“No, lovely.” But maybe she is. A little. My body wants to recoil. It’s exquisite, though. This pain.
She wets her lips. “Please don’t stop.”
The plea in her voice means weshouldstop. When I’m wrapped upin shadows, it’s easy to resist her. Right now I’m naked and hard, and I’m so aware of the feel of her palm against my cheek. There’s a part of me that hates it, but there’s a part of me that’s imagining the slow path of her hand down my body. I draw a shuddering breath. “I’m not sure the king would approve.”
Her eyes turn sharp and hard. “I’m not sure I care.” Her lips part. “Asher, please.”
I am not this strong—or maybe my body simply knows what it wants. I surge forward and press my mouth to hers again, and this time there’s nothing small or gentle or tentative about it. When I tease at her lips with my tongue, her mouth parts, and it wakes something inside me. I force myself to be slow, drawing at her lips until it pulls a small sound from her throat. When she bites at my lip in response, I forget myself. I rise up a bit and grab hold of her waist, jerking her against me.
But then her hand slides into my hair, and I break free, gasping. A tiny bit of water sloshes over the side again, sizzling.
Jory lets me go, breathing hard. “Oh,” she gasps.
I slink back under the suds again, then lean against the side, my fingers tight on the edge. Wet spots are all over her dress, and I wince.
“Forgive me,” I say.
“Don’t apologize.” She drops to her knees beside the tub again, cautious of the stones. Her cheeks are pink and her lips are swollen. “Do it again.”
Fuck. I’m so hard I’m pressed into the side of the tub, and I draw a ragged breath. If she keeps looking at me like that, I’m going to drag her into this water and pull her down on top of me and she’ll learn a whole lot all at once.
But then I force myself to think clearly, and I realize what she said. I open my eyes and look at her. “Jory. Do you really want—”
“Yes.” Her eyes are heavy lidded.
I put a finger over her lips and give her a stern look. “You almost kissed the king last night. Do youreallywant me, or are you mad athim?”
That draws her up short, and she goes still. A flicker of sorrow washes over her expression.
“Both?” she says softly.
I sigh, then nod toward the corner of the room, because the water reallyisgrowing too warm. “Fetch me those linens, Jor.”
She does, and I stand, wrapping them around me as I go. She takes one glimpse down at the outline of my cock straining at the fabric and she turns bright red—then whips around, covering her face again. “Asher!”
“Well, that’s your fault,” I say. “If you ever start using your teeth on a man and hedoesn’tgo rock hard, consider it a warning.” I step over the side and onto the stone floor. “What on earth does Lady Charlotte think you’re doing over here, anyway?”
“She’s sleeping. She said she stayed awake last night to make sure the king didn’t take advantage of me.”
I roll my eyes and take another linen from a rack, rubbing it through my wet hair. “I’m glad you were safe.”
She half turns to look at me. “You seemed to be rather cozy with the king yourself.”
That’s so unexpected that I flush immediately.
Especially because it summons the memory of the way the king rolled onto his knees and took hold of my chin.
We are not competing.
The way Jory leaned in to touch a finger to my cheek.
I close my eyes and swallow. I’m going to be hard for an hour at this rate.
“It was just cold,” I say, and I hate that my voice is rough. I force my eyes open, and I walk past her, wondering what kind of clothes I might find in the bedroom. The wardrobe is surprisingly well stocked, with dresses and trousers and tunics and underthings stretching from one side to the other. I run my hand across the fine fabrics, all silk and velvet and calfskin leather.
I haven’t worn anything this nice since I lived in the palace in Perriden.
Jory hasn’t said anything, but I can feel her eyes on me.
