Page 68 of A War of Three Kings

My father is too embroiled in an argument with Lord Tomas at the end of the war council to notice me slipping away with Aldrin. The relative quiet and dimness of these corridors is almost soothing, our footfalls the only sounds. Most of the inhabitants of the fort would be long asleep by now.

My neck and back ache from built-up tension. I rub at the tight muscles, but Aldrin takes my hand in his.

“Let me do this for you. Do you have private rooms?” His voice is seductive velvet.

My stomach tumbles at the implications of his offer. Then I laugh bitterly. “No. I’m in a dorm with five other priestesses.”

“I thought as much,” he says. “I have an idea I think you will like, but first we need to lose those guards following us.”

“What?” Shock thunders through me. Surely my father wouldn’t have taken matters that far. I strain my ears, but I cannot hear anything. I don’t dare turn around and clue them in.

Aldrin grabs my arm and swiftly pulls me down a side corridor to a four-way intersection. He flattens me against the wall with his body and holds a finger to his lips as he weaves an air shield before us. My eyes watch the tendrils of magic build upon each other, but I cannot tell what he is crafting.

Within mere minutes, two men walk past in the emerald-and-bronze uniforms of the Appleshield Protectorate. They look straight at us, but keep walking.

Aldrin’s entire chest shakes against mine, and when I turn to him, he is desperately trying to hold in laughter, a hand clapped over his mouth. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“How did they not see us?” I whisper.

“I created a mirror in front of us that reflected the opposite side of the corridor, but they didn’t pick up on the irregularities. It wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t so dark here. I am terrible at that kind of wield.” He grips me around the waist and moves me along. “Quickly, before they return.”

Aldrin opens a plain door and shoves me inside. It has a single window slit high in the wall that lets in moonlight to illuminate shelves of cleaning supplies.

“You couldn’t have picked a nice, unused bedroom?” I whisper.

He scoffs. “I doubt there’ll be any of those available.”

He turns his back to me and works on layering shields and wards on the door. First, he fills the lock with hardened air, stopping it up. He plugs the hinges next, so they cannot move.Finally, he erects a sound shield, weave by weave. It takes time, longer than we had when we were naked in the farmer’s cottage.

I spend every moment taking in the beauty of his powerful body. The broad shoulders with shifting muscles that are visible through his light tunic, the dark hair tumbling down to the middle of his shoulder blades. The tapered torso that meets a narrow waist. That perfect ass and those thick thighs.

Mischievous light sparkles in Aldrin’s amber eyes as he turns to me, and the silvery moonlight makes the sharp angles of his face seem severe.

“You can scream as much as you like, dear heart, and they won’t be able to hear you.” He steps closer, wrapping his arms around my waist and murmuring in my ear. “But we will hear them, walking past unaware of what we are doing on the other side of this thin door. Looking for you and calling your name, while I pound into you and make you forget what your name is. No one is going to stop us this time.”

A thrill rolls through me, hot and heavy, making my skin burn.

I reach up onto the tips of my toes and press my lips hard against his. They immediately open for me and something feral awakens within us as our tongues collide, as we suck and bite each other’s lips. I melt into his arms, all my tension and rage forgotten.

Aldrin’s grip around my waist tightens, and then he pulls away from me.

“Not yet,” he says, putting a finger to my lips before I can protest. “I made you a promise.”

“A promise?” I repeat dumbly.

He turns me swiftly on the spot so my back is against his chest. “I want to massage your neck and shoulders first. To touch every inch of your bare skin,” he murmurs as his fingers playwith the fabric of my clothing. “I want you a shaking mess of desire before I fuck you.”

My heart thunders as he pulls off my decorative silk corset and tosses it over his shoulder. Then his hands make quick work of the buttons on my sheer blouse. That goes flying too, landing haphazardly on the corner of a shelf.

I kick away my skirt as it falls to the ground. He reaches my thin shift and pulls it over my head, sighing when my breasts are revealed. I am left in nothing but my lacy panties.

Aldrin’s hands run across my skin and cup my breasts, his rough calluses brushing against the tender flesh. His thumbs flick over my nipples while he leans in and places kisses up and down the skin of my neck.

I gasp at the softness of his lips and the trail of fire that radiates from each kiss. “I thought you were going to massage my back.”

His laugh vibrates through me. “I’m warming up to it.”

I wiggle against him, feeling his erection already digging into my back. He continues fondling me for a few heartbeats longer, then his hands move up to my neck, brushing my hair to the side. His body pulls away. I almost protest, until his strong hands knead the muscles of my shoulders.

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