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If only I could say I was completely terrified instead of aroused.

Baxter walks over to place himself directly over me. He peers down, our gazes clashing—his full of determination and mine full of disquiet.

“What should I expect?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper. “Will there be pain?”

“Expect some discomfort when I probe your mind, but no pain. Unless you fight me.” He flicks his eyes to Lucien. “Hold her down.”

“With pleasure.”

I jackknife off the armrest and throw out my hands. “Wait.”

Lucien is there, his fingers encircling both of my wrists like manacles. “You know I like it when you try to fly away, little bird. Don’t tempt me to misbehave.”

My body reacts to the fear skittering through me, as well as to the tingles of sexual awareness. The pulsing of my core returns, timing itself to the rapid cadence of my heart, submerging me into confusion.

Baxter exhales a second before his fingers skim my throat. He takes a hold of my head and roughly guides it back into place. I stare up at him, not bothering to hide my fear. It’s pointless. I’m overpowered physically.

And I’m about to be overpowered mentally.

Resignation covers me like a shield, and something inside me shifts. Or strengthens. I can’t discern which. “Do what the fuck you need to, so I can get the hell out of this place.”

The man’s eyes widen, and Lucien chuckles. Baxter’s mouth thins, but I swear I catch his lips twitching. “For once,” he says, palming the sides of my skull, “you and I are in agreement.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, and Lucien brings my arms flush to my chest. His fingertips press into my breasts, his thumbs positioned directly over my nipples. He scoots closer until his hips are next to me on the wide seat. The heat of his body seeps into mine, and his cologne fills my senses, overwhelming me.

“I don’t care if she screams,” Baxter says from above me, “just make sure she doesn’t move.”

My heart thrashes within my ribcage, and the speed of my pulse ratchets up when Baxter’s hands warm, heating my face where he holds me. A dense pressure slams against my head, and my eyes fly open. I look at Baxter, trying to make sense of what’s happening, and the furrow of his brow sends me into a tailspin.

Then everything goes black.

CHAPTER7

LUCIEN

The little bird has encountered a viper in Baxter.

And now he’s biting her.

Oh, how I wish I could do the same. She’s such a delectable morsel, this one. The most succulent female I’ve encountered since… Hmm… Perhaps she’s the most enticing woman I’ve ever come across.

I watch her endure Baxter’s ministrations, soak in how his magic invades her body in the way I want to. It enters her mind a second later, and she arches her back as though to be rid of him. My fingers, now pressed against her tits, tremble with the need to fondle her. I would, too, if Baxter didn’t have to concentrate.

Damn precarious magic. So fucking troublesome.

“Let me in, princess,” Baxter says between clenched teeth. “That’s it.”

The queen’s daughter, home at last… I thought I recognized her.

Well, now my cock is hard. Erm, harder. As it has been since I first laid eyes on the woman. Alice came flying at me like the little bird she is, and I should’ve devoured her then.

I’d bet my treasured hat collection that her pussy tastes like royalty.

Baxter releases a string of muttered curses, and Alice writhes in my hold, her head whipping from side to side. The golden tresses of her hair spread across the armchair, and her lips part in a silent scream. She is definitely fighting him.

This does not bode well for her.

However, it’s an opportunity for me. And she won’t mind, not since she’s slept with half of the kingdom.