Page 57 of The Poison Princess and the Lord of Misrule

I have no time to recover before he turns me by the shoulders until I face him. His pale eyes are lit with lust, the gray ring around them swallowed by the dark of his pupils. He thrusts my hand against his hard length, barely restrained behind his breeches. “As you can feel, my patience to have you is long depleted.”

I can feel him, hard and thick, through the confines of his pants, and it wracks my muscles with a shiver, knowing he won’t be gentle when he shoves that monster inside me. It’s a reflex that my fingers grip him, and it makes a slow, cruel smile curl his lips.

He pushes in close to my ear. “That’s it,” he whispers. “Such a good girl for me.”

Then the last of his patience ends.

His hand fists in the front of my nightdress and yanks it down, revealing my breasts to him. His heated eyes absorb me, his mouth muttering praise and desire in the same breath. “Fucking beautiful. My very own Threnmere goddess.” Then his mouth is there, teeth scraping and nipping my flesh, his tongue swirling my nipple.

I bite into my lip, refusing to give him any sound. With a furious groan, he hauls me against him, chest to chest, his mouth crashing down on mine, hard and bruising. His teeth catch my lip. I taste a hint of copper mixed with him. His other hand grips my hip hardenough to mark, dragging me up onto my toes, and when I gasp he takes it as an invitation, his tongue invading, claiming, his fingers already tearing at the laces.

All my senses are assaulted at once. I have just enough willpower to twist my face away. “Aldric, please slow down.”

An impatient grunt passes his lips, then he spins me, one arm banding across my body. “You might regret asking me that, love. I can make it last all night.”

He pushes me down onto the crimson bed. The breath leaves me as I hit the silk, my breasts rubbing the cool, slippery fabric. He stands over me from behind, and there’s a moment where I look back to see him reach behind his head and yank his loose tunic over his head, then his heated eyes are raking down my body with a possessive lust that flutters my belly.

“Spread your legs,” he commands. “Let me see what’s mine.”

I look ahead at the headboard, hoping this will go quickly as I force my thighs apart.

A low growl rumbles from his chest at the sight of me opened to him, my ass on display, the wet between my thighs, all exposed to him.

“Fuck,” he mutters the oath, low and vicious. “You are so fucking beautiful, my wicked wife.” The rough of his palm is at the sensitive skin of my ass, rubbing, his fingers digging into the flesh. He spreads my cheeks wide, forcing me to hear my own noises, how wet I am.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Just do it,” I demand.

His movements stop. Then the heat of his body falls over mine, his mouth resting at my ear. “Make up your mind, Seravyn.” His fingers push down, slipping lower until he’s caressing me between my thighs, right through my slit, sending an aching throb deep. “You want me to take you slow, then you want me to fuck you fast. Which is it, love?”

All the while, he’s slowly, tortuously swirling his fingers over me, just pushing the tips inside. “Take a breath for me, Seravyn.”

And as I take a shuddering breath, he pushes one finger in deep.

A string of oaths hit the air as he works his finger inside me, plundering deeper, and I try to hold on to the feel of Ren touching me earlier, how my body gave over to him… I gasp as Aldric inserts another finger, then another, stretching me around him.

He puts a knee on the bed, getting a better angle to fuck me with his fingers, and I grip the sheets. “Fucking realms of hell, you feel so gods-damn good. Your cunt is going to be so tight around my cock, love. Not sure how I’m supposed to be gentle. Gods, I’m going to tear you wide.”

For my own sanity, I tell myself that it was Ren’s doing—that it was his touch that brought me to this precipice, why my body is behaving in such a way. Even if the king’s touch is different, more sure, more skilled, making my body rebel against my own command.

He’s working sounds from me I’m unableto hold back, and shame spreads through me like a brushfire, my insides lighting up hot and wanting and needy.

His groan of approval lets me know he can feel me, growing wetter, pulsing tighter around him, and I bury my face against the crimson cover.

“Such a good, filthy girl,” he praises, “getting so wet and ready for me. Fuck, Seravyn, you’re going to be the gods-damn death of me.”

Then his fingers are gone, leaving the ache pulsing deep in my core. I hear him lower his breeches, then his body falls heavy over mine, the press of his cock lined up to my wet entrance. The impatient grunt of Aldric sliding over me, rubbing his cock between my folds, steals my breath, right before he stills.

“Aldric—”

Somewhere beyond the balcony doors, a sound rings out in the dark. My body stills. I look over my shoulder, just once to see the flutter of gauze curtains. Then there’s a loud grunt.

Aldric’s body slumps heavy over mine.

A cry tries to tear free, but a hand is there to cover my mouth.

“Sera, it’s me.Shh.”

The sound of Ren’s voice brings on a relief so fierce, my eyes prick with tears. His hand drops away, and I drag in a breath. He rolls Aldric away, onto his side on the bed, and I scrabble around to face him.