“My reasons are my own.” Lord Belshazzar tipped his face closer to mine, his head tilting to the side in concentrated thought. His minty scent was welcome, and I pulled him even closer. Our lips brushed together at the closeness, and he blinked, back to reality, our racing heartbeats beginning to beat as one—already. He whispered in a husky tone, “You’re actually very skilled with the sword. Against anyone else, you would have taken them down with that move.”
“My grandfather made sure I had the best mentors.” I moaned softly in complaint when he didn’t kiss me. “What are you waiting for?”
He tipped his head to the right, his eyes still on mine with his lips brushing my mouth softly as he spoke in irritation. “For Orin to move his fucking ass out of here.”
I jerked my attention to the side, catching the ordinarily stoic guard’s expression—the man standing directly next to us. Apparently, we’d landed right beside him. Complete shock radiated off him in waves before he quickly took three steps away from us—the expression wasn’t disappearing though. It looked firmly planted on his face, frozen that way. I hadn’t even detected he was there, my attention entirely on the lord I’d wrapped myself around.
“I know it’s been forever since you’ve seen mewantto fuck someone, Orin. But that is not what I meant,” Lord Belshazzar stated slowly. He cast his blue eyes on his loyal bodyguard, his gaze narrowing to dangerous slits. “If you won’t leave us alone, then go stand over there by Phoenix, for fuck’s sake.”
His mouth bobbed for a second. “My apologies, Lord Belshazzar.” Any shock he may have been expressing was quickly gone, his normal fearsome, professional persona back in action. “Due to your new desire for privacy, may I make a suggestion, my lord?”
Lord Belshazzar ground his teeth together, his fingers gripping my thighs tighter with restraint. “If you must.”
Orin flicked a finger toward the entrance and picked up his sword from where the lord had tossed ours, his voice quiet, “I believe someone is coming.”
Chapter Eight
~ Gwynnore ~
Lord Belshazzar jolted against me, his eyes narrowing at the entrance. I couldn’t hear shit, but he was quickly setting me down on my feet and muttering curse words under his breath at his lack of attention. Our heartbeats separated instantly. When he stopped grumbling and started straightening his clothes, I did the same.
I grabbed my swords off the ground and twitched one at Phoenix, now able to hear someone getting closer. They were still a ways off, but they were headed in this direction—the ceremonial chamber, the only room at this end of the stronghold—their shoes clicking loudly on the stone.
My head tilted, listening to the whistling.
My eyes narrowed at the old, familiar tune.
A song I hadn’t heard since I was a child.
I glanced at Lord Belshazzar and reluctantly put away my swords. I mouthed,My father.
Lord Belshazzar ran his fingers through his hair with much irritation. He motioned for me to start walking and fell into step beside me, grabbing his shoes and socks as we moved. We didn’t bother talking, as it would have been eavesdropped on. We strolled out of the room at a laid-back pace, our guards behind us.
While we walked together in the dimly lit hallway, the lord glanced at me, lifting one brow in a silent question.
My lips twitched at his vexed regard, the unintended cockblock my father had caused. I nodded my head in an affirmative to his subtle question. I would go to Lord Belshazzar’s room for a night of sex—if my father didn’t ruin the mood completely.
Lord Belshazzar’s bare footsteps were silent like my boots on the ground. Only thirty seconds later, my father turned a corner in front of us, his whistling cutting off when he noticed my returning scowl at the tune, though he wasn’t surprised to see someone there, his hearing better than mine. His own guard followed closely behind him.
Lord Cato’s scrutiny darted all over us, registering the filth on our bodies, his nostrils flaring and taking in the scent of the blood-mud. His dark brows furrowed as he stopped in front of us, asking frankly, “What the hell happened to you two?”
“Sparring,” I muttered. “Fun times.”
My father took in my extremely dirty appearance compared to Lord Belshazzar’s relatively clean suit. He snickered under his breath. His brown eyes returned to mine. “Real fun, it looks like.” Lord Cato’s attention zeroed in on any piece of flesh that was visible, giving my person a more in-depth perusal. “He didn’t—”
“None of it’s her blood,” Lord Belshazzar rumbled, cutting him off. “I didn’t hurt her.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I griped, ire and disbelief blasting through me like an erupting volcano. The tremble in my hands was noticeable. I shoved past my father and his guard. I flicked a glare behind me. “You didn’t give a shit about me for the last thousand years. There’s no need to start now.”
“Gwynnore…” Lord Cato sighed heavily to my retreating back—and the special finger I lifted in his direction at my name falling from his lips. “I was coming down here to find you,sweetling. Now that your Challenges are over, we can sit down and talk—on a personal level.”
“Fuck that,” I muttered as I turned the corner, out of their sight. I kept marching away, my guard silent on my heels. Ruin the mood? Yes, of course, the asshole did.
Lord Belshazzar stayed behind, talking to my father.
I kept on moving. More than peeved.
Once I hit the elevators, a blast of wind hit me.
