I say my line and saunter across the stage towards Will and stand closer than necessary to him. When he looks away, I pretend to stroke his bicep and lick my lips at the audience. I sashay even closer, sniffing his neck. God, I wish bitingwasallowed onstage. He smells delicious!
Will feigns surprise to find me so close to him. He takes a step back. We say our lines. I step forward again, holding his gaze with mine a fraction too long. Then he looks away, but my eyes follow him. Now I’m behind him as he speaks, and I let the audience see the utter longing on my face (which, at this point, I’m not even faking).
‘That’s right, Hester. Work it, girl,’ murmurs a woman in the front row, leaning forward excitedly.
Will turns to me, and I quickly mask my emotions, playing the dutiful servant once more. It’s like a mating dance.
When he pretends to hand me a letter for Olivia, the woman he’s wooing, our fingers brush briefly; and electricity shoots up my arm (for real!), making me gasp. Will gives me an odd look but continues speaking of love, and I can’t help it. I go all melty, and the audience titters atthe gooey look on my face.
Finally, it’s my last line; and I step downstage towards the audience and deliver the aside, my voice soft but full of angsty longing:
Yet, a barful strife! Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.
Then I do a crotch grab à la Michael Jackson, like I’m burning with hidden desire. It’s not even acting. With Will’s intense arousal making me feel like a bitch in heat, I’m barely able to restrain myself from moaning out loud.
The entire front row of women erupts into a standing ovation. Clapping and whooping.
‘Fuckyeah!’
‘OMG soooo hot, Hester!’
‘So raw!’
‘Wow, I totally believed you wanted to bang him!’
The guys in the audience are less expressive with their enthusiasm, but they’re wiping their brows and pulling at their shirt collars, like I got them all hot and bothered.
I glance at Jordy, who’s clapping slowly with a smile. I look over at Will to find him grinning.Oh my god, what just happened?
He slides his hand into mine.You fuckingnailed it, that’s what happened. And this is your reward. Soak it up!
Mind whirring from his praise and my body still twanging with desire, I give Will’s cold hand a squeeze and curtsy to my fans.
Chapter 19
Hester | London, 1560
After we have taken our fill of his seed, we lay the naked knight on the bed and disrobe.
He is still under Darius’s power and cannot move a muscle, but his eyes track my movements. And when I slip out of my shift, his gaze lingers on my breasts, then moves lower to the auburn curls between my legs.
See, he is no longer angry. Your beauty has addled his brain.Darius’s sly voice pokes into my thoughts, and I look down at Sir Cyril’s manhood, which is miraculously engorged again. And Darius is correct: the knight’s expression is now desirous.
A pleasing sight indeed. By my hand, you will live to see another night, Sir Darius,I purr, enjoying my role as the queen. Oh, to have that kind of power! To have grown men wish to bed you but also fear you!
But this knight does not fear me. Yet. His deep brown eyes meet mine as I slide onto the bed beside him and stroke his thigh. When I caress his length, his eyes hood slightly,and his breath catches. It makes me smile. Perhaps I do possess a certain amount of power. I lean forward and kiss Sir Cyril’s smooth cheekbone, the tip of his curled moustache tickling my chin. His lips are attractively plump, and I press a kiss onto those too. The tip of his tongue flicks out, and I suck on it. A tingling throb erupts between my thighs, and I kiss him more deeply, our tongues twirling and stroking like eager snakes. I have not yet encountered a man who can give me such pleasure with a kiss. Hmm, perhaps I will keep kissing him for a while longer ...
There’s a cough beside the bed, and I remove my lips from the knight’s to find Darius kneeling beside us with an amused expression.
Apologies, Your Majesty. But if you are quite finished sucking on his lips, I would like to sup from his neck.
My hand closes protectively around the knight’s firm shoulder. I am not sure if I want to share him with Darius now. I want to kiss him some more and then copulate with him in private.
Can you not find a tavern whore to dine upon tonight? I desire him for myself.
Darius growls, his lips stretching over large white fangs. The knight jerks slightly under my touch upon seeing them.
Calm yourself, sweet one. I will not let him hurt you.
