My eyes shot open.
From his perch on the couch, Bel lifted a sardonic black brow. “You slept for two hours.”
I cleared my throat and peered down at my body. While he was dressed once again in his pajamas and shirt, I was still completely naked underneath the blanket he had draped over me. My attention snaked back over my shoulder to his fireplace. At least he had put that out before covering me with flammable material.
He snorted. “Get up. We need to discuss this Challenge.”
My blue eyes found his ice blue gaze. “You’re back to Lord Belshazzar now?”
“Correct.” He tipped his head to the empty space next to him. “Come sit by me while I tell you a secret.”
I brushed my hair out of my face and pushed off the fur rug that had been bugging me in my sleep. I brought the blanket with me, keeping it tight around my body as I stood. I kept my eyes off the bookcase, even though it was clear the hidden panel was once again closed and the book I had dropped gone from the floor. I walked on quick feet and tried to look as queenly as I could…even while looking thoroughly fucked.
I sat next to him with perfect posture. My regard turned to him, and I lifted a black eyebrow of my own. “I’m here for the Challenge, my lord.”
Bored. He appeared bored watching me. “First, you need to understand this Challenge completely. It is truly simple, and yet, not. When I tell you this secret, if you ever tell anyone before events come to pass, one or all of the lords have the right to kill you. It is one of the few exceptions for royalty killing royalty. Do you understand, Gwynnore?”
I nodded solemnly. “I do.”
“Are you ready for the secret?”
“I am.”
Lord Belshazzar leaned closer to me and bent down. He pressed his warm lips to my ear…and told me a secret. A very long secret whispered on the barest heated breath. A secret that had my brows rising close to my hairline and my eyes fighting not to move away from my lap.
The overlord pulled back to stare directly into my shocked gaze. He questioned plainly, “Do you want me to repeat it, just in case you missed anything?”
I blinked. Nodded.
His mouth found my left ear once more.
The secret was told again.
Back to staring into my quickly blanking expression. “Again?”
I shook my head. Just slightly. “No, I heard it all.”
“Do you understand it?”
“I do, my lord.”
His ice blue eyes sparkled. “Are you excited?”
“This is huge. I feel like I want to puke.”
The lord’s head tipped back as he laughed loud and deep. His attention eventually returned to my statue-still person, his hilarity barely contained. Still wearing a contented grin—even as his eyes narrowed—he asked, “Are you too ill to come to bed with me, Gwen? Or would you rather sleep in the bathtub so you can be near the toilet?”
My mouth bobbed for a moment as I watched him fiddle with his leather band around his right wrist. It was thick and black. I had never seen him without it, the royal seal stamped into the leather. My eyes traveled back up to his as I sputtered, “Are you back to Bel now?”
He slid his tongue across his bottom lip, revealing a glimpse of his fangs. “Yes. For the rest of the night.”
I let my eyes turn to red, allowing him to see the simmering lust I had been hiding. “Then yes, I will sleep in your bed tonight.”
“I can respect how well you hide that.” He sounded surprised.
“Shut up, Bel.”
“Yes, little one.”
