I shrugged. “That’s his right, but his sentence will be longer and possibly more unpleasant.”
Cedrych pondered this. “For those who don’t get death or dismemberment, we send them to labor camps or they’re banished to the Northern Realm. My mother has threatened me with that once or twice.”
“Not surprising,” I said with a smile.
His expression dropped and he said soberly. “It could have been her, my lord. It might be my mother who’s behind this.”
I reached for his hand and gently squeezed. “I know.”
“She could have been the one who orchestrated your parents’ death and that of your mentor,” he said, sounding more and more distressed.
I nodded. “None of my investigations have produced any evidence to support that, but I definitely haven’t ruled it out as a possibility.”
“Well, that’s good, that there’s no evidence, at least.” His eyebrows drew together. “But if it were the case, why would she send me here? I don’t think she wants me dead.” His expression was pinched. I hated seeing him in such turmoil. But I didn’t want to lie to him either.
“I don’t think she’d want to harm you either, Cedrych. I’ve tried for many years to decipher your mother’s strategy and I am befuddled by it most times.”
“Me too. I can never tell if she’s acting on whim or if it’s part of some larger plan.”
“I can promise you this, though. Whatever your mother has done in the past or may do in the future, I won’t hold it against you, as long as you’re innocent to her schemes.”
He sat with that information for a bit. “If I were to stay with you, my loyalties would be split.” His eyes searched mine. The suggestion of making our situation permanent–a real betrothal, a real commitment–ignited a tender flame of hope that terrified me as much as it elated me.
I schooled my expression into something stern and said, “If you were to stay with me and become my royal consort, your loyalty would be to the elvish above all others. The fae and your family would become second in your loyalty to me, your sovereign.”
Your sovereign.A kingdom to share with a more than capable partner. Cedrych as my subject, my submissive, and my consort. It felt like a dream that was just out of reach; if I thought about it too hard, it might vanish.
He sucked on his lower lip in a very boyish way. It was not to tempt me, though it did. I leaned back on a folded towel and closed my eyes so he might ruminate in private. My heart beat wildly in my chest. Had I just proposed to him? Would he accept?
“I could be loyal,” Cedrych said at last. I opened my eyes to find him staring back at me with a serious expression. “I could be loyal to you, my lord.”
I nodded, a tenuous tendril of hope unraveling in my chest. “And I to you, Cedrych.”
After our soak,I laid him out on a padded table and massaged him from head to foot. I wanted to work out any lingering aches and pains, and while doing so, I inspected him all over for injuries from his run-in with the assassin or from our bedsport. I tended to his hole too, administering a soothing tincture to help with any swelling or abrasions.
“Do you do this with all of your conquests?” he asked.
“You arenota conquest, Cedrych,” I reminded him, yet again.
“Your lovers then?”
“I don’t keep lovers, as you know. And you are my betrothed.”
“So you keep saying,” he said with a hint of sass.
I hoped it was a welcome reminder. “To answer your question, I do administer aftercare, but it is somewhat brief and to the point. I’ve never had a sex partner spend the night in my bedchambers, and I’ve certainly never treated them to a full-body massage.”
He was on his back now, lazily dragging his hand over his glistening torso, edging his fingers alongside his half-hard cock without actually touching it, trying to provoke me, it would seem. “You’re saying I’m special?” he asked as if it weren’t obvious.
“I’m saying you’re high-maintenance,” I retorted.
He laughed and I grinned along with him. Satisfied that he was well enough, physically and emotionally, to endure his punishment, I dressed him in loose cotton pants and escorted him back to my bedchamber. Our guards were ever present butkept their distance. The walls of my fortress were thick and my security knew not to disturb me, despite what sounds might emanate from these chambers. Sometimes finding catharsis could be a loud endeavor.
I showed Cedrych the hidden door, a swinging bookshelf, that led to my sex dungeon directly underneath my suite of rooms. The hinges on the door were vanadium and would only release under my sorcery.
“This was here the whole time,” he marveled as we walked down the curving flight of stairs. His eyes slowly swept the large, open room, lit by wall sconces to give the space a soft, warm glow. My eyes were sharp enough to see in dim lighting and I preferred it. The exposed rafters made it convenient to anchor my equipment. One wall had been converted to a handsome wooden bookcase that displayed my toys and implements. Another wall was mounted with metal chains, cuffs, and spreader bars. There were also stations set up for various erotic tortures. Most everything I’d tried first on myself before using it on a submissive. It had become a passion project of mine after my parents passed and I was left to my own devices. I’d paid professionals to train me and only played with experienced subs, which Cedrych was not, something I must keep ever-present in my mind.
I tried to picture my surroundings from his point of view. It could be intimidating, especially for someone who’d not yet discovered their particular pleasures or limits.
