Page 24 of The Ever King

“Wise. A good first step. Should you go missing, I know whose cock to cut off.”

“Gods, Mira.” Tobias groaned. “How much wine have you had?”’

She waved him away and gave me a devious grin. “Good luck, Liv. I expect every detail.”

I gave her a quick embrace and whispered as I pulled back. “Never tell Jonas.”

She snickered. “Afraid the man can smell when a woman has been bedded. He’ll just know. Prepare yourself.”

My body was ablaze in anticipation as I wove through couples until I slid into the shadows of the back corridor. I looked up and down twice. My shoulders slumped. He was gone.

“Did you think I would leave you, little bird?” Gloved fingers trailed down the back of my arm.

“For a moment I considered you thought better of doing this,” I whispered.

His laugh came out in a low rumble as he wrapped an arm around my waist, aligning my back with his front. “I swear to you, I’ve waited a long time for a moment as perfect as this.”

CHAPTER8

The Songbird

The climb to my family’s tower had never taken so long. Behind me, my stranger held to my hand, still masked, taking in the stone stairwell as we went.

“A tower,” he said once we reached the top. “You come from high ranks?”

If he knew I was a future queen, would all this change? I wasn’t ready to find out. “My father is a nobleman, yes. Does it frighten you?”

I let out a shriek of surprise when he took hold of my waist and pressed my back to the cool stone of the wall two paces from my chamber door. Again, he slid his covered nose against my throat. My breaths came sharp and heavy as his hand skated up the side of my ribs. His thumb teased the underside of one breast.

Such a simple touch, and still my body arched for more.

“If I were a wise man, I might deal with your father first.” His thumb slid over the mound of my breast and caressed the hardened peak of my nipple through my bodice. “But I’d rather deal with you.”

I let out a ragged sigh when he drew the heel of his hand over the same places as his thumb, never palming my breast fully. This was more a tease, a glimpse at what he might intend to do behind closed doors.

I slapped my hand behind me until my grip found purchase on the latch of my door. At the click, my stranger pulled back. He took my hand and, facing me, backed into the room.

The moment the door was closed, he had me against the wall again, only this time his body caged me there. I drew in a sharp gasp as his leg slid between my thighs. My gown had layers, but a whimper escaped my throat when he leaned in, the muscles of his leg rubbing wickedly against my throbbing center.

“Let me look at you.” He hooked his thumbs under my mask.

I gripped his wrists. “You as well.”

A low chuckle bobbed his throat. “Soon, but not yet.”

From beneath his collar a few edges of white scars were visible. Maybe he was a Rave. Maybe he knew exactly who I was, but believed the distance between our titles would never allow us to touch in such a way.

I cared little for ranks or classes, but I would play his game. Nothing so trivial as a mask would get me to stop this. Those gloves, now those were another matter. I craved the touch of skin to skin, desired to know if his hands were firm or gentle, smooth or callused.

With care, my shadow lifted my mask. I held my breath and waited for recognition, maybe a sudden change of heart. It never came.

His eyes shifted, hinting at a grin under his mask, and he lifted a palm to my cheek. “You’re perfect.”

He glided his fingers over the line of my jaw, the slope of my throat, until he reached the edge of my neckline and slid his fingertips beneath the bodice. Much lower, and the greater part of my chest would be bared to him.

He pressed his hips into mine, adding a touch of heated pressure at the apex of my thighs. I widened my stance, wanting more of him, wanting fewer layers between us.

He gathered bunches of my gown, tugging the skirt up my legs. “If you want more, little bird, all you must do is ask.”