Page 66 of The King's Maiden

I watched him pace the edge of the dock, wishing I could get inside his brain and figure him out. One thing occurred to me,though. “So when you asked me to undress you earlier, that’s just part of preparing me?”

He nodded. “It’s my job to do whatever it takes to keep you from giving in to the other Knight. Because if you do, you’re eliminated.”

“Oh. Right.”

His gaze sharpened on my face. “And trust me, it won’t matter who you get. All of the Knights are extremely motivated during the challenge, trusting their Maiden to resist. If they get a different one eliminated, the better the chances of having picked the winning girl.”

I swallowed, way more intimidated by this whole thing than I’d been while reading the contract buzzed on boxed wine. But the thought of the prize money at the end, and the slate it would wipe clean, steeled my spine and strengthened my resolve. Even though his response had brought a few new questions to mind, I didn’t want to let them distract me.

“I’m going to win.” I lifted my chin and stared right at him. “There’s nothing andno oneI want more than that.”

He held my gaze for a moment before taking my hand and leading me safely around the chairs. “And you’ll have my bid to go forward because of it. But I still need to prepare you. And in order to do that, there have to be rules.”

“Right. Your wholeno kissingthing.”

We walked along the shore toward the main building, passing the Round Tableau again. I glanced back as we approached the main house.

“You do get that that was, like, super weird out of context, right? Still feels a little weird now, too.”

“It maintains a degree of distance between us while I’m training you. In the midst of all the…endorphins and oxytocin, kissing—” He shook his head, and I wondered if he was trying to clear the image from his mind, the way I was trying to forceit out of mine. “It can blur the lines. From a strictly practical standpoint, it’s the safest bet.”

I scoffed, skipping a few paces ahead of him. “Someone sure is overconfident. You really think a few orgasms and kisses would be enough to make me forget why I came here?”

Taunting him, I added an extra bounce to my step just before reaching the back steps.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Ifyou can even get me there, that is.” I smirked.

Landon’s chest hit my back. Before I even registered him moving, strong hands gripped my upper arms. The veins on his forearms bulged as he pulled me close. I gasped.

He walked us forward, pressing me against the rough brick wall. Welding his body to mine.

I could feel himeverywhere.

His heartbeat pounding at my back. His erection digging into my ass. And when his hips rocked against mine, I moaned low and deep in the back of my throat before I could stop myself.

He dropped his head to my shoulder and nipped. Tracing a path up the curve of my neck, he buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply.

His soft exhale warmed up my skin like a prelude.

Drawing soft patterns on my arms, he stirred emotion hidden in my chest. He coaxed out desire I’d buried deep. Every breath and touch composing a symphony of pleasure inside my body.

I swallowed hard, praying he didn’t notice the way it came out like agulp.

His throaty chuckle assured me he did. “Oh, Maiden, Iwillget you there. You can count on that. I’ll make you come until you’re begging me to stop.”

My breathing hitched.

And my throat suddenly felt bone dry, as if he’d siphoned all the moisture in my body and redirected it between my thighs. Priming me for him. Preparing for the inevitable.

My pussy practically wept for it.

Thefucking traitor.

As if he knew that, too, Landon slipped his hand between my body and the wall. Running his palm along the exposed skin at my midriff, he flicked the top button on my jeans open and dragged my zipper down in one slow, tortuous pull.

My safe words and intentions to stay his hand were long forgotten. When his palm slid between my legs, the flimsy scrap of fabric formerly known as my dry panties did nothing to shield me from him.

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