Page 70 of The Nightmare Queen

“Problem,lover?” I croon.

Rorin

She slipped away from us easily with the distraction of her slamming her glass down. It took us a moment to notice she was gone at all. I restrained myself from running after her out onto the floor and dragging her back to the table but now, as I watch her, I wish I had. I’m irritated at how unbothered she is with the amount of sweaty bodies moving around, grazing against, and clinging to her when she usually seems to be so averse to touch.

“Problem,lover?”She asks, her voice sweet and sour all at the same time.

“Only with the ceaseless gyrating of the idiot behind you.”

Her cold laugh trills down the seal while she presses herself further into him and the others surrounding her. Her arms drift up into her hair and her head drops back a little.“A little early to get territorial wouldn’t you say, princeling?”My eyes rove all over her body and I think I hear a distant Will attempting to get my attention but it’s like I’m frozen, refusing to take my eyes away from her until a set of fingers snap in front of my face.

An all too knowing look from Axel comes into view. “You’re ogling, princeling.”

“I am notogling.I am watching your charge to prevent her from getting herself into any trouble.”

Axel looks over his shoulder and shrugs. “She’s the Queen of Obsidian, if the drunken fool is unaware of who she is then he is no better than a unsuspecting fly roving too close to a spider’s web.” He snags my ale mug from me. “This is better than the shit at court, I’ll give you that. Look she makes terrible decisions. I think I’ve mentioned that before and if she can get herself in them then she can get herselfoutof them.”

“Most of the time.” Maxwell chimes in from behind me.

Axel bops his head to the beat, agreeing with Max. “Most of the time. So with that concern out of the way, we resort to the fact that youwereogling. Understandable after the performance you two gave earlier.” His eyes glint with suspicion.

“Are you always this annoying, Axel?” I ask.

“Only when I’m right.” He replies. When I look back out to where Eveera is on the floor, I see only random patrons in varying degrees of drunkenness. My eyes scan the room for her, but the damn woman is so fucking small it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. That is until the crowd parts just enough for me to see her sitting back at the bar, taking shots of suspicious blue and gold drinks. “That can’t be good.” I grumble mostly to myself. If she blacks out, I have a feeling she will find a way to blame me for it, which does not bode well for the star-crossed lovers ruse we are managing.

The painted bartender behind the counter skims his hand across her lower back. I wait for her reaction but nothing happens, she remains either unaware or purposefully ignorant of his boldness. The image of him suffocating from the the poison that courses through me flashes inmy head, catching me off guard.Who touches her back should be none of your concern.I think, but at this point…there is a sinking realization that’s settled into the pit of my stomach. That from the moment she walked into her throne room - drenched in blood - I knew she would somehow become the center of every single one of my concerns.

“Oh boy.” Max murmurs into his drink. “You seeing this?” He asks, nudging Axel. Axel gives him a nod, shifting on the bench to stand.

“What? What’s wrong?” I question.

The three of them give each other a look before Orem bursts out into laughter. “Her little hip swaying and the sitting on bartops are going to be the least of your problems.” He comments, his head jerking towards the floor. In the two minutes I turned from her she made her way back onto the floor and completely tangled herself up with the same dancing idiot as before, who's hands have dropped precariously low on her hips teasing the slits in her dress.

I groan. "What’s my biggest problem then?”

“She tends to like clothes a lot less when intoxicated.” Axel’s snickering does not help the next thought I have,of course she fucking does.

I feel a knot starting to form in the back of my neck from this woman. “So you three figured she needed an escort when she went to get drinks, but you’re just going to casually let her drink herself until she gets naked?” The words are sharp, their expressions turning defensive. I don’t give them the time to argue back their bullshit explanation. The table wobbles as I storm away from them, making my way out to her on the floor.

Whatever the fool has said into her ear causes her head to fall back onto his shoulder her chest rumbling with laughter. His wandering hands drift up from her skirt and skate along her ribs. His first mistake was touching her to begin with, his second was where he thought his fingerswere headed next. “What the he—” his words stop short when I grip both of his wrists in my hands, a line of poisonous smoke snaking up his arms and straight into his nostrils. I don’t often take pleasure in the sound of someone choking for air, but this time the sound calms something down in me.

Her big golden eyes lazily look up at me caged in between me and the man gasping and struggling in my hold. She drags her fingers down my chest, “aw, sucking the fun out of things are we?” She glances over her shoulder at him, his expression urging for her help that she won’t give him. I let him go before he passes out onto the floor and creates an even bigger scene, he gives us startled looks before darting off into the crowd gasping for his breath.

Her lip exaggerates into a pout and her words are loose from the alcohol. “And he was being so devout.”

“Is that what you want? Someone devout? Someone to worship you?”

Her hand drops from my chest, her gaze darkening. “Who needs worship?”

I chuckle stepping closer to her, her hand quickly going back up to put some space between us. I knock it out of my way and grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger her breath hitching slightly as I bring her face to mine.Gods when she does that…“I didn’t sayneed.I saidwant.Plenty fear you, Eveera. But if you want someone to worship you? You need only to point me to the altar.”

I can feel her heart rate quicken through her pulse as my other hand comes around to cup her nape, pulling her into me. The walls she is trying so hard to maintain in her mind are faltering. “You once said you wanted me on my knees begging. But what if I were praying?”

She swallows thickly, scanning my face for something. “Are you praying,princeling?”

A smirk tugs on my lips, “am I on my knees, Nightmare?”

“I could bring you to them.” She suggests, that heady stare drawing me in.

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