I lick my lips, and a breath escapes. “What did you give me?”
“An arousing elixir.” His lips form a secret smile. “But it also has the potential to frustrate.”
“How so?” I breathe, suddenly aware of the citrus-infused scent wafting off the doctor. His cologne heightens my senses, and I not only hear Sebastian shift again, but I envision the denim of his jeans rubbing the seat cushion.
I want to be that cushion.
“One teaspoon will turn a woman on, two will make her beg, and three does both while also bringing on a curious side effect.”
Silence.
It surrounds the table, amplifying the thundering beat of my heart, and I sense every gaze on me, heavy as the bricks laid out in the walkway to the cliffs. Hot embarrassment splashes across my cheeks.
“What side effect?” I ask, drawn to the coppery glint in Liam’s hair as the weight of his stare pins me to the spot from across the table.
Vance turns my face until we’re eye-to-eye again. His aren’t green or blue or even brown. They’re a deep gray with undertones of hazel. From far away, those eyes don’t startle and draw attention, but up close they pack a punch.
“Have you heard of the term anorgasmia?” he asks.
I shake my head, and he leans even closer.
“It’s the medical term for when someone can’t reach orgasm.” He nods toward the syrupy potion he gave me, still sitting too innocuously on the table. “Quite a devious mixture. Three teaspoons causes intense arousal while leaving one unable to reach climax.”
“Did I do something to anger you, Dr. Morgan?”
“It’s Vance.” He settles back into his seat. “And no, you didn’t. I simply enjoy making you squirm.”
And that’s when I realize I underestimated the doctor, believing him to be one of the few kind-hearted men in this tower, gentle in mannerism and caring in a professional sense. I let my guard down and I’m paying for it between the knees.
I want to inch them together, to keep the intensity of throbbing heat inside me, but my panties are undeniably damp. It’s too late, because whatever he gave me is rushing through my blood, wreaking havoc on my pride, and every pair of eyes is a witness to my humiliation.
“May I be excused?”
“Finish your dessert,” Vance says, his fingers slipping under silk and reaching for the flesh of my thigh. I bite back a desperate moan.
“Please,” I breathe, my chest heaving.
His gaze dips to my cleavage. “Be the good girl I know you can be.” He nods at my half-eaten cheesecake. “Afterward, you’ll get your reward.”
My reward…
My eyes clash with Liam’s, but the sexual energy coming off Sebastian makes my breath hitch. His presence strokes me like a fiery touch, as real as the hand inching up my thigh. With agonizing slowness, I bring a bite of dessert to my mouth and force my gaze on the lion.
That’s when Vance dips a finger beneath the lace edge of my thong. My mouth closes around the spoon, stifling a moan, and yet…
Sebastian hears it, senses it, feels it. Those azure eyes widen the slightest bit, his nostrils flaring. The movement of his chest quickens.
But last month, he had me under his command, free to do anything he wanted, and he held back, especially on the night of the charity ball. I took a chance and went to his floor, wanting my dance.
Wanting him to want me.
He wanted Lilith Astor instead.
Her name leaves a nasty stain on the walls of my mind. I swallow the last of the cheesecake, and Vance removes his hand from between my legs and brings it to my mouth, his finger sliding along my lip. The taste of my arousal is intoxicating—a forbidden sample of decadence I can’t help but crave on the lips of two men sitting at this table.
“Who’s it going to be, my queen?” Vance pushes a finger into my mouth before sliding it out again. “Who are you wet for?”
I give him the most diplomatic answer I can. “All of you, considering the potion you gave me.” It’s mostly a lie, except for the potion part. The instant his elixir stormed my veins, my body ignited with arousal.
The sort I can’t fight.
Knowing Sebastian is sitting to my left only intensifies it, and not even the filament of betrayal between the chancellor and me can snuff it out.
“You can’t have all of us tonight. You may only choose one.”
I take a leisurely glance around the table, touching on every man, but especially Sebastian. His bold stare holds a dare.
Choose me, it challenges with smug triumph, as if he believes the choice has already been made. My brother tilts his head, silently telling me the same thing. The lion and his supposed safety net is the only option.
Maybe it’s the unrelenting demand in their expressions, or the way everyone in this tower believes it’s their right to control me, but when I settle my gaze on Liam, and he looks away in hurtful disappointment, I know what I must do.