Page 70 of Avaritia

Aderith gave me an impatient look, far more confident with me now than she’d ever dared to be in the past. “If I may be blunt, Your Grace—”

“Theon,” I corrected gruffly, not for the first time. It was an adjustment for all of us.

“Theon.” Aderith conceded with a tilt of her chin. “If I may be blunt, the mistress of the house has requested a break from your hovering.”

I scoffed. “She’s had a break.”

Aderith threw her hands up in exasperation. “Wait until Meera has gone, at least. You make her nervous.”

That was harder to argue with. Meera was removing the splint from Verity’s arm today, having visited most days for weeks to attend to my mate. Of the ex-Hunters, she appeared to have the most knowledge of medical matters, though she continuously insisted she didn’t have any experience in this particular arena.

Not wanting her to risk making a mistake while tending to my mate, I stayed put in my workshop, preparing what I needed to show Allerick when he visited tomorrow. He’d deferred the start of my sentence while Verity recovered, but she’d primly told Ophelia on the queen’s last visit that she was more than ready for me to start my punishment, little wretch that she was. My little wretch, who I loved more than anyone in this realm or any other.

How long had it been? Surely, I’d been down here long enough by now. It was nearly time for our midday meal. Did my mate expect me to eat without her? The idea was unthinkable.

Outraged at the very idea of taking our meals separately, I began marching upstairs to tell my mate as such, pausing midstep when I felt a shift in the bond.

She was moving.

The incessant noise in my mind, the unending worry that never seemed to end, ceased. My world narrowed down to my basest instincts as I tracked my prey through the corridors, the many newly opened rooms offering plenty of places for my mate to hide.

She hadn’t gone into any of those, though.

No, my sentimental little mate wanted a repeat of last time. I followed the steps she’d taken up to the third floor, keeping my footfall silent as I crept through the halls, ducking into the narrow servants’ corridor and slipping the hidden panel in the library wall open so I could duck into the room unseen.

Verity huffed in frustration as she searched the room for me, her chest heaving in the skintight dark pink scrap of fabric she’d been running around in.

She looked well. And she certainly smelled well. Her arm was free of the splint it had been in for the past few weeks. The rich, luxurious scent of her desire filled the room. Still, a voice in the back of my mind protested at the idea of playing these games together.

She was still recovering.

She’d been gravely injured.

It was my fault she was gravely injured.

I hesitated, my cock straining beneath my shadows. I had to be the sensible one here. I couldn’t risk bringing my mate—my heart—to harm again.

Verity narrowed her eyes, her hands coming to rest petulantly on her hips. “You better not be hiding in a corner hesitating because you think I can’t handle this.”

I only just hid my amused snort. Verity knew me better than I knew myself.

“Oh, you are, aren’t you?” She sighed dramatically. “Get out here and take your punishment.”

That piqued my curiosity. “I thought my punishment was working for the king.”

Verity whirled around, squinting between the shelves in my direction.

“That was your restitution to the realm.”

I swallowed thickly, stepping into her line of sight. “Of course, my love. You should punish me as you see fit. For the rest of my days.”

Verity rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know what you’re in trouble for. But you’re not allowed to come. You’re going to give me so many orgasms that I can’t see straight and then you’re going to carry me back to bed and snuggle me, and you’re not going to come.”

I groaned, my knot throbbing in anticipation.

“Lift me onto the table, please,” Verity requested imperiously. Unable to deny her anything, I placed her carefully on the edge of the grand table. With no preamble, she lay back on her elbows, bending her legs and spreading them apart, revealing her bare cunt beneath the tight dress.

“You’ve been running around the manor like this?” I growled, dropping heavily to my knees and pressing her legs farther apart.