Page 19 of Given

I braced my hands on the wall on either side of his head and glared down at him. We both panted, our chests heaving. Blood pounded in my ears. My balls tingled with the need to come.

Fuck, I wasn’t going to last.

In a blur, I flipped him to face the wall. I manhandled him against the stone, pausing only to rip his shirt away. A few fumbles later, I had his pants open and shoved to his knees. His dick sprang free, swollen and leaking.

He jerked when I gripped him, then moaned when I began to stroke. His taut, round ass flexed. The muscles in his shoulders bunched as he struggled to hold himself away from the rough stone.

I put my mouth to his ear. “Given of Sithistra.”

“What about her?”

I pulled his cock up sharply. With my other hand, I squeezed his balls and tugged down hard. As he sucked in a breath, I delivered a brutal slap to his sack.

“Fuck!” He sagged against the wall, his breaths ragged.

“That’s for putting my men in harm’s way today. Now enough of your games. You risk war bringing the princess here. What are you plotting, Laurent?” I gave his balls another warning tug before moving my hand back to his dick. I pushed my hips into his ass, my erection lodging in his crease. I was tall enough to peer around him, and I couldn’t resist looking down at my fist wrapped around his cock. He was waxed smooth, his dick and balls and asshole totally bare. So fucking sexy. I wanted to punish him for that, too.

He shuddered as I stroked him. “Attend a Council meeting sometime and you won’t have to ask questions like that.”

For a second, I was too incredulous to speak. Then I slung an arm around his chest and hauled him against me so his back was plastered to my breastplate and his head rested on my shoulder. Still working his cock, I growled in his ear. “I have better things to do than sit around a table with old men who would fleece the kingdom to fill their pockets. Have you forgotten the threat in the Thicket?” The humans of Wesyfedd had reported strange occurrences for years. Unexplained disappearances. Dark shadows moving within the forest. Eerie lights that danced in the air, as if they tried to lure people inside.

“Ghost stories,” Laurent gasped. “You accuse me of being obsessed with the south when you never stop thinking about that stupid forest. Our attention should be on the Rift and Sithistra. The Council agrees with me that Rolund is scared. Now is the time to strike. Unfortunately, the commander of my army would rather patrol trees and chase phantoms than see to his duties at court. You were gone for a fucking month!”

Anger tightened my hand around his cock. “So today was a punishment, then? A public humiliation in front of humans and vampires alike? I put up with enough shit because of what we are to each other. Now all of Ter Isir will be snickering.”

“Varick—” My name ended on a pained grunt as I squeezed the base of his dick.

“You had me fetch a female to warm your bed. But not just any female. You sent me to collect Sithistra’s princess like I’m your fucking errand boy. Then you made sure the kitchen staff saw me escort her to your private chambers. That’s how rumors start. The whole fucking court is probably buzzing about it by now. But you know that already because you planned it that way.”

“Since when do you care about court gossip? It’s not like you spend that much time here.”

“Well I guess I have to now, since you’re filling the court with Sithistran spies.”

He gave a soft, derisive laugh. “So now everyone is a spy? The brother and the princess? You’re paranoid.”

“And you’re a fool.” I thrust my hips hard against his ass, making him grunt. “The only reason Rolund would send his sister here is to put a knife in your back.”

“Then do your job and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Rage lashed at me, urging me to release him and walk away. But I couldn’t. It would have been easier to stop breathing.

He moved against me, grinding all over my dick and forcing my erection deeper between his cheeks. His ass was perfect, and he knew it. Round and firm. Tight as a fist inside. He rocked his hips, dragging his hole up and down my shaft. Unabashedly wanton. Utterly filthy. Lust crackled through me. I went back to stroking his shaft, relishing his hard, silky length against my palm. I moved with him, sliding my dick against the hot furrow of his ass.

Within seconds, I was leaking, my precome slicking his crease. A moan started deep in my chest and wound its way up, escaping in a sound somewhere between pleading and pain. My resolve crumbled, loosening my hold across his chest.

He took advantage right away, twining an arm up and around my neck. His long, muscled body was plastered to my front, his smooth skin on glorious display.

Still working his dick, I ran my other hand down his chest to his taut abs.

He turned his head and spoke against my lips. “It wasn’t a punishment, baby.”

I teetered on the edge of losing control, my mind too clouded to decipher his meaning. “What?” I mumbled.

He turned all the way around in my arms. Eyes gone pewter with lust, he took our dicks in one hand and stroked us together. Heat blistered through me. My balls were tight and aching. Heavy with come.

“I didn’t send you to the Rift to punish you,” he said. “The Deepnight swallows more of Sithistra every day. Rolund is desperate for me to pull it back. I wanted to know just how desperate he really is. I got my answer—and his sister.”

The fog of desire lifted. I seized his wrist, stilling his hand. “At my expense.”

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