How dare he only write because he felt her with another man? Had she not been with Gilpin, would she have heard from Nick at all?
She sat on her bed in a daze and battled a myriad of emotions.
As pissed off as she was, guilt nibbled at her, just as it had the previous night. How could he feel the difference between her pleasuring herself and another man doing it?
She hadn’t been with Gilpin because Nick hurt her. That level of immature pettiness held no appeal. Gilpin stopped by the library often, always able to make her laugh, but she’d kept things platonic because of her sick obsession with a man she’d never met.
A little over four months passed with no word from her so-called mate, and it hurt, but she’d expected it. One day when Gilpin stopped in to chat, she invited him to lunch. That one lunch grew into meals together a few times a week.
When no word came from Nick regarding her time with another man, she’d been certain his interest in her had run its course. For the first time in her life, she allowed herself to be wooed by a man she could see and touch, even if it felt off.
A few lunches a week turned into dinner dates, and last night, she went to his place afterward and forced herself to take the next step for more reasons than one.
A small part of her held out hope that Nick would keep his promise and come for her one day, and if that happened, she wanted to be ready for him and everything he’d promised. The filthy things he’d written in his letters suggested a lot of experience, to which Amelia had none.
It might have been Gilpin’s head between her legs, but it was Nick’s image in her mind. She often pictured Nick when she pleasured herself, but last night she had the physical sensation too, and it filled her with a wild need she’d not experienced before. She came hard, thinking of Nick’s tongue bringing her to release.
When Amelia asked Gilpin how to pleasure him back, she listened studiously, eager to do it correctly because if the time ever came that Nick’s cock slid past her lips, she wanted to be ready.
Gilpin was a patient teacher, but before he spilled his seed down Amelia’s throat, he laid her back on the bed, claiming he’d not be able to spend himself twice. He waited for her ‘okay’ and then fucked her for a very uneventful five minutes. It hurt a little, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
Amelia blew out a long breath and looked back down at the letter, knowing she wouldn’t do it again, even if she had every right. They weren’t together. Nick didn’t tell her anything abouthis actual life or who he was. She had no idea if he would come for her.
One year.If she didn’t hear from him for one year, she would move on with her life. A weight sat heavy on her chest, because she had a feeling that if he’d not felt her yesterday, she’d have moved on with her life in another six months.
Sighing, she dropped the letter on her desk and watched it disappear.
13
The warm air of the palace dungeon was damp with blood and tears, both belonging to the trembling man huddled against the far wall of his cell. Rennick’s footsteps echoed across the stone room, penetrating the silence.
Gilpin.
The man who’d touched Amelia peered through red-rimmed eyes, rightly terrified.
What about him did she like?
Rennick ground his teeth together, fighting against the knowledge of the pleasure this man gave his mate. She wasRennick’sto please, and no one else’s.
Gilpin spoke through sobs as he clutched the place where his dick used to be. “You can’t keep me here.”
Rennick’s lips pulled into an amused smile. “Is that so?” He squatted in front of the man, wondering if his looks pleased Amelia. He had sandy brown hair, light blue eyes, and fair skin. The opposite of Rennick.
“I’m not going to kill you,” he said calmly, cocking his head to the side. “But you will stay in this cell until my mate and I marry, and then you will work in our gold mines.”
“Y-your mate?” the man asked, bewildered.
Finn stood by quietly, not daring to speak. He didn’t agree with Rennick’s behavior, but he was loyal.
Rennick wasn’t a cruel man; he never had been. He was rational and level-headed, always thinking ten steps ahead, and the ability to rule came naturally to him. Everyone loved him, and he loved his kingdom. But Amelia meant more to him than his kingdom ever would, and if he had to dirty his soul to keep her, so be it.
“I don’t know what a mate is, and I’ve never met a fae before. You have the wrong guy!” Gilpin insisted.
Rennick clucked his tongue. “I saw you with Amelia.” His features contorted into ones of hate as he leaned closer. “Ifeltyou fucking her.”
Gilpin gaped at him, shaking his head frantically as he tried to scoot back. “She’s a nice girl, but it wasn’t anything serious. She’s nothing to m—”
“She’s nothing?” Hot rage coursed through Rennick’s veins, and the man’s eyes widened as he shook his head again. “My mate is notnothing,” Rennick snarled. “She iseverything.” In one swift move, he grabbed his dagger from its sheath at his waist and sliced Gilpin’s throat.
