Page 150 of Blackheart

He laughed to himself.

“What?” I asked.

“You do know an orgasm is caused by electricity sent to your brain, right?”

Barely able to keep my jaw off the floor, my face went hot. “Interesting.”

I wished he hadn’t told me that. In fact, I hated my rising curiosity.

I spent the rest of the evening in silence, not daring to taunt Ansel again. Xavian seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, celebrating and drinking with his friends, while Lady Jocelynn was completely in her element, effortlessly hosting the event. The shadows of banter, raised glasses, and boisterous laughter danced along the gothic wallpaper in the chandelier-lit space. Was this how things were before the kingdoms had begun to fall apart?

Since the Wrenavia’s were hosting the Whimcastor’s in their small castle, the consummation was expected to happen upstairs, in the room made for Ansel.

I had no plans of sleeping in the manor. After the deed was done, I’d go find Riven, hopefully not drunkenly passed out.

As dinner came to an end, Lady Jocelynn took me in her arm, guiding me through her home.

“My consummation was also witnessed,” she said. “I understand you may feel modest or?—”

I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

I’d been forced to be naked in front of several Drakers during my check-in process for the Waywards. I’d stood nude in front of an entire village with poison running down my legs. Countless men had seen me bare in my life. I didn’t give a shit about councilmen watching me. In fact, I wanted them to see, toknowI endured a loveless fuck for the sake of Castivian. No one would ever be able to question me, my loyalty, nor my future children.

Prepping me in the large bedroom first, Lady Jocelynn gave me a soft white nightgown with a thin purple bow on the front. It was meant to keep my modesty for the viewing.

I laughed. All of this was so ridiculous. Maybe it was my way of coping, but I couldn’t be nervous. It was Ansel for Fate’s sake.Heshould be nervous. I couldn’t wait to lay there, expressionless, while he tried to prove his manhood by claiming a wife.

I periodically giggled while Lady Jocelynn gave me concerned glances. Seated on the bed, I leaned against large pillows with dark grey cases. The entire room had a similar color scheme, dull and dark. The windows were ceiling high, the open curtains revealing the moon clouded over the ocean in the distance. There was no point in closing them. I’d have an audience either way, and I doubted the sea cared much for intimacy.

There was a knock at the door.

“You don’t have to do this,” Lady Jocelynn whispered, keeping the door locked. “We can say the alcohol has made you sick. You can consummate another night, in private.”

She, a noblewoman who had endured this same scenario, was concerned about me. I was bred into this world tough as any shield, and raised tougher.

“This is my duty,” I declared adamantly, any trace of amusement gone. “And I am perfectly capable of enduring it.”

Lady Jocelynn straightened her posture, composing herself. “Good. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

With that, she unlocked the door.

Within a moment, ten men stood at the far side of the room as Ansel approached the bed, unamused. Arthur Pos, Lord Eiren, and his men all waited attentively, while Avan was the only one who’d brought a drink. He sipped at it through a child-sized straw.

“The consummation may begin,” Lord Draven announced.

I’d sat on top of the blanket, but now I wished I’d gone beneath it. As I assessed the situation, my legs rapidly slid out from under me, the back of my head dragging down along the mattress.

My eyes widened. Ansel wasn’t getting in the bed; he was pulling me to the edge.

“Is the center not suitable for you?” I ground out quietly.

He tilted his head to the side as he unbuttoned his pants. “I’d hate for the sheets to need changing this late in the evening.”

The familiar warmth of a new cloud blanket surrounded me, radiating into my neck and shoulders—rolling in a massaging motion.

My hands couldn’t move. The blanket held them down. Ansel placed his own hands on my knees, spreading them apart.

His eyes flared with surprise. I hadn’t bothered wearing anything under the nightgown. Fully on display, my pulse quickened as he brought his thumb directly to my clit. With his opposite hand, he held himself, the tip of him just barely brushing my entrance.