Page 53 of The Midnight King
The King chuckles, the sound deep and resonant and alluring.
“Now you see, that’s what makes me angry.” I poke his broad chest with my finger. “I love that laugh. But it’s notreal. It’s all fake.”
“Keep your voice down,” he advises. “You do realize I can glamour myself to look, sound, and smell like this anytime. I can be anyone you want.”
“I wanttruth.” The word truth feels strange and thick on my tongue. “Tell me, Your Majesty, am I drunk?”
“Very much so.”
“I’ve never been drunk. I’ve never had this much wine. I’m not allowed to drink any of Milady Stepmother’s stash.”
“You need to come with me, Celinda. Quickly and quietly. It’s nearly midnight.”
“Wouldn’t that be a sight?” A laugh bubbles up in my throat. “Me dancing naked in the ballroom?” Not that my anklet would allow it. That kind of embarrassment doesn’t fit with my stepmother’s directive that I perform like a proper fiancée. “I suppose I’d better go,” I admit.
“Indeed. I don’t think anyone has noticed your state of mind yet, but they will if we don’t leave now. Come along, we’ll step out this way.”
He guides me behind a large pillar, then over to the same side door we used earlier.
“We need to find a place where I can create a portal,” Killian says.
As we hurry up the stairs, with him supporting me, the clock begins to strike twelve.
“How long do I have before I’m naked?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. Blood magic can be unpredictable.”
“Especially when it’syourtreacherous blood.” I laugh and stumble into him.
“Try to walk straight, for fuck’s sake.” His glamour flickers momentarily, showing his true form. “Shit. I’ve been holding my own glamour for too long… I can’t keep it up.”
“Can you still make a portal?”
“Yes. Fortunately my ability to portal is a separate gift, and doesn’t require the same type of energy.”
As the air shimmers and the portal forms, we both hear voices from the end of the hall. Killian grabs me and we leap through together.
We tumble into the cellar of Eisling House, not a moment too soon, because Killian has reverted to his usual form, and I’m completely naked.
He’s on top of me, his thigh between my legs.
I blame the wine and its warmth for what I do next.
I arch my spine, rubbing against his thigh like a cat in heat.
Killian looks down at me, but he doesn’t move.
The wine softened everything I was feeling and made warmth bloom over my skin. But deep in my heart, there’s a soreness it can’t relieve. Lately I’ve been finding comfort in sex, soothing myself by having trysts with beautiful men. Even though those two men have coalesced into one Faerie who deceived me, I’ve formed an attachment. Killian is a habit of mine, in either of his forms. He represents help, kindness, freedom, and pleasure. Now that the wine has dulled the edge of my anger, I’m less inclined to stab him and more inclined to use him for comfort.
I rub myself against his thigh again. Still braced over me, he bites his lip and looks away.
“Come on,” I whisper. “You said you crave me, that you’re obsessed. Put your cock inside me right now. Fill me up with your cum, like you did when you were playing king.”
“You’re drunk,” he says. “I won’t touch you when you’re drunk.”
“But you touched me while wearing another face.”
“It’s not the same thing, Sin. You know that. You were fully in control of yourself then, and now you’re not.”