Page 69 of The Broken Prince
“Father has embraced him as one of our own.”
Atticus didn’t voice his concerns. He wasn’t as stubborn as Father, so if Aurelias was accepted, he wouldn’t question it. “While I’m gathering our people, will you travel to HeartHolme?”
“Yes. Father will send a scouting mission to the east to gather information about the demons that oppose us. He’s desperate to discover a weakness since our dragons are powerless against their flames.”
He nodded in agreement. “It’s dangerous, but they already know we’re aware of them, so…”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s not like we have some elaborate plan they could learn if they capture us.”
“Yeah.”
We sat in silence for a while, both of us thinking about the arduous journey we would each have to take…that we would all have to take.
“Hard to believe that just a month ago, life was easy,” Atticus said. “Boring. I trained with soldiers for a battle that would never come. You wore dresses to tea parties and ignored all the advances from your admirers. A very different time.”
“Yeah…” It was hard to believe it’d ever been that way.
“Now I wish I’d appreciated it more,” he said. “Because it’ll never be the same.”
* * *
Once evening arrived, I left the castle and visited the village, moving down the cobblestone streets to the little cottage tucked behind the alleyways. It was away from the main road, a perfect place for someone who wanted to keep a low profile. I was tired of sneaking down at night then sneaking back in the morning, but I suspected Aurelias wouldn’t come to my chambers if I asked. His relationship with my father was different now, and that was a line he probably wouldn’t cross.
I knocked on his door and waited for his deep voice to invite me inside, but there was only silence. I knocked again, but there was no answer, no footsteps. When I grabbed the handle, it turned because it was unlocked, so I let myself inside.
A few lamps were on, but the room was still dark, shadows in the corners. The counter had a bottle of scotch with a few drops of amber at the bottom. “Aurelias?” I moved to the foot of the stairs and looked to the second landing, expecting to see him emerge in nothing but his boxers, but he wasn’t there.
I was disappointed by his absence and assumed he was at the bar, drinking alone in the corner, thinking about the long road ahead of us. I moved upstairs and approached his unmade bed. A dagger was on his nightstand, red jewels in the hilt. His sword was against the wall, a snake engraved down the black scabbard.
I decided to undress and help myself to his sheets, getting under the covers so he would discover me when he returned. The mattress didn’t match the quality of mine at the castle, but it somehow felt infinitely more comfortable. I could smell him on the sheets, smell that scent of snow, smoke from the fireplace, and scotch. I lay on my side and closed my eyes, so comfortable that I felt my mind gently relax.
Sometime later, the front door opened and closed, and the heavy sound of a man’s footfalls made its way up to me.
My eyes opened, and I listened to the sound of a bottle leaving the counter, the booze filling a glass, and then the bottle returning to the counter. I imagined he was drinking the scotch he’d just poured, even though he’d probably had plenty at the bar. Then his footsteps moved to the stairs, up to the second landing, and he emerged in the bedroom, dressed in his regular clothes instead of all the heavy armor that made him twice as big.
He looked at me with his signature intensity, his gaze hot like the sun, not remotely surprised that I was there. “Baby.”
A shiver ran down my body, starting with my heart and traveling all the way to my toes. A tingle remained afterward, a numbness in all four extremities. There were bumps on my arms like I was cold, but a flame had burst to life inside my stomach.
He undressed, shedding his shirt and then his trousers, leaving them as a pile on the rug.
I sat up and let the sheet slide down to my stomach, my hard tits suddenly exposed to the cold air. My nipples sharpened, and I felt the tightness across my chest.
His eyes dropped down as his thumbs hooked into his boxers to lower them to the floor. He pulled them down, revealing a rock-hard dick that looked right at me. His knees hit the bed, and he moved up, getting on top of me in seconds, throwing off the sheets so he could smother my body instead.
He kissed me.
No—he inhaled me.
Demanding and incessant, he took my lips with ownership, his hand hooking into my hair so he could get a firm grip. He possessed me fully, enveloped me in the warmth only he could provide.
It was a connection hard to describe, but all I knew was I’d never had it with anyone else. No other man could hold a candle to Aurelias. There had been fun times, some really fun times, but nothing like this.
I tried to roll him over so I could get on top, but he pinned me to the bed and separated my thighs with his knees. He growled against my mouth when I tried to take the lead. Then he adjusted me underneath him, planting one foot against his chest as he folded me to his liking. His dick pushed inside me, pushed past the tightness at my entrance, and slowly sank in.
I moaned against his mouth. “Yes…” There was no better feeling than this, than feeling him enter me with a shove because he was too damn big. He only made it the rest of the way because my inner flesh was so soft and smooth, primed to take his impressive girth.