Barely even breathed.
Just followed along at my side like a robot as Maximus led us to a lavish bedroom meant for guests. He explained the furnishings in a few brief sentences, stating it would be my residence while on the property until I desired to leave or the king dismissed us of our duty.
I engaged in the necessary chatter, expressing my gratitude and giving him a fresh smile as he bid us a pleasurable evening. Then I locked the door behind him and turned to find Valora standing as still as a statue beside the colossal bed. Her corset remained ripped in half, her nipples erect in the cold air, her expression one of death.
For someone so powerful, she sure did shut down easily.
My jacket lay over the arm of a nearby chair, causing my lips to twitch. Someone had brought it from the table, which meant it had very likely been inspected. They would have found a standard lighter, a cigar, and a copy of tonight’s invitation. All items easily overlooked by the untrained eye.
I flicked the lighter, putting on a show of testing the flames while tinkering with the button on the bottom. The noise cancellation device disguised as a cigar would activate immediately, allowing us to speak freely without interference. But I suspected a camera still lurked in the room, capturing our time together for the king to review later.
I also had a plan for that.
The invitation had been altered, the cardstock thick enough to hide the frequency jammer lined between the paper.
Demon technology. Efficient. Powerful. And so fucking useful.
I slid the card out as if to read it and placed it beside the cigar, then lit another flame to activate the trigger inside the cardstock.
A tiny green light beneath the fire told me I’d accomplished my mission.
The king would be able to watch the film, but the image would be fuzzy and the sound would be in and out. Perfect for my intentions.
Now to heat up the frozen queen.
Prince Adrik was dangerous. I already knew that, but his earlier touch drove the point home.
My body felt alien to me. Sensations I’d never experienced swirled beneath my skin, and a slick wetness coated the insides of my thighs. The residual quakes in my lower half were vastly different from the pain I would normally be wishing away right now.
Prince Adrik had willed my body to perform strange things before the assembled audience.
And worse, I had enjoyed it.
An orgasm. At least, that was what I thought had occurred. I’d felt consumed, light-headed, as if floating away on a cloud of utter bliss. Someone once called it the little death. I now understood the phrase because, in the moment, I’d almost felt free.
And a twisted part of me desired to experience it again.
No. I shook myself of the thoughts. It couldn’t happen again. The vulnerability was something I couldn’t afford to feel around one of my husband’s allies. Especially one destined to do wicked things to my body.
This whole situation was preposterous. I wasn’t a whore but a queen, and I would recover my position and pride and place.
“Remove your clothes,” Adrik demanded, cutting into my thoughts.
I turned to face him, defiant. My head held high, although my legs shook like brightly colored autumn leaves dancing in a furious storm.
“I gave you an order,” he said, prowling closer.
“I’m queen here. I do not take orders from you.”
Adrik’s full lips twisted upward into a sinfully decadent smile, one that would have drawn my attention in any other situation apart from this one. While my husband was a decent-looking man, Adrik possessed a beauty that surpassed most, and the dimples flashing deep in his cheeks suggested he knew it.
Power poured from him as he stopped before me, a sinful energy foretelling of disturbing plans to destroy me like the whore he saw me as.
I will not waver.
I will not fall.
“Your gown is covered in blood from those who died tonight. Men I killed for the privilege of your company. Are you sure you want to remain clothed?” Adrik strode over to a wardrobe in his chamber’s corner, his strong strides willing my gaze to follow.