Her lavender eyes lifted over my head. Stared.
I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. “Yes, I heard them come in a few seconds ago.” I waved my fingers through the air and still stared up into her eyes. The Overlords stayed mute, had been silent since they’d slipped into the room, while zips unleashed and shirts dropped to the ground behind me. “By the way, I’m beat. Have your people send food to our room. We’ll eat in here tonight.”
Her eyes didn’t blink.
I rolled my own eyes. “I’m serious. I’m tired.” I waggled a finger at the painting. “Do not start right now. Or I will steal every tub of ice cream I can find and chuck it out the window out of spite. Every meal should not be an issue like this. The lords said they didn’t treat you this way. You shouldn’t treat us like this.”
Finally, she blinked fast.
“Thank you.” I turned around and walked to my own bag. I waved a hand over my shoulder. “Good night, asshole.”
I stared down at my bag and placed my hands on my hips. I yawned wide, and grumbled, “How much of a fucking lunatic did I look like when you gentlemen first came in?”
Lord Belshazzar grunted next to me while he changed into a short-sleeved cotton shirt and loose fitting gray pajama pants—and refrained from commenting.
Lord Pippin chuckled under his breath. “If you had been anywhere else, you would have been dethroned.”
“That’s what I thought,” I replied. I bent at the waist and unzipped my bags. I grabbed a clean set of pajamas and tromped to the bathroom with the soft material in my hands. I halted right before I entered, asking over my shoulder, “Did any of you receive…a little present…when you left the room earlier?”
“Go open the front door.” Lord Otto snorted. “It’s fucking ridiculous.”
Lord Cato asked casually, “Before you do that, your majesty, is there a reason why there are bullet holes all along our hallway now?”
I lifted a stopping hand in his direction. “Don’t go there.” I hurried and changed in the bathroom, and then I quickly went to the front door and threw it open—morbid curiosity getting the better of me.
My lips twitched.
I held the door open with my left hand and pointed with my right to the rubber snake that lifted his head off the ground. “That one is for Lord Cato.”
Lord Otto walked to stand beside me and crossed his arms. His eyes peered at where I was pointing. “Correct.”
I skipped over Cracked-and-Nosy to the next one. I snapped my finger at it with my brows scrunched. “It looks like one of those super popular male dolls that are always perfect.” Except this one had a cigarette burn hole through the side of his blond head, and its left leg was missing. Its right hand was also twisted at an unnatural angle—and his body was naked. I would have said Lord Otto, but the male-doll hovered over mine. “That one’s Lord Belshazzar’s.”
Lord Otto chuckled softly. “Correct.”
I pointed at the brand new brown teddy bear, a price tag still hanging from his rounded right ear. “That one’s Lord Xenon’s.”
“Yep.” The lord leaned against the doorframe and smirked. “Two more to go. You have a fifty-fifty shot.”
I cast my gaze back and forth between the gnawed-on blue helicopter and the squished yellow rubber ducky. I turned to the Overlord and grinned. “You’re the helicopter, and Lord Pippin is the duck.”
He nodded his head. “Nicely done, your majesty.”
“How the hell does the ducky even move?”
The lord shuddered. “It rolls and it squeaks this heinous sound. All the time. Between Lord Pippin’s feet. Around his feet. I stopped counting how many times he tripped and almost landed on his face.”
I shut the door and locked it. “Mine pisses and screams. You can’t beat that.”
Lord Otto pointed at his hair—his extremely screwed up blond hair. “Helicopter. That’s all I should have to say.”
I snickered and held my hands up in the air. I backed away from him and his ire before dropping my hands. “You’re right, my lord. You win.”
“Fuck yes, I do. I lost hair, dammit!”
A gentle hand wrapped around my wrist and stopped my backward movement. I looked down at the man sitting comfortably in a chair with his bare feet kicked up on a footstool. Ice blue eyes stared up into my gaze. I lifted a black brow, asking tersely, “Yes, my lord?”
Lord Belshazzar mirrored me, lifting a black eyebrow, and then tugged me down onto his lap. I landed in a graceless heap on top of him. The Overlord’s chin trembled at my shocked features, but he didn’t make fun of my inelegance. He silently helped me resituate myself on his lap, though he couldn’t have missed my rigid frame. The lord even yanked a soft and thin blanket off the chair next to ours—before Lord Xenon sat on that seat—and tossed it over my body, draping it over my legs.
The lord’s eyes darted back and forth over my narrowed gaze—I was still upset with him. He tucked a piece of air behind my ear and played with my earlobe. Quietly, he asked, “How was your day?”
“I walked around the entire time.” I huffed and squinted down my nose at him. My voice was clipped. “Master Niallan’s castle is as large as ours. There’s a lot to look at.”
Lord Belshazzar hummed and stared at my ear that he continued to rub softly. “Have any trouble?”
“Other than the doll from hell? No.”
His eyes flicked to mine, then back to his playing. “How many bullets did you waste on the toy?”
My lips pinched. I wasn’t saying.
The Overlord smirked—just a little. He never took his eyes off me, his attention now wandering over my features. His tone was still quiet. “Lord Pippin emptied both of his guns before he wised up.”
“Fuck off.” Lord Pippin sighed and dropped into a reclining chair across from us. “I almost had it once.”
I rolled my eyes. That was a lie.
I hadn’t even come close to shooting my doll.
And I was almost positive I was faster than him.
Lord Belshazzar ran the pad of his right pointer finger over the curve of my eyebrow, watching the action with a hooded gaze. “Do you want to ask me anything about my day?”
I sniffed. “Not particularly.”
The Overlord sighed and pressed his forehead against mine—and left it there. His thick, dangling hair hid us from everyone else. He rubbed the tip of his nose against mine in private affection, and our blue eyes didn’t stray elsewhere, holding each other’s gazes.
He whispered softly, “How long do you typically stay mad at someone?”
Lord Pippin choked but swiftly quieted.
I ignored that lord. My attention was captured by my favorite one. I wrinkled my nose, and muttered, “There’s no time limit. Not really.”
Lord Belshazzar touched the tip of his nose against mine again. His blue eyes fell, casting his expression in a rare moment of uncertainty. On the barest breath, he breathed, “I don’t like it.”
My entire body melted against his, just like that. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cuddled closer to him, practically purring when he pulled the blanket up higher over my body to cover my shoulders too. I curled my feet around his legs and rested them on the edge of his chair.
With our foreheads still pressed together, I managed to capture his fallen gaze with mine. I whispered too quietly for anyone else to hear, “You were quite the beast earlier.”
His lashes lowered over his eyes and shuttered his gaze from me. The Overlord waited for me to carry on, not contradicting my statement.
Still too quietly for anyone else to hear, I murmured, “Why don’t you kiss me? I’ll accept that as your apology—this time.”
The lord blinked. Then his lips were on mine.
Lord Belshazzar pressed my head back, leaning over me, and he kissed me—fast. Our heartbeats linked and pounded like crazy inside our chests. His mouth caressed and coerced and petted until I opened for his onslaught of want—his request for forgiveness.
The lord’s minty scent surrounded me, and his tongue dipped inside my mouth, teasing and curling against mine again and again.
Lord Belshazzar showed me how sorry he was, even if he didn’t speak the words, as he made gentle and powerful love to my mouth. He ran his hands up my neck and curled his fingers into my hair at the base of my head, holding me steady as he tipped his head for a better angle. His muscles bulged in his arms around me, not letting me go.
He embraced me like I was precious to him.
He kissed me like it was the last kiss he’d ever have.
He protected me in his arms like I was his world.
A soft moan escaped my lips.
This man was delicious. Fucking perfect.
I tightened my arms and held him closer.
His deep and soft groan curled my toes.
The Overlord possessed me at that moment.
I was his. He was mine.
We were at peace. In our own realm of rightness.
Lord Belshazzar tapered his caresses off in slow increments. He kissed the tip of my nose and pressed his forehead against mine again, his thick hair continuing to shade us in a dark cloud. Our lungs pumped just as hard as our one heartbeat and our breaths puffed against each other’s damp lips. His blink was languid and sexually satisfied as he stared into my eyes.
He whispered, “Forgiven?”
I nodded, rubbing my forehead against his.
The Overlord kept his arms around me, just holding my gaze until he eventually rested us more comfortably against the back of his chair. Our faces separated as I ducked my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. I wiggled even closer against him, burrowing against his warmth. I couldn’t see his expression, but suddenly, he barked, “I swear to the sun and the stars and my blood, if you jackasses don’t find someplace else to park your intrusive interloping, I will ruin you.” Not even a second later, he grumbled, “About fucking time.”
I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to deal with the other Overlords and hummed in approval when Lord Belshazzar fixed the blanket around me that had slipped down off my shoulder with sharp jerks of his hands—very irritated at having the other lords around to witness anything personal between us.
“I’d like for the record to show that I did not—in any way, shape, or form—watch that display,” Lord Cato sputtered from far off to the side. It sounded like he was hiding underneath his blanket on his bed, his voice muffled. “Sex doesn’t bother me in the slightest…but that fucking did. Try not to do that around me again. Please.”
My lips trembled. “Forgot about him.”
“Obviously,” my father hissed.
“How about this then, Lord Cato? The next time you want to have sex at a Blood Rite, you don’t do it where I can walk by at any time.” I paused, listening to his instant groan. “Yes? I thought you might agree.”
Lord Belshazzar’s chest abruptly shook against me as he chuckled quietly. He tilted his face toward mine, his growing black whiskers tickling my forehead. The Overlord kissed the top of my head, mumbling against my hair, “Do you want to go to bed now or wait for dinner to arrive?”
I yawned and snuggled against him, tightening my arms around his neck. “I don’t care. Whatever you want. As long as you think he’ll actually feed us in the morning.”
“He will. I spoke with him about it.” He kissed the top of my head again. “The prick won’t starve us.”
The Overlord held me more snugly and stood to his feet, supporting me against his muscular body. I didn’t even move or open my eyes. My feet and blanket dangled over his arm while he walked to our bed. He laid me down gently and crawled in next to me.
Lord Belshazzar piled the blankets around us. “Try to sleep on your side of the bed tonight.”
I snorted. “Not going to happen.”
I rolled and plastered myself against him.
He held still for a long moment, and then pulled one of my legs over his. His warm palm gripped my thigh in a pleasant show of possessiveness. “Good night, Gwen.”
“Night, Bel.” I grinned.
Chapter Twenty-One
~ Kimber ~
The shadows seemed to be darker than most.
Rilen made sure of that.
I was cloaked head to toe in black, and the cowl was deep enough to hide my face, even in some brighter lights.
Master Dorian sat in the common room reading, ignoring me in the corner.
His anger at this betrayal ran nearly as deep as mine. I didn’t really understand why he felt like that, but he did. It almost made me think he wasn’t a complete ass.
Almost.
I pulled the cloak around me and sighed. I didn’t know why I was hiding in shadows like some sort of wraith, watching Master Dorian enjoying a good book. I wanted to go back to my new apartments, wallow in self-pity, and make the insane decision of who got to fuck me.
I twisted my lip in disgust.
The prim and proper school teacher-acolyte in me recoiled at the idea of thinking about whom to have sex with. That wasn’t what a proper acolyte thought about, and it wasn’t the way a school teacher acted.
Now, the temple master part of me was worried about gaining enough power to work my magic. It wasn’t so much about who was good in bed, but who could get me where I needed to be.
Every direction of which was up.
And now, horny me just wanted some damn action.
I was so confused and tired. All I wanted was a good night’s sleep.
And then some sex.
Since shadows were deep, and the wall started to feel comfortable, I started to drift a bit. Sleep would be nice.
Elex walked into the common room.
I bit my lip. I couldn’t react to him, I wasn’t supposed to. But, all at once, so many things ran through my head. So many things I wanted to shout.
Run.
Stay.
Love me.
Why?
Why?
The corner’s shadows held me still.
I waited. I watched.
His face was a sea of calm, his stride measured, his breathing even. There was no sign of what we had seen the night before. He was the same Elex as always.
A total fabrication.
It hurt so much to see him there, acting as if he wasn’t betraying me and the entire temple.
Roran and Rilen were right. If I hadn’t seen him last night with the rebels, they never would have had a chance to convince me he was anything more than dedicated to his work.
Master Dorian’s book snapped shut, startling me.
“There you are, Elex.” His voice boomed through the chamber. “We must talk.”
“Master, I’m only here to grab a daily sheet and see what I missed—”
“We need to talk,” Master Dorian repeated. There was no room for argument in his tone.
Choosing a table not far from my shadowed hideout, he gestured for Elex to take a seat across from him. The two of them sat, and the elder druid pulled a flask out of his robe while two glasses appeared on the table.
“Are those glasses bound to you?” Elex asked.
“My magic is more ancient than that. I don’t need things bound to me to obey me.”
Well, that was news.
Elex cleared his throat and ran a finger around the rim of the glass. “Master, is this pressing? I really should get up to my rooms—”
“Are you finding life agreeable here, Elex?” Master Dorian cut through his words.
“Of course, sir. This is a beautiful building, and the attendants are excellent. The food is beyond compare.”
“As is the company in the bedroom.”
Clearing his throat, Elex stared into the glass.
A befuddled look appeared on Master Dorian’s face. “Are you not enjoying a hot cunny to slide into every night?”
What a horrible way to talk about my lady bits.
“My work has been dragging me away—”
“Surely you have time to enjoy a qu
ick indulgence.”
He said nothing.
“What is it, Elex?”
He took a sip of the glass. “I have… proclivities I have not been able to discuss with Kimber. Other needs.”
Master Dorian’s mouth made a perfect circle. “Ah. You enjoy men as well.”
“I do.”
He did?
It was quiet for a moment, and Master Dorian took a sip of his brandy.
“So, you’re bored with the pretty pussy.”
“Not bored. Not excited though, either.”
That was a lie. He was as hard as a pillar of marble the other night.
“Have you tried talking with her?”
A cruel chuckle issue from his throat. “No. Please. Kimber? She’s as straight-laced as they come. She would never ever consider having another in her bed with us.”
With another sip of his drink, Master Dorian nodded. “She is naïve, isn’t she?”
I wanted to sock him in the face.
“Painfully. I tried drawing her out—” Elex nodded.
“Mm, the fucking on the balcony.”
Oh, my gods. Was there anyone who hadn’t seen us out there?
The glass touched the table top with barely a sound, and Master Dorian leaned in. “Did you imagine someone behind you? Taking your ass as you were balls deep in her pussy?”
The answer came without hesitation. “Yes.”
Master Dorian leaned in even closer. “You very much enjoy being a bottom to another man, don’t you?”
Elex’s head bobbed slowly. “There’s nothing like it…”
Another sip of his brandy passed some time, and Master Dorian nodded. “I enjoy a little ass play myself.”
I nearly choked on my laugh. A little? The man was mated to two men. That was more than a little.
But what was Master Dorian doing…?
“It’s not easy to find satisfaction inside these walls,” the ancient master mused. “Not when each move is scrutinized.”
Sweet Savior. He wasn’t.
A small hesitation preceded Elex’s reply. “I’m finding that myself.”
“Is that why you keep disappearing to the university?”
Elex laughed quietly. “No. Unfortunately, that is for my work. I have to go…elsewhere to seek it out.”
King of Gods (Vampire Crown Book 2) Page 25