Page 70 of A Kingdom of Lies

Duncan’s face grew closer until the tips of our noses tickled one another. Spiced grape washed over me as he exhaled through slightly parted lips. “Do you care to know what I see when I look at you, Robin?”

I was fearful to know his answer but nodded anyway.

“Mercy. A chance for my mercy at least.”

Somewhere, far beneath the room, Abbot Nathanial preached the teachings of his faith, telling those who cared to listen stories of the Creator through word and song, all without knowing that, within the attic, something strange occurred. A Hunter ran gentle, knowing hands up the arms of his enemy – at least that was what his enemy should have looked like; pointed ears and powers unknown to humans.

Duncan’s eyes asked permission, flicking between my lips and my wide, unblinking stare. And before I could contemplate it, his permission was granted. I lifted onto toes, drew myself towards his face and stopped only when our lips met in a joining of flesh and desire.

CHAPTER 24

Thoughts were useless as our lips crashed together, senses exploding.

Duncan held me to him, hands grasping upon my arms as though I’d disappear if he let go. My own hands wove up his chest, fingers catching the bristly hairs as I combed through them, up to his neck.

Everything about him was hard, like warmed stone against the coldness of my touch. I felt him tense beneath me, our bodies pressed together with no want or need for distance.

I needed this, desperately. The touch, the tension, the distraction.

Duncan kissed like a starved man with coins finally weighing his pockets. Desperate and hungry. He moved with that desperation yet still demanded full control in the way his lips pressed atop mine. Noses clashed as our faces turned, shifting to allow for fluidity. I tasted him, sharp as wine. The kiss deepened quickly, his tongue joining the dance and parting my lips with ease, coaxing my own until they both twisted like snakes encouraged by their charmer.

I was lost to the dark of my closed eyes, allowing Duncan to guide me. He was the captain, I merely followed his physical command.

He urged me down upon the bed, leaning backwards, and tugging me atop him. The bed creaked as my weight was added, aged wood screaming in resistance. But we ignored it, along with many other things.

I clambered upon his lap, legs overlapping his until I was kneeling above him. Duncan’s head rested upon the wall of the attic, hands now grasping the sides of my face as he refused to break his lips from mine. He moved with confidence gained only from experience. The thought alone made my cheeks bloom red and my insides warm with excitement.

It was Duncan who pulled away first, holding me at arm’s reach. His breathing was laboured, as was mine. Without his kiss, I was aware of everything. How his legs felt firm beneath me, and the subtle movement of his hips as though we stood on a ship rocking above calm seas.

“Are we…” His words tapered off, lips red and glistening wet. Fingers now gripped my lower back, squeezing into my skin where he held me. “Doing this? Do you… want to do this?”

“I want to,” I assured him, “if that’s what you’re asking.”

He didn’t smile, at least not with his mouth. Duncan’s eyes lit up from within, brows raising as he exhaled a long, toughened sigh. “Say it to me. Tell me what I can have.”

“All of it.” I tensed, nails shifting down the hardened lumps of his stomach until goosebumps were left in their wake. “Take me, Duncan. Distract me–”

My hands fell limp as the image of Erix flooded my mind.Distract me.That was how it had started in the destroyed home in Berrow, sharing a bed as winter ripped at the outer walls with desperation to enter and watch us.

“Robin?” Duncan said, fingers reaching to my chin. I snapped back to the room, attention shifting from the haunting memory and the bad taste it left in my mouth. “This can stop before it starts. Blame this simply on a moment of drunken boredom and never discuss it again. I’ll do as you wish.”

I pondered his offer, forcing a smile as I blinked away unwanted thoughts.

“I know what I want, Duncan, and it’s this,” I murmured, eyes racing over him with honest wanting. “Let’s make a mistake.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Duncan gasped softly as my hand wove down beneath my arse and gripped the hard cock that pressed into me. Even beneath his leathers, I could feel its thick, warm and pulsing desire.

A growl built in Duncan’s throat. He grinned now, flashing teeth and tongue. “Some words of warning. I don’t doubt your experience or lack thereof, but I must tell you this. You would have never been with someone like me.”

No shit. My stomach jolted, but not from fear.

“Care to expand on that?” I asked.

He shook his head, dark hair shifting as though a breeze infiltrated the room. “No. I’d rather show you.”

I gulped. It was all I could do as Duncan looked upon me like prey.

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