Page 51 of Rook of Ruin
“Nora, I’m fine. I just want to be left alone, please.”
She curtsies and leaves—no doubt to find out why I look the way I do.
Nolan and Christoph jump up at the sight of me as I enter my bedroom.
“Out,” Alec commands. I hear them leave my chambers, locking the door behind themselves. I run over to the bed, and his arms come around me. I feel his chest rise. “I’ll fucking end them.”
“He’s already dead.” I tell him everything that happened at the ball, with the exception of my interactions with Simon. The hurt is still too raw. There is no doubt either Alec already knows or will find out that Simon is a prince. He will also find out who the assassin is. I do not envy the bastards who helped the now-headless man gain access to the castle; there’s absolutely no way he would have gotten in otherwise. “Who do you think helped him?”
Alec stares into space for a moment. “The women in the Locker who Lawden was interrogating, they were—area part of something wholly evil. They are from the Serus Mountains, and they are the cause for the attack on Wesson, on Mags and Liam.” Anger ignites in his silver eyes, and my heart almost stops. Not in fear for myself, but for him. Because I know Alec. He will hunt them down and kill them all. I know from Patsy that the Serus Mountains are dangerous, but I had no idea people lived there. “Lawden wasn’t trying to gain information from those women, he was trying to broker a deal with them for power. I confirmed it with Matron—I spoke to her after we placed the Panther’s second in holding—she suspected that someone was using the Locker for personal gain. Four Rooks were involved, and innocents were kept in the Locker.” He nods at the horror on my face.How could this have happened?“That was what Matron’s letter was about. She did something brave and reckless to stop it. She died because I wasn’t there to stop her, to help them.” His fists clinch, and then he unfurls them, taking a hold of my hand. “I took you with me to confront Lawden because I believed—I knew I could trust you. I knew you wouldn’t betray our oaths for power.” He looks down at me, regret filling his face. “The Wraith at the ball tonight was more than likely a part of Lawden’s plan. As for the Baron, well, I’m sure there are Tynan spies in Acros.” He sighs. “I can’t tell you any more than that.” I nod in understanding and let the information he gave me sink in. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t realize—”
I kiss him to let him know all is forgiven. He smiles down at me, brushing a curl off my neck, and my heart flutters as I gaze into his silver eyes.
Alec kisses my forehead. “Allow me to take care of you.”
Giving him a coy smile, I reply, “Anytime.” I help him up and into the bathroom, where he braces his handsome body against the vanity. I pour jasmine oil and soap into the tub and remove my gown.
His breath catches. “I thought you looked gorgeous in that dress, and now I see you like this. You’re killing me.”
I laugh. “If I am the death of you, then what a glorious death you shall have.”
He grins, and his smile takes my breath. I dare to bend over to check the temperature, mimicking the stylist, and Alec lets out a noise closer to a growl but also a hiss. I turn and smile, flicking water at him. I see the twitch of his cock as I come closer. He pulls the clasps from my corset, letting my breasts fall forward, heavy with need.
Gently, he uses a washcloth to wipe away the blood on my shoulder and stomach. Silver eyes meet mine. “Anyone who was involved will die, I swear it.” He never had to swear it to me; I already knew it in my heart. He traces a finger where the wound was. “You’re so beautiful.”
Leaning down, he kisses me, wrapping an arm around my waist, keeping another one on the vanity to steady himself. Our kiss deepens. The need I have for him is insatiable; I wantmore.I wrap my hand around his long, thick length. He groans into my mouth as I gently squeeze, moving my hand up and down. He dips his head back, letting his hair touch his shoulders. I apply more pressure, and his hips move.More.
He sucks in air through his teeth. “Fuck.”
The thought of pleasing him makes me want him all the more. I’ve never taken a man into my mouth, but I want it to be him. I want to show him that he deserves to be pleasured just as much as I do. Feeling daring, I slowly kiss down his chest, and his head snaps back up, silver eyes blazing.
His fingers grip my chin, tipping my head back up. “Bath. Now. Before I choose everything for us.”
I pout as his husky laugh fills the air. I help him into the bath and remove my underwear, which has him clutching the side of the tub.
“In. Now,” is all he can get out before I slip in, bubbles bursting as I sit. He moves me between his legs and gently pulls the pins from my hair. “I love your hair.” He smooths it out and begins washing it. Gold flakes mingle with the bubbles in the tub.
I sigh at his tenderness. “You have a gentle touch.”
He snorts. “Princess, there is nothing gentle about me.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Okay.”
I laugh. “Okay?” That was easy.
“I’m waiting.” He runs his fingers across my neck.
“For?”
“For you to beg.”
I splash him with water, and he laughs, warm and silky smooth. I love it. We sit in comfortable silence while Alec continues to wash my hair, gently massaging my scalp, until curiosity rears her head. “How did you meet Nolan and Christoph?”
“We grew up in care together. In Enthe,” he says quietly as he rinses my hair. I try not to tense, worried that he’d take my empathy as pity. I’m sorry for the boy he was. Enthe is a horrible place, a port city by the sea. Many children get swallowed up by gangs, drugs, crime, and even the sea herself. “We’ve had each other’s backs since”—I feel his chest expand—“since our parents decided cauch was more important than their own children. We’ve been together for a long time; we met when we were about six. When it was time for us to leave and go to an academy, we went as one and looked out for one another.”
Fucking cauch. The addictive drug destroys lives. I lean back into him. “You chose to become a Rook without them?”
