Of course my bedroom smelled of sex and sweat and blood. I had no idea what my own body scent might be any longer, not when I enjoyed the near constant touch and proximity of my Blood, whose scents ranged from the sulfurous fumes of a hellhorse to the fur of bear, lion, and warcat. If Leonie was offended by what I smelled like…
Then she could politely decline and return to her room.
Lew let out a deep, low chuckle. “You smell like mind-blowing fucking magic, literally and figuratively.” He tossed another pillow up by the headboard and then came to press a lingering kiss to my lips. “Anyone who’s offended by such an amazing smell can go fuck themselves because they sure won’t appreciate fucking you.”
“Did my mother ever take other queens to her bed?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but Esetta was very good at keeping her secrets.” Despite the sad thread in his voice, he still smiled because he could say and remember my mother’s name.
Though remembering the way he’d died in my arms would always send a shiver of instant dread through me.
As he went to the door, Rik came to stand before me. “Would you prefer I leave too?”
“What would be easiest for you?”
His brow furrowed as if he was shocked I would even give him an option. “I would always rather have you in my sight at all times, my queen, but if you wish to be alone with your women, I will leave without objection.”
He’d put on a plain black T-shirt and some cotton leisure pants that were supposed to be loose and comfortable. Both strained at the seams, molded to every indecent and delicious bulge. They may have fit him once upon a time, but my alpha was a mountain of a man, who only got bigger each time I fed him. Or had sex with him. Or both. My magic kept pumping him up to insane new heights of brawn.
Lightly, I stroked my fingers over the material straining overhis pecs. “If I keep feeding you, eventually you won’t be able to walk through normal doorways.”
He leaned way down, practically bending in half, so he could press a kiss to my forehead. “Then I’ll fucking crawl, my queen. Should I leave? Will it make you uncomfortable to have me watching?”
I cupped his cheek, searching his eyes. “Will it make you uncomfortable to watch me with others and not join us?”
His lips curled with the sensual arrogance of a man who knew full well how many times he has blown—and will again in the future—my mind. “I watch you with your Blood all the time. This is no different. If and when you need me, I’m here.”
He strode over to the chair nearest the windows. When he sat down, I realized he must have moved it slightly, so he could both see out the window and still keep most of the room in sight at all times.
I glanced around the room, trying to see it as a stranger. The massive bed took up most of the floor space. While huge, it wasn’t romantic or dreamy looking. Just the biggest mattress Winston could find. The bedding was clean and probably expensive as fuck simply because of its size, but it wasn’t silk or anything too over the top. It took a shit ton of pillows to soften the entire headboard but otherwise it was very simple. The headboard itself looked like a wrought iron gate, covered in vines and roses nearly up to the ceiling. Black, maybe a bit grim, and certainly heavy. If it came loose from the wall, it’d do some damage for sure.
We hadn’t been able to get the deep gouges in the floorboards fixed yet. Nor the dents in the plaster. Or where part of the ceiling had caved in, baring the wooden slats of the structure. Maybe I should have asked for a nice thick rug to cover up the marks on the floor…
“Shara,” Rik rumbled, low and soft. “She doesn’t want you because of what your bedroom might look like.”
“I know. She wants…” I almost said my power, protection, and support as her sibling queen. But that wasn’t right either. She had my protection and support without coming to my bed. I made that clear from the beginning.
:I want you, Shara, my queen,:Leonie whispered in my head.:Exactly as you are.:
Embarrassed she picked up on my nervousness in the bond, I drew in a deep, steadying breath and gave a mental nod to Vivian. She immediately opened the door, allowing Leonie to enter first, and then she stepped inside and drew the door shut behind her.
I narrowed my touch to Vivian’s bond, trying not to draw Leonie’s attention.:Does the room smell too much of sex?:
Vivian’s eyes flared and she started to laugh. Coughed. Cleared her throat, her hand covering her grin of amusement when Leonie turned to look at her.:You’re damned right it does, and I’ve never smelled anything better in my life, my queen.:
I couldn’t help but laugh sheepishly myself. Some of my nerves uncoiled. “Sorry about the wait.”
“We wait upon you, my queen, however long it takes.” Leonie looked fucking regal in the black silk robe. Even the dark color looked stunning against her skin, and the silk made her just as luminous. She’d changed her hair into glossy, smooth curls that hung about her face. “If you’d like, we could bathe you first. I also learned the art of healing massage, though it’s been many decades since I enjoyed laying hands on anyone.”
It took a few moments for her words to register. It made me think of medieval royalty having servants bathe and feed them. “Oh, no. I’m not that kind of queen. I don’t expect you to do stuff like that. Not at all.”
I just want to bite you. All over. Taste your skin. Breathe your magic. Drink you down. So I can bite you again.
Her head tipped to the side, her lips curving. “I would love toserve you in any way you wish, Shara, my queen. Touch can be healing and magical even without intimacy.”
“You’re the one who needs healing. Though I understand what you mean about needing touch after a long captivity. Many of my Blood were starved for touch when they came to me.”
Leonie walked casually to the damaged wall, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of the dented plaster. “I am fully healed thanks to you, my queen, though I admit to being starved for many things. Are you afraid of hurting me?”
