He pulled my hand between his legs and—holy fucking shit, he was huge and only growing. I rubbed my palm up and down his straining denim. His shaft seemed to go on forever.
“Take it out,” he commanded. “I want to watch your hand stroking me.”
His finger quickened around my clit. My whole body tingled and shook, and I knew the moment he entered me, I would come hard.
My eyes fluttered open just long enough for me to see that we were no longer alone.
Theo was standing a few feet away, mortified.
Oh, no, I thought. I forgot I told Theo I’d be here.
This was supposed to be a chance for us to reconnect, to work on the investigation together again. Instead, he walked in on Arvo and me together. His expression was a mix of heartbreak and venom.
“Hey, Brant,” Arvo chuckled. “Enjoying the show?”
Theo turned and stormed back down the stairs. I broke away from Arvo and ran after him.
I was a good way down the corridor leading from the library to the central copula when I caught him.
“Theo,” I cried. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for that—”
“Mean for what!” he shouted, spinning around. “Didn’t want me to see you becoming the Kings’ plaything? Something for them to pass around whenever they get bored?”
“Don’t say that,” I begged. “It isn’t true.”
“It is, and you know it. Now don’t ever fucking talk to me again, Biba. We aren’t connected anymore.”
And then he was gone. Forever.
CHAPTER 20
BIBA
In heat—that’s the only expression to explain how I felt the next day.
I had plenty to make me anxious: the revelations about Sol, the unanswered question about the other Kings, Theo’s recriminations. Also, Arvo’s offer to murder someone under my direction. All of these factors should have made me sick to my stomach.
But that nausea was tempered by something else: my desire to be in Arvo’s arms again.
I had tried to stifle my physical attraction to Arvo, and for a few days, I’d nearly succeeded. But last night, I couldn’t help it. I still felt his powerful digits pressing against my pussy, still smelled his musk as he held me close, still yearned to free that mammoth cock from his pants and take it inside. I couldn’t sleep a wink.
The next morning, my mind kept flashing back to that memory. I hardly registered a word from my professors or tasted a morsel of the food. How could I possibly keep going in this state? Something had to give.
It gave much quicker than I expected. After my three o’clock class, I was met in the hall by one of the Kings’ lackeys. He didn’t speak, didn’t even meet my eyes. He simply handed me a note and fled. It was from Arvo.
We have unfinished business. Come now. The Hall.
I should have shown a little demureness, at least kept him waiting. I didn’t, though; wild horses couldn’t keep me away.
I’d only been to the Kings’ Hall once, and most of that visit was a narcotic blur. But as soon as I turned toward the courtyard, I found that I remembered the exact series of motions to get me there: out the portico and straight across the courtyard to one of the few breaks in Stormcloud’s perimeter wall. Walk with confidence to the precipice, make sure no one is watching, bend your knees, and make a light leap into the void. A five-foot drop—a terrifying five feet—lands you on a shelf below. The shelf slopes down to the great wooden door of the Kings’ Hall.
“Enter,” Arvo’s voice bellowed from inside as I knocked.
I winced. It wasn’t easy to get past his over-the-top Kingly airs. It put me in that funny position of wanting to smack him and fuck him at the same time. Even so, he was the preeminent King of Stormcloud, at least for now. That meant he could back up his claims of power and influence. I needed to tread lightly with his ego until Zephyr returned.
Pushing open the door, I was struck anew at how portentous the Kings’ Hall was. Flickering torches illuminated the stone walls, the narrow passage leading to the central hall with mounted medieval arms and an odd, dark pool. Then the throne loomed at the far end, on which Arvo sat in his colorful satin robe—the same one he wore the last time I was there. In his hand was a crystal chalice filled with some garnet-hued liqueur.
“You required to wear that thing in here?” I asked.