by A. B. Keuser
He slipped his fingers under the gauzy fabric of her bodice and luxuriated in the feel of her skin on his.
Slipping the fastenings, he pulled her bodice down and caught a nipple in his mouth. The sound she made was heavenly. But she pushed away from him.
He’d done something wrong.
She dragged him to his feet too, “Don’t look at me like that.”
With a quick wiggle, she was in nothing but a thin chemise that was a whisper away from disappearing.
Smiling, she drew him to the bed that had been tucked away in a strange corner of the round room.
Her breasts bounced with the movement and he clenched his jaw at the throb that sent through him. It only got worse when she glanced down his body and licked her lips. His skin electrified, iron blood heightening every sense. She was going to be his undoing.
He crawled onto the bed, positioning himself over her. “Are you sure you want this?”
“I want you.” She dragged a finger down his chest, circling his belly button before her hand dipped lower and took hold of him. “I want this. And if you don’t give it to me, I might burst from frustration.”
He swallowed to keep from laughing. She was too much. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
He kissed her, pressing her more fully into the mattress as he worked the gossamer fabric of her chemise up her body. Breaking away to tear it over her head, he fell back into her lips and dragged his hands down her side, squeezing her thighs for a moment before he slipped his hand between her legs.
She was all heat and as he stroked her, he knew he was going down a road from which he wouldn’t want to return.
When he slipped his fingers into her, she let out a faint mewling sound. He caught it with a kiss, swallowing the sound as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
Fingers slick with her juices, he worked her until she was panting, his thumb circling her clit. He pulled away from kissing her to watch her face. It was exquisite.
He cursed under his breath. This was such a bad idea.
Taking hold of himself, he moved to position his head into her, but she stopped him.
“That’s not how this works.” Shaking her head, she pushed him over. “Maybe next time.”
He landed on his back surrounded by pillows and a blanket that felt as though it had been made from a cloud. Next time.
There wasn’t any time to contemplate that.
She swung her leg over him and held herself over top of him. The opportunity to run his hands over the curves of her breasts and hips was not one he was going to pass up.
This must be what it was like to fall head first from the top of a mountain. There would be a painful end eventually, but while in the rush of it, he couldn’t find the will to care.
Leaning down, she nipped at his bottom lip and slid her wet slit over him. His cock bobbed in appreciation, and he took hold of her face, drawing her in for a long, luxuriating kiss.
Smiling into his mouth, a wicked laugh escaped her throat before her hand found him, and she guided him into the wet heat of her. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t take things slow. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and wouldn’t hesitate to take it.
In one smooth move, he was fully sheathed in her.
She let out the most amazing sound as she tightened around his length. Breath rushed from his throat, and for a moment he had to remind himself to inhale.
Another moan, and she began to move.
It was altogether worse and better.
Worse because she was steadily pulling him under. Better because….
“Gods damn, Silvia.”
She hummed in response, her eyes hooded as she looked down at him.
Her clit ground against the base of his cock as she rode him. She was intoxicating.
Twisting her arms up to drag her loose hair away from her face, she arched back a little. The movement of her rolling hips pulled him into her wholly. Her hand traced down her neck and he followed it with his own, tracing over the rosy bud of her nipple with his thumb.
Her reaction sent shivers of ecstasy through him. Heinrich would like her.
Closing his eyes he dropped his head back to her pillow. That was the wrong thing to think about.
Silvia dropped her hands to his chest and leaned into him as she ground against his cock.
Each movement tore a little cry from her mouth and he knew she was close. So damned, deliciously close.
Grabbing hold of her hips, he urged her on and, in a cry that sliced through him, she came. Tight, still, and then shaking, her whole body stiffening and shuddering around him. Her lips formed a perfect little “o” and she dropped down, her head resting on his chest.
Her breath shuddered from her mouth and he wrapped an arm around her back, holding her as he flipped her onto her back.
Her fingernails dug into his arms and she smiled up at him like she’d stolen something. Leaning down, he kissed her to wipe the catlike grin off her face.
Before he pulled himself back up, he said, “I’m not going to be gentle.”
She bit his ear and whispered, “Good.”
Closing his eyes and huffing out a breath, he tried to fight the spike of exhilaration that single word pushed through him.
He pushed back up to his arms and drove into her. Each thrust shook her, and he dipped down, catching a nipple in his mouth. When he let go, her hand took his place and she played with her breasts, staring up at him like he was the only thing in this world or the next that mattered.
Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing, he switched his weight to his right hand and with his left thumb, he circled her clit. The face she made—the noises—he wasn’t sure he’d be able to last long enough to bring her with him.
Too late, he realized there was no chance to hold back.
One final thrust and he came, pressed into her fully, his release made him lightheaded. The fact that she came a moment later nearly undid him. Overly sensitive, his cock sent waves of pleasure back from overloaded nerves.
She held tight, keeping him with her when he tried to pull away. “Not yet,” she said, her voice breathy.
Nails digging into his ass, she held him inside her. When the very last shivers of her orgasm finally passed, she let him go.
He dropped to the bed beside her and tried to find his lungs again. His heart was in his throat, his mind spinning. What had she done to him?
Sitting up, he looked down at her. Blonde hair mussed and spread over the pile of pillows, a smile playing across her lips. She was divine and dangerous all at once.
He slipped off the bed and she didn’t open her eyes.
“Grab me a wet cloth from the wash basin?” She pointed a lazy arm toward the foot of the bed and he followed it to the bowl of clear cool water and a stack of towels. He took a moment to clean himself up and then brought back the requested towel.
Her eyes were closed, a hand draped over her stomach. She flinched when he touched her legs, but let him pull them open and clean her as well.
Tossing the cloth into the bin beside the basin, he turned back to Silvia, running his hand down the side of her face.
“My name is Max. Next time you come, I’ll make sure you scream it.”
She laughed, but didn’t argue. Still breathing hard, she glanced up at him, running a hand over his chest. “Thank you, I needed that.”
He had, too.
Relaxed, his frustrations fled. Soon, he’d be able to focus on the real problems.
FIVE
The morning dawned crisp, clear, and with Ivy cursing him for pushing on so late into the night. Danae, for her part, seemed amused more than tired. She needled Ivy, only making it worse.
Heinrich could ignore them both. After all, there were worse things pressing on his chest than those pressing on his mind.
Heinrich felt like he'd been dragged through the forest by a runaway boar over every rock and bump imaginable. His body ached and his mind was clouded with exhaustion.
Without the corset, it might not have phased him one bit. With Hagnesophia's magic slowly squeezing the life out of him...
Forcing himself to climb the front steps of the palace as quickly as the two women in front of him, he bit his tongue trying his damnedest not to wince or—gods forbid—make a noise of pain.
Agony was a price he could pay, it was something he could easily survive, one he had done before.
"You okay?" Ivy stared at him. Her concern felt less like worry and more like an interrogation. But that might have been his own irritation reading too much into it.
"I'll be fine."
"If he's anything like me," Danae said pulling her cloak off her shoulders and tossing it to a bored looking servant, “He’d rather drop dead than admit anything to you.”
Ivy rolled her eyes.
She’d led the way back into the main hall and tossed her cloak to the tired-looking butler who gave him a cursory glance and then walked away.
A breakfast room had been set out, and though it was empty save for the three of them, the buffet along the right wall was freshly stocked. As he took a plate and followed Ivy through the line, he noted several Ferrian staples had been included. Whether they were specifically for him, or something that was always on offer, he couldn’t guess.
He took some of the pickled carp out of deference, in case it was a gesture, and loaded up his plate with more food than he would normally have considered, but there was no company to be polite for, and he was famished.
Ivy spared the food a passing glance and sat, eating without preamble or prayer. Danae dropped her head for a moment, but made no fuss.
The door opened several minutes of silence later, and an echoing crash sounded behind him. He turned, the corset pinching him as he did so, and saw Mina struggling to right a chair. Ivy chuckled behind him. And the woman—still dressed as though it was the dead of winter—cast a dangerous glare in their direction.
“Good Morning,”
Mina sat in the chair between them with a huff and held tightly to the tall mug of coffee in her hand.
Even from here, Heinrich could smell the bright spice of cayenne.
Ivy made a face. “That sludge makes my stomach turn.”
“And your throat burn. I remember.” Mina turned to him. “The first—and only—time Ivy tried my coffee she about killed herself trying to choke it back up.”
“Fire and heat have no place in a bitter black cup.” Danae said.
“No, of course not. Yours is almost milk white…. And our new friend has none at all.”
Heinrich cast a tired smile toward her. “I plan to sleep after this.”
“Pity, I’d hoped to trounce you in a round of sparring. I’ll just have to knock Ivy on her back a few times.”
Danae looked at him as though they were close confidants. “She is always finding ways to abuse us, both physically and verbally.”
Mina laughed, “That’s how I make friends. I’m mean to a person until they realize I’d be a better friend than enemy.”
“That’s all I have to do to get you to stop?” Ivy looked shocked, but it quickly faded.
Mina smiled and pointed, still holding her cup. “You like it, or you wouldn’t have spent so much time fighting back against me.”
They shared an intense glance, and suddenly Heinrich felt like he should leave before they jumped across the table at each other. He didn’t know whether they intended to fight or—
“You’re making our guest uncomfortable,” Danae said.
Ivy sat back in her chair and looked away, though she spoke to Mina. “I’m not looking for a fuck and chuck situation. You’re leaving, I’m not going to go with you… and if all I wanted in life was meaningless flings, I have plenty of women to go through here.”
Mina shrugged. “Your loss.”
Danae chuckled into her coffee. “This little dance you’re doing is fun, but it’s getting tiresome.” She turned to Heinrich as though he cared. “Mina hasn’t taken anyone to bed since she’s been here, and Ivy only teases women. She might like to look, but she never touches.”
The door behind him flew open and a man with an ugly scowl and too straight of a nose tromped across the room to them. The sight of him had bile rising in Heinrich’s throat.
“Where have you been?” He asked, the slight lilt in his tone would have informed Heinrich that the man was Ferrian, even if he hadn’t recognized Hagnesophia’s lackey.
Kimmler still held his shoulders in that rigid importance he’d adopted since becoming Hagne’s favorite stooge. It made him look as unnatural as one of the iron queen’s clockwork minions.
“I was told I would receive a full tour of the grounds this morning and I have been neglect—” he stopped and stared at Heinrich as though he’d discovered a pile of manure in the middle of the dining room.
“So this is where you ran to.” He turned to Ivy, not giving Heinrich a chance to speak. “Arrest this man before he has a chance to harm one of your royal family.”
Ivy’s gaze traveled from Heinrich to Druan and there, it narrowed. “You’d do best to remember where you are. You’re here as a courtesy and not one I’m happy to tolerate.”
Danae had stood, moving around the table until she was directly beside him. “Where is your escort? You’re not permitted to roam freely.”
“I’m not a prisoner here.” He glared at her, his tone condescending. “And you’d do well to remember your place in the social strata.”
“We remember it perfectly. And you are at the very bottom.”
Druan sputtered and before he could speak a woman dressed in the same uniform that Ivy and Danae wore pushed through the doors. “I will lock you in a cell at night if I have to, Kimmler. You were given very clear instructions and if you cannot follow them, you can leave, or I will toss you away like yesterday’s dinner.”
She chased him out of the room without a word or glance toward the rest of them.
Danae laughed, “Ah, my partner in crime strikes again, if he doesn’t leave by noon, I’ll be very surprised.”
Ivy glanced at him. “We set Julia after him because she’s the best equipped to deal with his nonsense. She’s not afraid to gut the man if it comes down to it.”
Mina stared at him silently, her eyes narrowed. There was a moment of tense silence before she asked. “What he said was true, wasn’t it? Or at least true enough.”
Pausing, he considered the many ways he could explain himself.
“I was not formally exiled, but there is no way I will be able to return to Ferrian… even after I find what I lost.”
Danae sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest and looked away, as if uncomfortable.
Ivy’s brow rose. “What did you do to get yourself not-exactly-exiled?”
He clenched his teeth, trying to decide if it was safer to lie, or if he was better off telling the truth. Miranichelle and Hagnesophia had never gotten along….
“I attacked Hagnesophia after she hurt someone I care for a great deal.” He glanced at Ivy trying to gauge her reaction—there was none. “If I could go back and change my actions I would have. Not because I don’t wish her dead for what she’s done… but because I might not have lost what I’m looking for.”
Nodding, Ivy said, “If you are an enemy of Hagnesophia, you are welcome here. She has done more unspeakable things to my queen than bear mentioning. And I have no doubt she will try to harm her again, now that she has a renewed tie to this world.”
Mina stirred her spoon in her coffee and smiled down at the dark liquid. “Luckily for Miranichelle she has four anchors to this plane… now that her elder daughter is pregnant.”
Heinrich frowned, Silvia had not appeared to be with child.
“Don’t worry,” Ivy said, a laugh in her tone. “Our princess is Miranichelle’s second daughter. Her first, from another life on this plane, will be here for Mina’s going away party. She is lovely.”
“Ivy is the only one of us who has met her,
” Danae said with a false glare. “She was sent to hand deliver the invitation and reconnect mother and daughter. We are, the rest of us, dying from curiosity.”
“You’ll meet her soon enough,” Ivy said.
Heinrich glanced back to the doors through which Hagnesophia’s minion had escaped. The seeming safety of this palace was not as secure as he had originally thought. Druan Kimmler was never up to good, and if Hagnesophia had designs of removing Silvia’s mother from this plane… he might have to stay long after he found Maximillian.
Mina snapped her fingers and he startled back to focus. “Sorry?”
“You look like you’re going to pass out any moment. Go get some sleep.”
“I should probably find another room.”
Danae shook her head and set her jaw, but it was Ivy who spoke. “Our princess has commanded you stay in her room. We will not allow you to disobey that order.”
Of course they wouldn’t.
Mina smiled at him. “Do you need help getting back there?”
He shook his head. “I don’t need an escort?”
“Unlike Kimmler, I trust you after spending time out in those woods, even if you won’t tell me what you’re looking for. All I’ve gotten from spending time with him is a strong desire to bathe.”
Heinrich stood, bowed, and left. He was thankful for exhaustion. If not for the fact that he was ready to fall face first onto the floor and pass out, he might worry that his thoughts—that Druan’s presence would keep him from falling asleep. He had too much of the forest left to search.
*
Silvia woke that afternoon with a clockwork frog beside her, and a pleasant soreness. Several of her muscles had gone unused for too long.
Setting Max on the work bench, she dressed quickly, her mind spinning.
She ate alone in the lunch room that had been abandoned several hours before she found her way there. When she was done, she followed random corridors in search of Mina.
What she found instead was Julia with a man who stank of dark magic and was too pretty to be trusted.
She walked quickly, trying to avoid them by brushing past with a curt nod to Julia. Brevity usually worked wonders.