Page 45 of King Foretold
“Just fucking do it.” My voice comes back in a rush of desperation.
“Give me the words, sweetheart.” He scrapes his teeth against the side of my neck.
“Touch me.” I’m begging, and I don’t care. “Ethan, touch me.”
“Good girl.” Ethan bunches my petticoat at my waist and slides his hand over my hip onto my thigh. He chuckles when I wiggle impatiently, but he obligingly dips his hand lower, brushing the inside of my thigh with his fingertips. “You feel like silk.”
My head tips back against his shoulder at the featherlight touch. He licks the side of my neck with a long sweep of his tongue and blows softly on the strip of damp skin. The shock of cool air against my hot skin sends a shudder down my spine. I bite my lip when he cups me over the last layer of undergarment.
“You’ve soaked through this.” He pushes aside the wet fabric. I’m too far gone to feel embarrassed.
I cry out when he slides two fingers down either side of my clit. With a dark chuckle, he circles his thumb over the swollen nub, and my eyes nearly roll back.
“You’re so wet. Is this all for me?” When I don’t answer right away, he draws a rough circle over me, and my body curves like a bow. “Is it, Sunny?”
“Yes.” There’s no point in denying it when his fingers are slick with my desire. “All for you.”
“Gods,” he groans.
He buries his face in my neck, kissing, biting, and licking his way down. With his thumb still drawing circles of fire under my skirt, he tugs open my top with his free hand and roughly cups my breast.I moan, arching into his touch, and cover his hand with mine. He links our fingers, and together we squeeze and knead my breast, his palm rubbing against my aching tip, until my entire body writhes with pleasure.
“You need more, don’t you?” His voice is as rough as gravel.
Yes.I thrust my hips against his thumb. With a grunt of approval, he glides a long finger down my folds and traces his fingertip over my entrance. I groan, deep and long. “Stop teasing and—”
Ethan thrusts his finger inside me, and I choke on the rest of my sentence. He draws his finger out and pushes in even harder. When he picks a brisk rhythm, pumping in and out of me, I lose my mind. I pivot my hips to take his finger in deeper and whimper in gratitude when he adds a second. I tip my hips off his legs and thrust against his hand, again and again, grateful he doesn’t break easily. I throw one arm behind me and grab the back of his neck, seeking purchase. My head thrashes against his shoulder.
“Fuck, Sunny.” He shoves his other hand under my skirts to put glorious pressure on my clit as I ride the hand penetrating me with three fingers. “Come for me.”
At his command, I scream, loudly enough to wake the dead. Ethan claps a hand over my mouth—it smells like me—and eases me down from my orgasm with the other. I slump against him, gloriously spent, and bury my face against his neck. He brushes his lips against my temple and wraps his arms around my waist, hugging me to him. Still and quiet, we catch our breaths in the shadows of the gama.
“Ethan.” My throat closes up.What have I done?I don’t have it in me to pretend like this meant nothing. “I didn’t mean for this—”
“I know.” His breath ruffles my hair as he nuzzles his cheek against the top of my head. “I just wanted this for you. That’s all. It changes nothing.”
I nod wordlessly. He’s right. Even when he worships my body with love and wonder. Even when I respond to his touch like I was made forhim. It changes nothing. I will always love him more than anything, and I can never tell him.
The palanquin stops in front of the Sunset Pavilion minutes later. When Miok opens the door to the gama, I look every bit the noble maiden, without a hair out of place. But on the inside, I am bruised and battered, bleeding from the heart. Ethan lets me go with a soft squeeze of my hand, and I walk away without looking back. Because I am a lie, inside and out.
Chapter Twelve
“Wake up, my lady.” Miok gives my shoulder a firm shake. “You will be late to the meeting.”
“What meeting?” I croak and yawn into my hand. “What time is it?”
“It’s long past sunset.” My handmaiden wraps an arm around my shoulders and helps me sit up on the sleeping mat.
“What day is it?” Sleep clings to my mind like cobwebs.
“I dressed you in that hanbok this morning,” Miok says kindly.
I glance down at myself, and the memories of the day chase away the last traces of sleep.Ethan surprising me with a picnic. Ethan getting shot in the shoulder. Ethan setting my body on fire. Ethan getting past my defenses despite my best intentions.
When I got back to my room at the Sunset Pavilion, I crawled under the blanket without changing and let the oblivion of sleep claim my tired body and soul. I toy with the idea of going back to sleep. I might prefer oblivion over what I’m about to learn at the meeting.
“They are waiting, my lady,” my handmaiden says, interrupting my skittish thoughts. “You don’t have far to walk since the meeting will be held here tonight.”
At Miok’s gentle but firm urging, I reluctantly get off my ass and make my way to the meeting. But my jaw promptly hits the floor when I step out to the semi-open main hall. It faces a serene courtyard with a lily pond, surrounded by flowering shrubs in countless shades of pink. The sight never fails to steal my breath. Except tonight, I don’t spare it even apassing glance because every ounce of my attention is snagged by Jihun, Hailey, and Jaeseok, who look like they walked off the cover ofVogue.
