…I mean, my pussy.”
“Could be from getting fucked for the first time…or it could be from the honey that vine filled you with. Or both,” I say. I give her a look. “Would you like me to use my Drake’s power to heal you, Princess?”
Her cheeks get even redder.
“You mean you want to lick me? No! I can’t…can’t let you do that.”
I don’t know why she’s so against being tasted. She’s probably been taught it’s “forbidden” at that stuck-up Court of hers. If she would just part her thighs for me and let me get my tongue inside her, I could make her feel a whole lot better. Still, I’m not going to force her.
I shrug again.
“Suit yourself, Princess. Why don’t you find something to wear for dinner tonight?”
“I think I will,” she says, lifting her chin. “And the next time I see the Sorceress I’m going to say something—she never warned us that the tub in this room would…would do what it did.”
“No, she didn’t, did she?” It makes me wonder if the Lady of Thornmere put us here with the tub full of magical fuck-flowers on purpose or if it was some kind of oversight. Maybe all the tubs in her stronghold will fuck you…if you let them.
Speaking of that, my shaft is still hard as a rock, straining against my too-tight trousers. I need to get rid of these clothes and get into something that actually fits me—hopefully the magic wardrobe will have something in my size.
But first, I want a bath.
