Page 89 of The King's Maiden

QUINN

An hour later, I sat on the chaise wrapped in a fluffy robe with Landon’s arms around me.

Nestled between his legs, I stared out at the lake and tried to keep my eyes open. I didn’t want to fall asleep—not yet.

After lunging at Landon, he wrestled me onto my back and finished what he’d started before he walked out. I came on his tongue twice before he hauled me up from the floor and carried me back to his room. Orgasm three hit me under the hot spray of the shower with my hands pinned to the wall.

After spreading me from behind, he feasted until my knees buckled.

Once my legs gave out, he sat me on the built-in seat and washed my hair and body. The scent of his mint and lavender body wash filled my nose as he drained all the tension from my limbs. Drying me off with a towel, he wrapped me in the robe before getting dressed himself.

When I tried to reach for him to return the favor, he tossed me over his shoulder and threw me on the bed, diving back in for orgasm number four. Only in rare moments like that firstmorning, when I took him by surprise or woke up in the middle of the night, did Landon let me please him.

The rest of the time, he seemed content to push my limits and my body to the point of madness.

Or, at least, almost there.

All morning, I wanted to go further, but Landon never pushed for more. If he had, I would’ve said yes. But even though he probably needed some kind of sign from me, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for it.

I tried to work up the courage, but I feared the rejection I faced the first night in the Round Tableau. That night, it hadn’t stung because I didn’t know him from Adam or a hole in the ground. But now, I had to up my courage in case his feelings on my virgin status hadn’t changed.

Maybe I would’ve worked up the nerve, but by the time he came up for air, my body had gone limp from all the orgasms.

It was a terrible problem to have, really.

We had time. Over a week left to get there before the forum and the next challenge. I told myself it would happen naturally and forced my body to relax. I was seconds away from falling asleep when he spoke.

“I wasn’t like this when I was a little boy.”

My ears perked, but I didn’t move or say a word.

“Before I turned eleven, Kingston says I was wild. Always playing. Always climbing…Laughing.” His thumb traced circles over the back of my hand. “I don’t know. You’d have to ask him about the newspapers, but from what he tells me, the boy I used to be wouldn’t fit the image you have in your mind.”

“You don’t remember?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t remember anything before my—before my birthday that year.”

I didn’t want this to be a connection between us—terrible things happening on the day we were born. But I couldn’t stop myself from asking, anyway. “What happened?”

“I—” He cleared his throat, staring out the window at the lake. “I don’t remember. At least, not completely. And every time I try to think about it…”

The crease between his eyebrows deepened, his mouth twisting into a frown as he tried to find the words.

But he didn’t need to explain it.

I already knew.

“Every time you try to think about it, it hurts. It’s like it’s happening all over again because…” I slipped my hand inside his robe, resting it over his heart. “Your mind doesn’t remember, but this does.”

He nodded, the muscle in his jaw working as he released a heavy sigh and finally looked at me. “Is that what it’s like for you? With your parents?”

My hand came up to my hair reflexively, and my body tightened like a bow string—ready to loose an arrow in self-defense. I hadn’t expected him to ask me about my parents.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

I scoffed a laugh. “Mr.Tell Meis saying Idon’thave to talk about something?” I swiped at my face with my sleeve, trying to deflect. “I find that hard to believe.”

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