“Green.”
“Think about it more,” he says. “You learned Saragese died today, and you watched Fabia kill an innocent man.”
I turn to look at him, pain in my chest. He does not order me back around. He merely stands facing me, his violet eyes watching me so damn carefully.
“If you need me to be gentle with you tonight instead, my queen,” he says, “tell me now.”
I open my mouth, then close it, giving this the amount of thought it deserves. “I… I grew up believing there was no greater place than Brownston… That we had true freedom and peace.” I struggle with the words, but I push them through, make them real by painting them in the air. “I’ve lived my whole life feeling safe, but… I’ve never felt more safe than I do with you. When we… do these scenes. The way you watch me… No one’s ever paid me that much attention.” I shake my head with a wry smile. “Well, other than Fabia, but I don’t want to fuck her.”
A grin twitches at his lips, but he doesn’t let it free. “Do you not trust me outside of these scenes?” he asks softly.
“I do.” I wince. “Mostly,” I say, knowing how much he values honesty. “I don’t understand why you want to stab everyone, but I’m trying to trust you.”
“Do you trust I left Saragese behind at the market for a good reason?”
I flinch. “I don’t know,” I whisper.
“I needed to get you out of there.”
“But you went back.”
“I did.”
“And if we stayed there, you might’ve been able to save her in time.”
“Perhaps.”
“So she died because of me.”
“No,” he says harshly. “She died because some assholes decided to attack the market. They are the only ones to blame.”
“But if I could fight like you –”
“And if I was a witch. Or if Jace tackled her instead of shoving me. Or if Odin himself decided to smite her. We all could’ve done different things, butnoneof us are to blame for her death. Tell me you understand this, Arienna.”
I stare at him, my lips trembling. “Logically, yes, but in here…” Raising a hand to my chest, I shake my head.
His eyes soften. Dropping his belt to the floor, he opens his arms. I stumble into them, and he holds me. “You will not have to suffer this life for long,” he murmurs as he kisses the top of my head. “Once we are no longer royalty, we can go live somewhere up near Vyla, away from all the fighting. We can be peace ambassadors, and we can even get some leffington rats.”
“They’re so cute!”
“Mmm. I will protect you from this world, Arienna. You just have to trust me.”
I press my cheek against his chest, feeling the solidity of his strength. Tilting my head up to him, I say, “I do.” Then I smile, wanting to bring him joy just as much as he wants me to bring it to Raza. “So are you going to spank me now for being naughty?” I tease.
His eyes heat, but they still track me. Judge me. Try to look beneath my smile to see the real me. Where my head is. My heart is. Making sure my colour is green.
Releasing me, he steps back and nods at the bed. “Back on your knees, my queen.” I do as he says and wriggle my cute littlebutt in the air. His hand slaps down on it. I hiss in a breath as I prepare myself for the next one, but it doesn’t come.
“You will receive half of them while you’re clothed,” he says. “The rest will be given with you naked, when you’re kneeling beside me and sucking on my cock. You will take me as deep as you can and hold me in that pretty little throat of yours until I spank you again.”
I rub my thighs together as I try not to squirm.
“As you’ll have your mouth full, we will use signals to communicate. Slap the bed.” His fingers trail across my ass, raising goosebumps beneath my clothes.
“That is green. Can you snap your fingers?” When I do so, he says, “That is yellow.” His hand slips between my thighs, petting me over my clothes. I push my ass against him. He pulls back and spanks me. “Concentrate, my queen. Show me green and yellow. Good girl. And red is raising your hand in a fist. That’s my good little slut. Now count them.”
I jerk beneath his spanks. He doesn’t slap me hard, but the knowledge that he soon will, that he’ll tease me and test me and fucking edge me has me squirming against the bed. Every one I count has my anticipation building that much higher.
