by Selena Scott
His stomach dropped out when he realized what it was. It was her fidelity cuff. The King was going to put the choker around Lucy’s neck the way he had for all of his wives. It would symbolize to all who she belonged to. Who owned her. Who got to sleep with her and impregnate her.
Amos felt sick. The King leaned down and dragged Lucy closer to him. She had been leaning away as far as she could get. Amos took a step forward.
Lucy was on all fours, having been pushed to the ground by the King. She was trying to crawl backwards, out of his grip. Amos took two more quick steps forward. But he felt something clamp onto his arm.
Turning, he saw the Oracle holding him back. But that’s not what stopped him. He could have easily swatted the man aside. What stopped Amos in his tracks was the look on the Oracle’s face. It was serious. More serious than Amos had ever seen him. The Oracle actually looked fearful at Amos’s actions.
Amos shook free of him and turned back. He felt a roaring in his ears. The King had successfully clamped the golden cuff around Lucy’s neck. Still on her knees, she dazedly had one hand on the choker, as if she couldn’t believe it were real. Zara rushed forward and helped Lucy stand to go back to her chair.
King Dalyer reclined on the throne, he was slightly winded from the altercation, but Amos could see a flush of lust rise up the King’s neck. Pushing Lucy to the ground and forcing the cuff around her neck had turned King Dalyer on.
For the second time Amos found himself walking forward and for the second time he felt the Oracle’s fingers digging into his shoulder. The Oracle nodded his head to an alcove on the side of the hall. Amos looked back, saw that the King was once again reading from the scriptures, signaling the near close to the morning meeting.
Amos followed the Oracle, who immediately rounded on him once they were far enough to not be heard.
“Amos, have you lost your mind?” he whisper-shouted.
Pretty much. Yeah, he had. But Amos only grunted.
The Oracle scrubbed his face with his hands. “Amos, I don’t know exactly what happened between you and Lucy, but I can tell you, if you keep going like this, it’s gonna get you killed.”
Amos knew that the Oracle could read the future. “Is that a fact?”
“No, it’s a figure of fucking speech. Yes, it’s fact!”
Amos had never seen the Oracle so agitated. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, Amos. You do. You know that there is an electric current running between you and Lucy. You know that you touched her last night. You know that you want to do it again. And that you can either completely ignore it and leave her to her fate with the King. Or…”
“Or what?”
“You tell me, Amos. What happens if you don’t ignore it?”
Amos said nothing. If he didn’t ignore it, then the King would have him executed. Simple as that. Amos’s next thought was of the King pushing Lucy to the ground just then. That’s what leaving her to her fate with the King was gonna look like. How could he ignore that?
“Amos,” the Oracle started again, but Amos put up his hand.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. There is nothing going on. Don’t mention this to me ever again.”
Amos stormed back into the hall, leaving the Oracle behind. He knew the Oracle was right and it pissed him off. He looked across the hall to where the wives, Lucy included, were rising as King Dalyer led them all to the meal hall. Breakfast time. Lucy looked pale and serious. It tugged at him.
The rest of the day passed that way. Perhaps it was because it was Lucy’s first day, but the King kept his wives by his side the entire day. Never letting them speak with one another. Twice that day King Dalyer forced Lucy to kneel at his feet. He tugged his hands through her hair. Amos could see her wince at his rough hands.
Amos felt ripped in two different directions. On one hand, he had the King’s best interests in mind. In that case he needed to ignore Lucy. On the other hand, he had Lucy’s best interests at heart. In that case he needed to get Lucy the fuck out of there.
Finally, after the longest day of Amos’s life, and he was sure Lucy’s too, dinner was over. The King was tired. He dismissed his wives back to their chambers. Each wife was followed out of the hall by her specific bodyguard and Amos followed closely behind Lucy. He could feel the Oracle’s eyes on his back. And more importantly he could feel King Dalyer’s eyes on Lucy’s back.
She hurried from the hall. But her movements were stiff and robotic. The second they got out of the big wrought iron doors, Lucy started to run in the direction of her room.
“Lucy!” Zara called.
But she didn’t turn back. Amos raced after her, letting her stay ahead. He didn’t want to interfere with her. He just needed to make sure she was safe. At first he wasn’t sure if she was going to attempt to escape again. But she skidded to a stop outside of her quarters.
She ripped aside the curtain and started jamming her fingers onto all the different gems embedded in the wall. Fearing she was going to injure herself, Amos calmly pulled her away. He pressed the correct gem and the door swung open.
Lucy raced past him into the room. Her face was panicked and pale. She fell to her knees and clutched at her dress. Amos stepped out into the hallway. About to leave her to do whatever it was she was gonna do in there. He would lock her in and go back to his own chamber. She’d be safe that way. But then she turned to him, her chest heaving in desperation, her panting breaths coming quicker and quicker. Her eyes filling up half her face.
“Help me,” she whispered.
He stepped into the room and slammed her door behind him. Falling to his knees next to her he gripped her by the shoulders, trying to figure out what was wrong.
“I can’t breathe with this on,” she gasped and clawed at the dress again. “It’s too tight. Take it off, take it off.”
She battled with the buttons down her back but her hands were shaking and nothing would tug free. He batted her hands away and she started to wheeze. She really couldn’t breathe. He took two handfuls of the fabric on her back and ripped it apart. The dress tore cleanly down the seam. It fell to the ground, and revealed her gorgeously naked body.
Jesus Christ, what was he doing. Somehow he’d gotten her naked twice in 24 hours. He stood and tried to put some space between them, but she wasn’t calming down. She rose halfway, but this time she was clutching the fidelity collar. She choked and gasped against it, trying to get her fingers underneath the tight gold.
“Choking me. Choking me,” she coughed out.
He didn’t think twice. He undid the heavy clasp in the back and ripped it off her neck. She took it from his hand and flung it across the room. He watched it arc away in slow motion. And to him, it was almost like it was his future flying away from him. Her fidelity to the King landed in a heavy thump on the carpet.
And there she was, gulping in air. Naked as the day she was born. Her panic was receding but her eyes filled with tears.
“I’ll never wear that thing again,” she whispered.
“Yes, hatchling, you will. You’ll have to wear it every time you see him.”
The tears overflowed her eyes. “How did this happen to me?”
He’d never remember exactly how, but somehow he was kneeling on the ground next to her. Hugging her tightly, one hand drawing circles on her back. The evening light of the setting sun slanted in through the thin windows that lined the very top of her room. The orange sunset across her light blue eyes made his heart constrict. Tears clung to her eyelashes and she was liquid and warm in his arms. He could feel the burn of her smooth skin through his clothes.
He had to leave now. Fuck, he had to go back in time and leave yesterday. That’s how badly he had to leave. He needed to run back to the King and say something, anything, to get him to switch bodyguards back. He needed to go down to the village and find somebody to fuck. Get this out of his system. But first, he needed to get the hell out of this room.
“I had a good life in Brooklyn,” she said suddenly. “I had a good job, friends. I even had a boyfriend.”
Amos scoffed at the memory of Dale. The blond dipshit who hadn’t treated her well. But Lucy barreled on.
“I went to shows, watched TV whenever I wanted, and drank beer. I read books and met people in bars. I went to museums and took in art exhibitions that deeply moved me. I could have lived and died happily there.” Tears rolled freely down her face and Amos couldn’t look away from her.
She was talking about her humanity. Something that he’d helped the King steal from her. Something they’d completely disregarded in King Dalyer’s desperate search for power. For the first time he saw King Dalyer through someone else’s eyes. He saw an old man who would do morally questionable things to keep a title he might not deserve. He saw someone who pushed a woman to the ground. He saw someone who viewed Lucy as his possession. And not as the vivid, complicated person who was standing in front of him.
He knew then that he’d made his choice. The Oracle had already seen it. Why would Amos even pretend to fight it anymore. His DNA wouldn’t allow him to ever cause harm to the King, but his heart was pledging its allegiance to Lucy.
He took a step toward her. Wanting to calm her. Wanting to hold her beautiful body in his arms. She stood in a shaft of the setting sun, dust motes floated around her, illuminating the air that had the honor of mingling with her scent.
“You did this to me,” she said to him and he froze, halfway across the room. “You kidnapped me from my home, you monster. You planned it,” she continued.
He didn’t deny it. He couldn’t look away from her. Anger colored her cheeks, brightened her eyes. Her hair hung in a messy wave down her back. The silk of the robe lovingly cradled her curves. His feet wouldn’t move. He was immobilized by the truth of her words.
“You knew what the King was going to do to me. How he was going to treat me,” she pointed at the collar on the floor. “And you dragged me here anyway.”
“And now, I have to just wait here. Wait here for that disgusting piece of shit to come and get me pregnant.” She crossed her arms under her chest and glared at him. Daring him to deny it.
“I won’t let him.” The words were out of Amos’s mouth before he could swallow them back. What the fuck had he just said?
“What?” Lucy took a step back from him. “What did you just say?”
“I’m saying that I won’t let the King touch you, hatchling.” This time, Amos was saying the words with his whole self. He really meant them. His future was sealed the second he watched the King cuff her throat.
Amos started pacing back and forth. Combing his hand through his hair. “The portal doesn’t open up again until the harvest moon in two months. Which, by the way,” Amos looked up at her. “Is the same time he’s gonna try to mate with you. He can’t mate until the harvest moon.”
Lucy shook her head at that bizarre piece of information. “I’ll ask about that in a minute, but did you just say-,”
He cut her off, pacing and making plans. “So you’re gonna have to endure it for two months. We can’t let him know that we’re trying to get you out. In the meantime the Oracle can keep searching for a replacement for you or maybe some sort of, I don’t know…”
He trailed off when he realized Lucy was standing directly in front of him. She put her hands up to his chest to stop his pacing.
“Did you just say you were gonna protect me from him?”
Amos took a deep breath, nodded.
“You’re not gonna let him touch me?”
His breath came out in a grunt. “Fuck, no.”
Her entire demeanor changed. He realized it was a testament to how safe he made her feel. As soon as he promised to protect her, the tension left her body. Her lips parted and her eyes darkened. She dropped her gaze to his mouth. The front of her robe fell open just a little bit and Amos couldn’t tear his eyes away from the slope of her soft breasts, pressing against one another.
“Are you gonna touch me?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He let out a humorless chuckle. “I’m gonna get executed either way,” he said. “So you better believe I’m gonna fuck you first.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Amos considered jumping on her. Maybe lifting her up and sticking his tongue down her throat. But instead he stalked a slow circle around her. He sat down on the edge of the bed. Cocking his head to one side, he reached out and grabbed the knot at the front of her robe.
He dragged her closer and he felt the silk of the robe slide across her skin. His eyes dropped to her chest and his gaze darkened when he realized her nipples were standing up, pressing against the fabric.
Amos slid one finger along the seam of her robe, drawing goosebumps up on her skin. He twirled a finger through a loose lock of hair. Dragged that same finger up her neck.
“He touched you,” Amos said, almost thoughtfully. He thought of every horrible moment that day.
She nodded. Her mouth pulling tight at the memory.
Amos stood up and walked into the bathroom. He quickly turned the taps on, adjusting for temperature. The enormous clawfoot tub started to fill. He came back out to the bedroom and held a hand out to her.
She walked to him and took his hand. The softness of her skin shot straight to his cock.
“First,” he said and pushed the robe off of her shoulder. “I’m gonna wash you.” He leaned down and swirled his tongue over her shoulder. “And then I’m gonna fuck you.”
Her eyes dilated and he watched her clench her thighs together. She liked it when he said whatever the fuck he wanted to say.
He tugged at her and she followed him into the bathroom where curls of steam were coming from the bathwater. Pulling the chair in the corner over to the middle of the room, he sat down and faced her, lacing his hands behind his head.
“You’re gonna strip that robe off for me. Nice and pretty.”
Lucy nodded, her eyes huge and heavy with lust. She undid the knot in the front and dropped the belt onto the ground. Her eyes were begging for sex, her mouth full and pouty. The robe slipped off one shoulder, and with a shrug, the other. Lucy turned her back to Amos and let the robe slip even further. Her lower back was revealed. The robe slipped further.
Lucy let the robe drop completely.
“Come over here,” Amos’s voice ground out. Holy God. This woman was made to tempt him. He’d always appreciated women. Their curves and gracefulness always made him think about touching, tasting. But this woman was like a siren for him. One look at her and his entire body was like why the fuck aren’t we all they way inside that gorgeous creature.
She crossed the room to him and he swooped her up in his arms in one motion. He turned off the taps and then gently set her in the water. Amos turned away from her and picked up a washcloth and soap. He started sudsing them together.
Lucy caught her lip in between her teeth. Maybe it was the motion of the water, or how desperately she needed to come, but her hand floated between her legs. Her thumb gently teased her clit and the sight drew Amos’s eyes like a magnet. Then there was no more teasing. Her first two fingers plunged inside of her.
His eyes took in the expression on her face. Then they fell to her fingers buried inside her own wet heat.
“Fuck it,” he said and tossed the cloth over his shoulder. He ripped his shirt off over his head.
Now that his days were basically numbered, he needed to get this show on the road. No more tempting, no more teasing. No more bullshit. He ripped his pants and shoes off and then he was standing naked before her for the first time.
She gasped at the sight of him, one hand covering her mouth. He looked down to see what she was gasping at, but all he saw was his reg
ular body. His muscles created dark shadows of definition. A light smattering of body hair covered him over.
He supposed she was probably gasping at the sight of his manhood, standing at full attention for her. Lucy sat in the tub, working her fingers into herself. But she paused and looked up at him.
“Amos, I don’t think it’s gonna fit.”
He laughed and didn’t give her long to worry about it. He was suddenly on top of her in the tub, water overflowing the sides. Instantly his cock was sliding through her wet folds. Her hands fisted on his back as she tried to take him inside, but he wouldn’t let her. He speared his hand through her hair and dragged her mouth to his. Her pussy slipped and slid along the side of the taut skin of his cock as she opened her mouth to his.
His tongue pressed insistently into her mouth. Their first kiss, he realized. Her taste exploded in him and he had the weirdest feeling of coming home. He knew they’d never kissed before, but somehow, it was like her taste was made for him.
One of his hands dragged down her side and cupped her breast. His thumb strummed over her nipple and her back arched.
“You have no idea how badly I’ve needed to touch you,” he said into her mouth.
They rolled in the tub and they were on their sides, slipping and sliding against one another.
“Your body was made to be touched,” he said and water from the tub splashed over their faces and hair. He dropped his head to her nipple, slightly under water and clamped his mouth over it. He suckled her. Hard.
Lucy screamed out and the sound made him even harder. He came up for air and flipped her over so that her stomach lay on the bottom of the bath. He lay himself down on top of her and let his cock slide against her pussy from the back. He let one of his hands go under her to trail to her clit. He drew circles around it.
Nipping one of her earlobes in his teeth he whispered in her ear. “Your body was made to be sucked on.”
She moaned and pushed her ass back into him. He felt the head of his cock spear through her wetness but not inside. He pulled himself away.