Page 140 of Taste of Thorns

“Fuuuuck,” I groan. “Fuuuck, Briony.”

I slide my hand down her face, down her throat, along the blood vessel in her throat and to the neck of her shirt. I tear it open and groan when I find she’s not wearing one of her plain bras but something lacy and erotic. I squeeze at her tits as she continues to grind on my cock, winding me higher and higher, until I can’t help myself. I take a cheekful of ass in both of my hands, lifting her up and then slamming her back down onto my cock. She cries out and I do it again and again, lifting my hips to meet her each time, watching as she falls apart on top of me. Knowing, as I spill into her and every single part of my cold body tingles with an indescribable pleasure, that I’ll never forget this, not even if I live for ever.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Briony

The morning of the next trial, I wake, not in my hard, rickety bed in my cold bedroom in the drafty old tower, but in Beaufort Lincoln’s strong arms. These last few weeks I’ve been deviating from his bed to Dray’s, occasionally ending up in Fox’s, on a couple of occasions visiting Thorne’s bedroom for another round of explicit peekaboo, and spending very few nights in my swanky new room up at the top of the Prince’s tower.

I also wake up refreshed. Not like the previous trials where I hardly slept a wink. Last night, after my tryst with Fox in the Great Hall, I’d climbed straight into Beaufort’s bed and promptly fallen straight to sleep. Something about the presence of these men is unnervingly reassuring, even when I know I’m about to take a big risk today.

I tiptoe off to the bathroom, showering while Beaufort sleeps on, and I’m dressed and my hair plaited down my back by the time he eventually groans and blinks open his eyes.

He gazes up at me and blinks some more.

“Am I late?” he asks, scrabbling around for his watch on the side table. He looks frankly delicious like this, his hair all messy around his head, his eyes blurry with sleep, the muscles rippling across his back.

I sigh.

“What?” he asks, looking up from the face of his watch.

“It’s very tempting to climb back into bed with you.”

He rolls onto his side, creating a space on the mattress beside him, and draws back the covers, revealing his sculpted chest, toned stomach, and hard cock.

“Then climb away, sweetheart.”

I bite on my lip, gaze lingering on his cock.

“I can’t. It’s the trial. And I need to eat and –”

“The trial,” he says, rolling onto his back and combing his hands through his tangled hair, his fingers catching on the knots. “Yeah, for a moment you distracted me so much with offers of … I forgot.” He turns his head back my way. “Let’s get you fed and some strong coffee down you.”

I nod enthusiastically and he retrieves a pair of boxers from his chest of drawers, then takes my hand in his and leads me down to the kitchen.

To my surprise, Dray, Thorne, and even Fox are already there, each with a cup of coffee in their hands, Dray sitting up on the counter, legs swinging; Thorne and Fox standing on opposite sides of the kitchen.

It’s funny, but even now after weeks of being in this situation with the four of them, it still kind of takes my breath away when I step into the room with all of them there. It makes that new sensation in my blood – that magic – dance and spin and basically lose its head. If I were a dog, I’d be wagging my tail so aggressively, furniture would be sent flying. As it is, my heart pounds so violently, I’m sure all of them must hear it.

“Morning, Kitten,” Dray says, pacing straight towards me and slapping a passionate kiss on my mouth. Fox follows, resting a cold hand on my shoulder and pressing his lips to my cheek. As usual, all Thorne can do is stand and watch.

“I didn’t think you’d be here this morning,” I tell the professor as he squeezes my shoulder and steps away. “Don’t you have to be doing trial things?”

“Not yet. And besides, I wanted to see you, to try and convince you one last time that this is a stupid idea and you should forget all about it.”

“Go ahead, but I’m not going to change my mind. I need to do this for Amelia, for all those other kids and,” I swallow, “for me.”

My sister’s death has haunted me for nine long years. I was never able to shake the feeling that something wasn’t right about it, that she didn’t die in the way they said she did. Now I know the truth, I need everyone else to know it too. My sister wasn’t a careless imbecile, killed in an accident. She was murdered. And the person who murdered her is going to pay for her crime.

Fox sighs, nods and says, “Then let’s go over the plan one last time instead.”

Dray groans. “Do we have to? We’ve already been over it like one billion times.”

“Yes, we have to,” Fox responds.

“Okay,” Dray says, knocking back his cup of coffee. “You’ll be keeping an eye on Briony throughout the trial. Once me and the others have completed the trial, we’ll come join you, bringing the Empress with us. When Bardin moves in for the attack, we’ll be ready with the Empress to show her just what that bitch has been up to.” He slams his mug on the counter. “That’s it in a nutshell, right?”

“Yes,” I say. Dray is right. We’ve been over it a million times. I don’t see the point of going over it again.