Page 5 of Crown of Briars
Four corridors and three flights of stairs later, my legs were throbbing. My face and neck were coated in sweat as I finally reached my bedchamber. Gasping for breath, I stumbled inside, then leaned against the closed door, shutting my eyes for a moment while waiting for my pulse to slow.
A low chuckle drew my attention, and I stiffened. “I can’t believe I beat you here. You took the servants’ route again, didn’t you?”
I sank against the door in relief as a figure stepped out of the shadows, drawing closer to smirk at me.
“After yourdire warning, can you blame me?” I teased.
Gerard’s smile widened as he closed the distance between us. His hands went to my waist as he pinned me to the door, making the frame rattle. “Nice deflection, by the way, snapping at me like that.”
“We wouldn’t want your men suspecting anything, would we?”
“Certainly not.” His hips ground into me as he brought his mouth to mine.
I moaned, arching against him as his tongue ravished mine. I was filthy, and he reeked of sweat, but I didn’t care. The moment his hands were on me, my body ached for that sweet release.
Gerard seemed to be thinking the same thing. In a swift movement, he tugged at my trousers until they were down to my knees. Then, he flipped me around with my chest against the door. I heard the rattle of a buckle as he loosened his belt, then felt his hard length press between my legs.
Without preamble, he plunged inside me, and I gasped at the suddenness of that singular hard thrust. His hips jerked as he drove into me further, and my eyes closed, my body quivering from the friction of his movements. He pumped again and again, each thrust more wild and feral than the last. His grunts became more strained, and I found myself clenching around him as I drew closer to that edge, closer to tumbling off the cliff…
He let out a loud, hoarse groan as he came, and I gasped, following after, the pleasure firing down my body in violent waves. For a long moment, he held himself there, still inside me, allowing our bodies to settle.
Ever so slowly, he withdrew, turned me back around, and buckled his belt again. Sweaty locks of hair clung to his forehead as he offered me a roguish grin, his face flushed.
“I would offer to pull your trousers back up, but I think you need a wash,” he teased, still breathless from our intercourse.
I shoved his arm playfully. “You ass.”
Truth be told, if I hadn’t been worried about my father, I would have invited him to share a bath with me. Lately, my appetite had become more insatiable, and I found myself wanting more than the few minutes of bliss Gerard offered.
I probably shouldn’t have even paused for this quick shag with him, but my muscles were so tight with apprehension that I had been desperate for a diversion. This had been exactly what I needed to calm my nerves before facing the king.
“You should leave before Ramia catches you,” I said, sliding out of my trousers and stepping away from the door. My maid had an uncanny sense of when to intrude on us. I had a feeling she already knew about my relationship with Gerard, but she was mercifully discreet about it.
Gerard grunted in agreement, smoothing back his hair. “I wanted to see if you’d found any new gemstones.”
I cut him a sharp glance. “Perhaps,” I hedged. I didn’t want to share about the mysterious dark stone Azure and I had found. Not until I knew for sure what it could do. I didn’t want to get Gerard’s hopes up. “Any news on the shadows?”
“Four men were found dead at the border.”
“The border?” My stomach dropped. “You mean they didn’t even cross over before the shadows infected them?”
Gerard shook his head, his expression grim. “The shadows are now close enough that the border is too dangerous to patrol. We had to pull our soldiers back to ensure they are a safe distance away.”
A knot formed in my throat, and I closed my eyes to ward off the grief that threatened to drown me. If humans inhaled the toxic shadows for more than ten minutes, the poisons festered inside their bodies, killing them almost instantly.
My kingdom would endure the same fate, if the shadows got much closer.
Now, we couldn’t even reach the borders of our own lands without the risk of death.
“You know the Wraith King could come for you any day now,” Gerard said, his voice strained.
“I know that,” I snapped, opening my eyes to glare at him.
“Do you really think your diamond dagger will be enough?”
“Yes, I do.” Diamonds were hard to come by, but the few I had experimented with gave me the strength of five fae soldiers when wielded properly. I was confident my dagger with diamonds fused into the hilt would be enough to kill the Wraith King.
“Have you tested it on an unseelie fae before?” Gerard prompted.
