Page 29 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)
Post-sex guilt is real. Especially when a life depends on your quick thinking and rapid actions. In short, I had wasted time on pleasure that should have been spent on finding Kun-lo.
“Oh, fuck!” I snarled as I burst up into a sitting position, out of Tor'rien's arms. I scrambled for my clothes, muttering, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
A strong hand grabbed me and pulled me back against a solid chest. Tor'rien bent his face into my neck and breathed in deeply. “Calm yourself. It's done. I warned you, Tekhan. You belong to me now.”
I shoved him away. “This isn't about you and me! The case, Your Majesty! Someone is going to die because I gave in! Fuck! How long was I gone?” I looked up at the sky.
“It must be after noon. Dear Gods.” I ran a hand over my face and when I lowered it, I noticed that it trembled.
“Oh, fuck. I've given in to base desire when someone's life was in jeopardy.
I'm a terrible person. I may have well as killed them myself.”
I shot to my feet even as the King reached for me.
And yes, he was back to being the King. Intimate time was over.
I only had a few hours before Hallaxgral would murder an innocent person because of my mistake.
Luckily, I hadn't just been thinking about Tor'rien during my torture.
I had also focused on other things. Other problems.
Pausing with my shirt halfway buttoned, I exclaimed, “Dig!” Then I spun to face the King, who was also getting dressed, thank the Gods. “Oh, fuck me. Dig!”
The King scowled at me.
“Your Majesty?” Sir Vasren called through the wisteria.
Horrified, I slowly turned toward the sound of his voice and then jerked the branches aside to reveal the Dragon knight. Vasren flinched but inclined his head to me.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snarled. “You've been out there the entire time—listening like a pervert?”
Vasren lifted his chin and a brow. “I've been out here doing my job. If you wanted complete privacy, Claw Shinkai, you should have insisted that His Majesty take you somewhere private .”
Grimacing, I pushed past him while muttering, “Fair point, Sir Vasren. Fair point.” Then I stopped, sniffed, and looked him over. “And I could say something similar to you.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you didn't want me to comment on the way you spent last night, you shouldn't be so obvious about it.”
The King coughed to cover his laugh. The other two Dragon knights who'd been guarding us—ugh—didn't hide their amusement.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Vasren snarled.
Oh, that must have hit a nerve. This was the first time I'd seen Vasren react so violently. “My apologies. I didn't know your lover was a secret.”
Vasren's face twitched, and then he stomped around me, leading the way out of the garden.
I ran after him, still buttoning my shirt—my bloody shirt. “Great fuck,” I muttered and glanced at the King.
He came abreast of me. “What is it now?”
“Look at us.” I lifted my hands. Did we really have sex covered in the blood of our enemies as if we were enacting some kind of primitive ritual?”
The King chuckled and took my hand. “Yes. The most primitive ritual there is. And it was fantastic. Which reminds me. You haven't told me what those Eljaffna were planning. Are they the threat I heard rumors about?”
I tugged on his hand, urging him to go faster while distracting myself so I could lie. “Yes. But we don't have time for this. We need to get to Fuleng Park.”
“That park borders a human neighborhood.”
“Yes.” I grinned at him. He really was more intelligent than I'd originally given him credit for. “Kun-lo worked there. He was a gardener .”
“Dig!” the King exclaimed and put on speed. “Holy shit! Dig!”
“Exactly!”
We ran for the courtyard together, forcing the King's knights to do the same. As we approached, Sir Vasren went ahead, shouting for a carriage. And then we were inside the carriage, rumbling toward Fuleng Park.