Page 28 of Knave

Ferris stepped away from her, and she glanced up at him. His heart gave a painful thump when their gazes met. Brushing a loose tendril of her hair behind her ear again, he offered a soft smile. “You never have to explain yournoto me, luv.”

“Well,” she bit her lip and blushed. “I do, if it’snota no. It’s just asomewhere else.”

“Right now?” he asked. After a revelation like that, he wasn’t sure it was right to be lusting after her. But, if she wanted it, he would worship her like the queen she was.

Mouse quietly took the book of sexual positions off the shelf and headed for the door, leaving him to follow.

Chapter Twelve

Mouse

As soon as Mouse stepped out of the library and into the hallway, relief washed over her. She’d wanted to believe she’d gotten over her fear of libraries after Mr. Taylor, but deep down, a shadow of that night still lingered inside of her, just as the acts inside the Ruby Heart Palace did. Both places always would, but she needed to face her fears. One step at a time. Shakespeare had helped her in the past, during the dark moments, when she still had to live next door to Mr. Taylor, when her mother had held her, comforting her but had also told her to be quiet about it. Back then it was different.

But now, she didn’t need the protection—she didn’tneeda Shakespeare play for distraction, or for Des to be her comfort companion, or for Ferris to be her savior. She wanted them because shechosethem, just as she was tired of trapping her desires away, pretending as if she didn’t want anyone, when she sure as hell yearned for Ferris.

“We don’t need this.” Dropping the book of sexual desires, Mouse whirled around and leapt into Ferris’s arms. He caught her and crashed back into the wall. Her instinct was raw, driven. Lust burned within her, waiting to unleash.

“No, we don’t,” he rasped. “I can make you feel so good, if you’ll let me.”

“When did you first see me differently?” Mouse asked, her heart accelerating.

Ferris spun around so she was planted against the wall, his hard cock deliciously pressed against her. “When you were taken by Rav and Imogen, I realized what you meant to me. Then once you were safe, I let myself wonder… And now, I fucking want you like I’ve never wanted anyone. I don’t know if that makes me a piece of shit because of my past.”

“It doesn’t, and I want you just as much. You’re the first person I’ve ever truly wanted.” She ran her hand down his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. “You don’t need to be careful with me and you don’t have to worry about being too rough. I want it all with you, Ferris.”

His lips came to her neck, trailing kisses to just below her ear, his fingers digging into her hips. “If you ever want me to stop or slow down, just say the word.”

“Likewise.” Mouse skimmed the tip of her finger across his plump bottom lip. “Now, let’s go to a room. I don’t care how filthy it is.” It didn’t matter if they were in a crumbling palace—they were together and that was all she needed in that moment.

“Let’s see what we can find, then.” He chuckled, holding her close as he started walking down the bare hallway.

She loosened her arms around his neck. “I can walk if it’s easier on you.”

“No, I like you right where you are.” Ferris grinned, the tip of his tongue moistening his bottom lip. He halted at a door that wasn’t all the way shut and used his boot to kick it open. Before she had a chance to peek in, he spun around, and started walking again. “We don’t need an audience.”

She laughed louder this time, glimpsing the skeletal remains over his shoulder. “I suppose we could’ve just turned the guests around if we had to.”

“Mmm, we may have to if we can’t find anything better.” Ferris chuckled.

Broken items littered most of the rooms on the second floor, and black smudges and cracks covered the walls. Due to the rotting wood, the rail around the interior balcony looked like it would collapse to the shattered marble below at any moment.

Ferris opened a crooked door that was falling off its hinges. He carried Mouse inside the mostly clean room and sat them both on a torn chair. The room wasn’t as eroded as the main areas of the palace, only layers of dust clinging to everything. A large bed, lower on one side than the other, was pressed against the wall, an empty wardrobe rested in the corner with its doors missing, and the two chairs were beside a writing desk, where a stack of worn books was collected on top.

Mouse studied Ferris’s pretty features, her heart still beating like the drums he played. He knew the darkest parts of her that had remained hidden and he didn’t look at her differently, just as he hadn’t when she’d confessed to him about her past in the Ruby Heart Palace and her visits to the mortal clubs.

She pressed her forehead to his. “You truly don’t see me differently now? I don’t want you to think of me as broken.”

“No, luv. We’re all broken pieces just trying to find a way to fit back together again. And our jagged edges line up perfectly.”

Mouse grinned and crashed her mouth to his. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her back with equal hunger, his hands sliding down her sides to her hips, urging her to move against him. She rolled her hips forward, picking up where they’d left off the other night. He growled and she liked the taste of that sound, the way his tongue dipped into her mouth, flicking against hers.

Ferris trailed kisses down her jaw and whispered in her ear, “Even when I left your room the other night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

A thrill shot through her. “What did you do?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Every detail,” she said, grinding against his hardness.

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