Page 3 of Kept

I obeyed, the glass bottles behind me trembling.

Laurent sank to his knees. The post in his ear flashed as he lifted my heavy skirts and held them bunched at my hip with one hand. With his other, he ripped my lacy drawers from my body.

“Laurent!” I clutched at the table.

He flung the ruined garment aside. “Varick ordered you not to wear these.”

“Today is different,” I gasped as Laurent pressed his mouth between my thighs. The bottles clinked, and I steadied myself with a hand on his shoulder. “We sh-shouldn’t do this.”

He spread my pussy open with his thumb and forefinger. “Why not? Widen your stance.” He didn’t wait for me to comply. Just spread me open and licked up my center.

“My brother is dead.” I bit my lip so I wouldn’t moan. This was so wrong. I curled my fingers into Laurent’s shoulder, fully intending to shove him away. But I ended up pulling him closer.

“And you’re alive,” he said, flicking his tongue over my clit. “Spread your legs so I can eat your cunt.”

With a moan that was equal parts shame and arousal, I complied. He growled his approval and buried his face in my sex, sucking at my clit and rubbing his tongue ring all around the aching bud. Breasts heaving, I squeezed the edge of the table and watched his head move between my thighs. My gown was going to cause a scandal on the other side of the Rift. The style was classic Nor Doruvian, with a plunging neckline that revealed the sides of my breasts. The seamstress had inserted a black, sheer panel in deference to the occasion, but the fabric did little to hide my curves. Which was probably why Laurent had chosen it.

He worked my pussy hard, stroking his tongue over my clit. He went about his feast loudly, licking and sucking like he meant to devour me. The table rocked. His stubble scraped my thighs and my swollen, sodden folds. He circled my clit before licking down to my opening, where he speared me with his tongue, fucking it into me until I was shaking with need.

Absently, I waited for him to notice I’d complied with another of Varick’s orders. But then he thrust his tongue deep and fluttered it, his tongue ring fluttering inside me too.

“I’m going to come,” I said breathlessly.

“Not yet.”

“Please.”

He pulled back and pushed two fingers inside me. “I said not yet.”

My head tipped backward as I hovered on the edge of a powerful orgasm. Sweat prickled under my arms and around my hairline. I could feel moisture pooling and then seeping from me as he fingered me. My heart raced, and I spread my legs wider, my hips thrusting to drive his fingers deeper.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

Panting, I lowered my head.

He locked gazes with me, a king on his knees with his fingers buried in my pussy and his mouth smeared with my desire. He rubbed a firm thumb over my clit as he spoke in the deep, raspy voice he used when he prayed to the gods. “I think you’ve forgotten who you are. So allow me to remind you.” He worked another finger inside me. “And don’t you dare come until I say.”

My mouth hung open, breathy moans spilling from my lips.

He curled a finger inside me, hitting a spot only he seemed able to find. White-hot lust spiked, and I sobbed as I tried to hold back my release.

“You,” he said, “are Given of Nor Doru and Eldenvalla. Daughter of one king. Sister to another. Wife to a third. Queen of two kingdoms. Farseer. Wielder of Avenor’s sword. You have fire in your hand.” He thrust harder, finger-fucking me as his eyes held mine prisoner. “You have nothing to fear from the South…or anyone else. You’re strong and gorgeous, and you’re going to cross the Rift and show them exactly who you are.” He moved his thumb over my clit, rubbing my slippery flesh in quick circles as his voice dipped to a growl. “They will look upon you and tremble. No one fucks with the elven-born Queen of the North.”

The table creaked under my grip. I panted, bliss rushing toward me from all sides.

“Now come for me, my lady,” he said, and he fastened his mouth over my clit and sucked hard.

I flew to pieces, my body shattering as I screamed. Dimly, I was aware of several things at once. My nails digging into his shoulder. The table shuddering. My hips grinding into his face. I rode his tongue until I grew too sensitive, and then I pushed clumsily at his head.

He surged to his feet, grabbed my chin, and pulled me into a kiss every bit as passionate as the one he’d just given my sex. My cheeks heated as I tasted myself on his lips, and I whimpered into his mouth as he slid a hand around my hip and squeezed my ass.

After a few breathless moments, he released me and stepped back, letting my skirts drop to my feet. Eyes glittering, he sucked the last of me off his fingers. “I’m going to cross the Rift with the taste of your pussy in my mouth.”

My face flamed. “Laurent…”

He smiled around his thumb. Then he moved in and turned me to face the mirror again.

I gasped at what I saw. A flush bloomed in my cheeks. My lips were red and bee-stung, my fangs peeking between them. My eyes glowed as if I’d just fed. I looked like the thorned crown on my head—pretty but sinister.

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