Page 24

CHAPTER 24

Sage

What was wrong with me? I’d never been so brazen in my life. A woman didn’t jump a man and take their pleasure from him without any regard for his needs. They accepted whatever he graciously gave them.

But the first orgasm Lord Quill had given me hadn’t been enough. It would never have been enough. The spike of desire had been overwhelming before he’d touched me, and it had completely taken over once he had. I’d needed his cock, needed to be filled, and that something that always snapped through me when we touched had crackled like lightning through my blood.

I scrambled off Lord Quill and grabbed the blanket that I’d clung to since the guys had rescued me, the urge to hide my shame twisting my insides.

“Hey,” Lord Quill murmured as I pressed back against the headboard and pulled the blanket up to my chin.

I needed to get ahold of myself. Be strong. A fae woman would never be embarrassed after sex. She’d be strong and sexy, languishing in the feel of her orgasm. But I was acting like a human and giving everything away.

He sat up but didn’t try to draw closer, letting me keep the distance as if he knew approaching me would make me panic… which it would. Hell, I already was panicking.

“I—” My chest tightened and I fought to breathe. “I-I need you to leave.”

The muscles in his jaw flexed and I could see the refusal on his lips.

“Please,” I begged before he could say no.

“If I leave, West will enter.” He glanced at the closed door leading to the sitting room before turning his stunning green gaze back to me. “Let me bathe you. Help you clean up first.”

Right. Lord Quill had pulled rank on Sir West just to get me alone in the bedroom, and I had no doubt what Lord Quill said was true. Sir West would never leave me unattended. Even if Quill left the bedroom door open, Sir West would stand in the doorway and watch me. I wouldn’t get the moment I needed to pull myself together.

The panic rose to my throat, turning my breaths into sharp gasps.

“Hey hey hey,” he cooed as he crawled to my side and opened his arms. “May I?”

I stared at him. He wanted to hold me? Only Ash had ever offered me comfort like that and it hurt my soul knowing Ash should have been the one I’d had sex with, not Quill.

Except Lord Quill had been generous and gentle. I’d felt safe letting him touch me and I knew I’d feel safe if I let him hold me now.

I just had to remember I couldn’t let it go further than a little comfort and a little sex.

Father, I couldn’t let it go further than that with Ash, either.

I. Was. Human.

And fae didn’t have permanent relationships with humans. We couldn’t bear their children and we lived a fraction of their lives. The mating marks ringing my neck and me appearing in the Garden when only fae could enter, were a mistake, and if I let things get emotionally complicated, Ash and Quill would be furious with me.

That, and my life wasn’t my own. I lived on borrowed time. Eventually the men of the Black Tower would learn the truth and I’d have to face the consequences.

“I know I’ll never be your mate, but let me take care of you for now,” he said.

I bowed my head. Lord Quill taking care of me was a much better choice than Sir West staring at me. “All right.”

He scooped me from the bed, blanket and all, and carried me across the lavish bedroom and into a bathing room that was more opulent than anything I’d ever seen before.

The centerpiece was a stone tub sunk into the floor large enough to hold five or six people. Water, decorated with white and pink glowing flowers, filled it almost to the edge, and the air was thick with a warm mist, making me realize, now that the spike of desire had past, that I was cold.

Double doors at the back of the room stood open, revealing a breathtaking view of the lights from the other rooms in the tree-castle that made up the Divine Residence. I couldn’t see into any of the other rooms — they were too far away — so I had no fear that someone could stand on their balcony and watch me bathe.

Lord Quill set me down on the edge of the tub and, still clutching the blanket to my front, I dipped my toes into the hot water. A warm shiver rolled through me, drawing a sigh, and I let my foot and calf sink into the heated depths.

“Don’t get in yet,” he said as he moved to an intricately carved set of shelves and gathered towels, a soft cloth, and fancy glass bottles. “I want to wash you first.”

“Right. Need to wash off—” My face burned and I gestured to my crotch where Quill was slowly leaking from me.

He chuckled, the sound soft and sensual, even as a hint of sadness crept into his gaze. “If I were an animal shifter, I’d be offended at the suggestion to wash me off you.”

“Oh, I?—”

The image of Lord Rider furious that I’d wash him from me and ready to cover me again in his seed sent a shiver of desire rushing through me.

I quickly shoved that thought aside, praying that it had come from my desire spike and not something I actually wanted.

Lord Quill set the towel on a stone bench a few feet away and knelt beside me with the cloth and glass bottles. “You deserve to be worshiped. Let me worship you.”

I nodded, my chest aching with how tight it was.

This handsome fae prince was going to shatter me. If I’d thought Ash had ruined me for having sex with any other man, Lord Quill was going to ruin me for everyone else.

He gently drew the blanket out of my grip then urged me to stand and helped me peel off my dress. A tremble shook my legs, and I clamped an arm across my breasts and a hand over my mound as my face heated with embarrassment. I’d only ever been naked in front of Ash, and it had been so dark — and my desire had been so strong — I hadn’t cared.

But here, the soft fae light exposed everything and I couldn’t bear for Quill to look at me.

Father, I was an idiot. I’d agreed to let him wash me. I knew that involved getting naked, but I hadn’t realized how vulnerable I’d feel.

“You’re so beautiful.” He took one of the cloths, dipped it into the warm water in the tub, added a drop of something from one of the bottles, and began to gently wash my shoulders and back.

He didn’t try to move my arms and kept the cloth in a safe, respectful location. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sensation of the warm water and the gentle pressure of his hands.

He wasn’t going to hurt me. He’d saved me from Wells and Crane and those other men, and he’d stood up to Sir West to ensure I had privacy when we’d made love. He thought I was a fae woman and he wanted to comfort me.

In this moment, I could trust him.

I released a ragged breath and leaned into his touch, letting him ease the tension in my body. He worked his way down my right arm to my elbow then followed my forearm across my chest where he gently tugged on my wrist. I let him pull my arm away, and he moved the cloth with my arm instead of focusing on my chest. He did the same with my other arm, keeping his movements respectful.

Little snaps of attraction danced over my skin, and a sensual, slow heat unfurled inside me, but it wasn’t the desperate need I’d felt from my mating marks. This was soft, tender. It had the potential to turn blistering, but Lord Quill didn’t push for it and neither did I.

I needed time to feel safe and to work my head and heart around everything that had happened. I needed to cry out my grief and frustration and heartache. I needed to scream at the injustice of Sawyer being sent to the Gray, of Mikel and Durand and Wells and Crane thinking I could be their plaything. I needed— I needed?—

“That’s it,” Lord Quill murmured as he trailed the cloth over my already damp cheeks. “I’ve got you.”

My breath hitched and more tears leaked from my eyes.

Come on, Sage. Be strong.

But I couldn’t stop the tears or the hiccupping gasps that shook my body.

Lord Quill wrapped his arms around me and I sagged to the floor, sobbing. He followed me down, holding me tight, and murmured something over and over again.

But I couldn’t focus on his words.

I could only feel.

And I felt like I was breaking into a million jagged pieces.

I’d cried in Ash’s arms, too, but that was over the horror of everything that had happened. Now I cried in Lord Quill’s arms for everything I couldn’t have.