Page 38 of The Queen's Line

Neither Owen or I mentioned what had taken place to any of the others. We took a lunch together out on the deck, staying mostly quiet. Owen kept me close, leaving kisses on my shoulders and running his fingers over my curls.

The Hunger didn't return.

When nightfall came and a slightly stilted dinner was over with, Owen exchanged brief words with Cosmo, and then escorted me up to the bedroom we'd been sharing. I wasn't sure what he'd said, but it left us alone together for the night.

There was a tap on the screen of the washroom, and I stiffened in the tub and then forced myself to relax. "Yes?"

"Can I come join you?"

I brushed my soapy hands over the surface of the bubbly water as I considered Owen's offer. The tub was big enough for two, although it'd be a squeeze. That didn't sound unpleasant, just intimate, and I was full of jagged nerves. But Owen…

"Yes, join me."

Owen moved quickly into the small space, lit only by a set of candles in the windowsill. He flashed me a quick and careful smile before pulling his shirt off over his head and stripping out of his pants and underwear in two quick steps. I'd seen him more or less naked before, the morning of my choosing, but it was so different now. He wasn't just beautiful to look at. I wanted to touch him, to learn the ways we fit together, to be entirely surrounded by him.

I pushed myself to one side of the tub and Owen slid in on the other, his knees breaking through the bubbles and his feets resting against my bottom as he faced me.

"Did what happened in the stable happen too soon?" Owen asked, leaning forward. He ignored washing himself, and my hands itched with the impulse to do the work for him.

"I—no! No, it wasn't too soon," I said, blushing and swishing water in his direction to lap at his chest. "It's just that I didn't realize the Hunger wouldforceyou to…" I swallowed and shook my head when words failed me.

Owen hummed and his arms stretched, hands circling my wrists. "What happened? That part is foggy. I just remember having you on my tongue and listening to you shout my name," he said, grinning.

He tugged on one of my wrists and I laughed, ducking my head and letting him pull me through the water to cuddle against his chest.

"It was like…it was as if it wasn't enough," I said. "Which itwas. It was wonderful! I've never…" I looked up and Owen's smile was warm, his eyes a little hooded with interest. "And I told you I wanted to…"

"My cock," he said, eyebrows jumping. His grin grew even prouder in that moment. "I just remembered. You said you needed my cock."

"And you said no, and then Itoldyou to and you just sort of…you disappeared. It was like you were unconscious but just obeying orders."

Owen hummed and settled us deeper in the water, pulling me closer and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “It's a bit fuzzy, but I remember just feeling a…like I was about to burst with wanting to be inside you. Which, I mean, I am generally," he said, laughing. "I definitely was while I was tasting you. I only said no because I'm…I'm kind of big, and I'm a little bit worried about hurting you. Not sure I'm the best choice for your first…you know."

I blinked, and then my eyes widened. My first cock. Owenwasthe biggest of my Chosen.

"You think it might hurt?" I asked, resting a hand over his steady heartbeat.

"It might, if we don't take enough time to ready you. But there's lots we can do first, and it'll all feel good for both of us," Owen said. He leaned back to grin at me, and then his brow furrowed, a wet hand reaching up out of the water and his fingertip running down the length of my nose. "What's wrong?"

"What if the Hunger comes back and I force you to do something?"

Owen's nose and mouth scrunched up. "Not sure there's much you could tell me to do I wouldn't want to anyway."

I huffed and fought my smile. "Owen! I don't want to have sex with someone who's being forced by my magic. I want to have sex withyou. I want to see this smile while it's happening," I said, tracing said smile with my own touch, giggling as Owen nipped at my fingers. "I want to control the Hunger, not have it control you."

"Fair enough, I'd want the same for you," Owen murmured.

And as much as I feared a repeat of what had happened in the stables, I couldn't resist the impulse to stretch, my chest pressing to Owen's as I arched up for a kiss. I moaned and shivered in the warm water as he kissed my mouth the same way he had my sex, with licks and nibbles and the vibration of his own groan. When I tried to pull away, Owen held me in place with one hand splayed on my bare back, his nose nuzzling mine.

"What if—"

"You can't learn to control the Hunger if you don't test it a little bit, right?" Owen whispered, nipping at my lips. "Like I said, there's lots we can do with our hands and mouths that will feel just as good. When you want to touch, try and think of it as practice."

Ihadbeen able to push the Hunger away when I'd realized what had happened. As quick as the power came on, I'd managed to clear my head and stop it from completely taking over.

I turned and pressed myself to the side of the tub, lips quirking as I scooped up handfuls of water and then poured them over Owen's chest. "And if I want to practice touching now?" He reached for me and I grinned, pushing his hands back. "I said touching. Not being touched."

Owen's eyebrows jumped. "I'm not sure a Chosen's priority is being touched."