He pushed out of his seat, gripping the edge of my dress. “The only reason I’m not ripping this off of you is because you’ve got to make it into that house with a shred of decency.”
I smiled. “I left my decency in the back of a theater a long time ago.”
“Gods, I’m in trouble,” he said before ripping the dress over my head, somehow avoiding tearing it. With a few more rocks of the carriage, as much as the massive man could, he was standing, naked and glorious before me, eyes burning into mine. “You’re more fucking perfect than I remembered.”
I spun around, stepping backward until my back was to his chest. He all but snarled in my ear as he curled around me and those hands slid down my chest, over my stomach and to that aching spot between my legs. “Still so wet for me, Paesha darling?”
The hitch of his breath against my ear when he reached between my legs was nearly my undoing. I leaned my head back against his chest as he pressed a finger inside of me. His teeth grazed my ear as he added a second finger, forcing a moan from my lips. The carriage rocked slightly with the movement of our bodies, the sound of creaking filling the air. But it wasn’t enough, I wanted more. Needed more.
“Please,” I whispered, the word barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
“I’ll break this godsdamn carriage.”
“And then you’ll fix it.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. His fingers withdrew, leaving me empty and gasping, but only for a moment. One hand gripped my hip, yanking me back against him, while the other pushed me forward until I was leaning over the bench. His cock thick and heavy, pressed against my ass.
“Hold on,” he growled, and I barely had time to brace myself before he was pushing into me, inch by agonizing inch, stretching me, filling me in ways that had me crying out, my nails digging into the seatback. The carriage groaned in protest as he began to move, his hips snapping into mine with a rhythm that was relentless, brutal. There was no finesse, no gentleness, just raw, unfiltered need.
His hands were everywhere, one gripping my hip so hard I knew there’d be bruises, the other tangling in my hair, yanking my head back so he could bite my neck, his teeth marking me as his. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed in the confined space, mingling with my choked moans and his guttural growls. The carriage rocked harder with every thrust, the wheels creaking under the force of our bodies.
“Fuck,” I gasped, my voice breaking as he hit that spot inside me again and again, the pleasure building with every stroke. Mylegs trembled, my body tightening around him as I teetered on the edge, desperate for release.
“Come on,” he snarled, his voice thick with desperation. “Come for me, Paesha.”
His words were enough to push me over the edge, my body convulsing around him as I came hard, my cries muffled by the hand he clamped over my mouth. He followed me over only moments later, his hips stuttering as he emptied himself inside me with a low, animalistic groan.
The carriage gave one final, violent rock, and then there was a loud crack as one of the wheels gave way, sending us lurching to one side. He steadied me with a hand on my hip, pulling out slowly as we both caught our breath.
“I hate to say I told you so,” he huffed, voice rough with satisfaction, and I couldn’t help but laugh breathlessly, even as my body still trembled with aftershocks.
41
Paesha
“They have the same lightness about them, don’t they?” Thea asked, sitting next to me at the long dining table in Aldus’s castle. She jutted her chin toward Archer and smiled. “He seems happier.”
“Heishappier,” I answered, taking another sip of the soup.
Considering that lightness, I leaned into Levanya in my mind. That peaceful soul that’d wrapped herself around my quiet corner and let me breathe. She didn’t always overpower the others. And sometimes she wasn’t there at all, but now that I knew her name, she felt stronger.
Across the table, Archer was animatedly telling his father about the time he and Harlow had snuck into the neighbor’s garden to steal apples, his hands moving as he spoke. The king laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that mirrored his son’s expression perfectly.
“And then,” Archer continued, “she convinced me to give her a boost over the wall, but when I did, she slipped and fell right into their pond. Made such a splash that the geese started honking and chasing her.”
“Your mother used to tell me stories about that garden,” Aldus said, reaching for his wine with a fond smile. “Said those geese were better guards than any dog could be.”
“They were terrifying,” Archer agreed, his eyes bright with the memory. “Harlow wouldn’t go near that wall for months after. Though she did manage to grab two apples on her way down.”
“It seems she was resourceful,” Aldus’s voice held pride mixed with old grief. “Exactly like your mother.”
“Did you ever steal apples?” Quill asked, before taking a massive bite of a pastry.
Aldus winked at her. “I never had to. But I tried to smuggle an entire cheese wheel out of the kitchen once. Didn’t end well.”
“You should come to the market with us,” Quill said with a gulp. “I can show you how to get things without stealingorbeing a king.”
“Quill,” I warned, but Aldus was already laughing.
