Page 166 of Treasured
She had spent so much money on her tournament that the human villages throughout Eleyta were on the brink of starvation. Even the grain Ipotha was still sending on a monthly basis wasn’t enough to save them all. Thank the gods Sebastian and I had stepped in when we did because we’d been able to divert what little funds remained to help the villages just in time.
Sebastian still hadn’t moved. I shifted from beneath the weight of his limb and poked him in the chest. “Could you move your arm, please?”
In response, he cracked open an eye. “Morning, Luna,” he said gruffly.
Instead of doing as I asked, he pulled me closer to him.
“Sebastian!” I smacked his chest. His very bare chest. Apparently, he’d forgone all clothing when we’d come to bed. I hadn’t noticed earlier, but that was no longer the case. “Let me go. We need to get up.”
In reply, he licked my neck leisurely. “Do we?” he asked. “Are you sure?”
When I didn’t immediately respond, his fangs grazed my throat. “Or perhaps, you might find time for an… experiment.”
My interest flared, and my core tightened. This vampire knew exactly what to say to catch my attention. I shifted in his arms, intrigued. “What kind of experiment?”
He grinned, his fangs sharp and predatory and not-at-all frightening. “It’s very rigorous,” he said gravely. “It even has a name.”
“Oh?”
“I’m calling it, ‘How quiet can Luna be?’”
My eyes widened, but I didn’t pull away. “I’m not sure…”
“Shhhh.” He put his finger on my lips. “In order for this to work, you’re supposed to be quiet.”
Then, as if to prove his point, he kissed me. His hand slipped behind my neck, holding me close as our mouths met in a passionate embrace. With every sweep of his lips, every touch of his tongue, every moment we spent together, he told me how much he adored me. Once my lips were plump and bruised and nearly numb, Sebastian pulled away. He laid me on the pillows, supporting his weight on his elbows as he rested above me.
“Remember, darling, be quiet.” He grinned, his fangs on full display, before he bit my neck. Pleasure coursed through me, my entire body wanting more. Needing more. At the exact same moment, he pulled up my nightgown. I spread my legs, and he fit perfectly.
No matter how many times we came together, I would never grow tired of this.
He was mine.
My husband. My king. My entire world.
* * *
In the end, Sebastian’s experiment was wholly unsuccessful on several fronts. I was not quiet. At all. Needless to say, I’d never been so happy to fail at anything before. By the time we made it out of our bedroom, I’d failed several iterations of his tests. On the bed, in the shower, and in front of the wardrobe while I was trying to pick out a dress.
By the time we made it to the castle library to check in with Marius, the castle brimmed with life as vampires and servants alike went about their day. My brother was settling into life in Eleyta, and we’d procured several tutors to help him catch up with his studies.
I ruffled Marius’s hair. “How are you, Mar-Mar?”
He looked up from the book he was reading. “I don’t want to study,” he grumbled. “I told you, I want to be a spy like Phyrra. I don’t need to know mathematics for that.”
Sebastian chuckled behind me. Good luck with that.
Marius hadn’t let his fascination with the spymaster go, and he spoke about her more and more each day.
I slipped into the seat next to him. “What did I tell you?”
He groaned. “I can be a spy when I grow up, but I need to do my studies first.”
“That’s right.” Hopefully, my brother would let go of this obsession before he Matured. I hoped he would find a safe, peaceful vocation that did not take him far from Castle Sanguis.
The tutor, a Light Elf by the name of Vryntha, smiled at us. He approached the table and set down a stack of books. “We are studying the history of the Four Kingdoms, Your Majesties.”
“Sounds delightful,” Sebastian drawled.