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My voice was surprisingly steady. “I said I wouldn’t. My bed stayed cold, like you wanted.”

His grunt of acknowledgment was soft. His expression was neutral as he watched me jerk for him. And it was for him. If he wanted me to stop, he would have ordered as much.

No, he wanted to see my thighs spread and my hand on my dick. He wanted to see the smooth sack and waxed hole underneath. That was for him, too. Another order. One he’d issued a long time ago.

He sat there and watched like I was a whore from the stews of Lar Katerin and he was a paying customer. “You dressed her in your colors and draped your mother’s jewels around her neck.”

“She’s a princess…and half vampire.” Lust spiked, making my breath hitch. More precome spurted from my tip, and I squeezed my balls in a bid to slow my runaway desire. “I…ah fuck…honored her station.”

“Is that why you brought her here? To honor her?”

I worked my hand over my swollen cockhead and slicked moisture up my shaft. “I thought we could fuck her together. But I’ll send her back if you wish it.”

His golden gaze flicked up to mine.

“Say the word. I’ll send her over the Rift.”

A beat passed. He went back to watching me. But now one fang sank into his lower lip as he sucked it into his mouth.

I wanted to go to him. I wanted to straddle his lap and watch his composure shatter. But that wasn’t how this worked. I wasn’t even really sure what this was, and maybe he didn’t either. I just knew I needed it the same way I needed to breathe.

My balls were drawn up and tight. The base of my spine tingled. My dick pulsed in my hand.

Varick’s growl vibrated across the short distance between us. “You better not come.”

“Are you going to fuck me?” I huffed.

He tossed something onto the bed.

A vial of oil. The fucker had been warming it in his hand the whole time.

“Open yourself,” he rumbled. “Get your ass ready and then maybe I’ll fuck it.”

“Maybe?”

He shrugged.

I snatched up the oil and flopped onto my back. “How long are you going to punish me?” I asked, dribbling oil onto my fingers. I wasn’t sure if I asked about the princess or the sexual tension brewing in the room. Maybe both.

“Legs up, I want to see. And keep your hands off your dick.”

“Yes, General,” I muttered. I put my feet flat on the bed and let my thighs fall wide. With an oil-coated fingertip, I teased my entrance, circling the outside over and over. The knowledge that he watched from mere feet away—that he could see this most vulnerable part of me—lit a fire in my veins. I let my eyes drift shut and pushed a single finger inside. My muscles clenched, and a thick wave of pleasure rolled through me.

And now I knew why he forbade me to touch my dick. It leapt against my abs, the tip wetting my skin. “Ungh,” I groaned, fisting the sheet so I wouldn’t reach for my cock. With my other hand, I continued playing with my ass, sinking two fingers as deep as I could get them. It would take a lot more to accommodate Varick’s cock. “You could help me,” I complained, my hips lifting.

“Give me a reason to.”

Heat streaked through me. I knew what he wanted. So I obliged. I flipped to all fours with my ass pointed straight at him. Knees wide, I sank to one elbow and plunged my fingers back inside. “I’m pretending it’s you,” I said breathlessly as I finger-fucked my ass. I’d used plenty of oil, and the sound was loud in the quiet room. I sank lower and rolled my hips, lifting my ass high in invitation. “This is what I do when you’re not here. When you’re patrolling the Thicket with your men. When you leave me all alone in this big bed. I picture you in your armor behind me, spreading me wide and driving that thick cock into my hole.”

Varick was quiet. But his gaze was like a brand on my skin.

“But you’re here now.” I thrust faster. My dick was an iron spike. I rocked my hips, and it swung like a pendulum between my legs. Every muscle was taut as I struggled to stave off my release. “So fuck me,” I begged. “Please.”

I didn’t even hear him move.

The crack split the air a second before the sting of his hand registered. The blow on my ass jolted me forward. Before I could smash face-first into the bed, he seized me and spun me around. He hauled me up, and our mouths crashed together in a desperate, hungry kiss that tasted of wine and blood and him. His night beard scratched my chin, and I gripped his shirt and pulled him closer because I couldn’t fucking get enough.

And he couldn’t tolerate me being in charge for long. He plunged his tongue deep, overwhelming my senses. Filling my lungs with his scent and my ears with the sound of his harsh breaths that told me his nonchalance in the chair had been an act.