Glint (The Plated Prisoner 2)

While he pours himself another cup, laughter spills from my chest, husky and quiet, a sound I haven’t uttered in years.

She’s gone. She’s finally gone.

I won’t ever have to lay eyes on her again. Won’t ever have to watch the way Tyndall looks at her, the way his gaze grows hungry every time she enters the room.

His precious little favored is gone, taken by his worst made-enemy, and there’s not a damn thing he can do about it.

Victory is sweet.

I shake my head, almost unable to believe this turn of events. “They’re going to rip her to shreds,” I say, my tone tinged with thrill.

“Worse than the snow pirates,” Jeo agrees, finishing off another half cup of wine before passing it to me.

I take it from him and swallow a hearty gulp while he picks up the letter, amused eyes skimming over it. “Ha, the whiny bastards are mad! Lost the saddles to Fourth and their captain jumped ship with their gold too. Bad luck.”

“I’ll have Uwen send them a crate of gold to make it up to them,” I say. At Jeo’s surprised look, I shrug. “They’re glorified mercenaries. With enough coin to assuage them, I can keep them as allies.”

My saddle walks over and slips a hand around my waist. “My queen is viciously brilliant.”

I smile before taking another drink, then press the rim of the glass to his mouth. He watches me with heavy-lidded eyes as I tip it back, letting the rest of the drink slip into his mouth. As soon as it’s drained, he puts the cup on the desk and tugs me close with his hands on my hips.

I tilt my head, welcoming the hungry look in his expression. With that being all the invitation he needs, Jeo presses his mouth against my neck and starts peppering kisses and nips over the sensitive skin.

My eyes flutter closed as he trails up to my jaw, and when his lips meet mine, I let out a little moan of satisfaction, a fire stoking low in my belly.

I like the idea of fucking him while knowing that I’ve taken all of Tyndall’s favorite toys away. His favorite harem of saddles is gone, while mine cups my ass and grinds his length into me.

I slip my tongue against Jeo’s, and all I taste is sweetly spiced wine and wicked victory.

“Mmm, delicious,” he murmurs against my lips.

“The wine?” I ask with a coy smile.

“You,” he replies. “I love it when you get devious, but when those plots of yours succeed and you get that look about you? Makes me hard as a rock.”

To prove his point, he grinds his hips into my front, letting me feel the impressive length of him beneath the pleat of his pants. “I’m going to take you right now, my queen,” he says, teeth running over the edge of my ear. “Going to fuck you on your desk with that nefarious, devilish smile on your face.”

My stomach lurches with needy heat, with the thrill of his filthy words, with lust that was never mine before. I was always ignored, set aside.

No more.

“Make it good,” I order with an imperious purr before I reach down and cup him. He groans into my ear, and the sound makes me shiver with feminine power.

Jeo reaches down and picks me up, walking a couple paces before setting me on my desk. His hands reach beneath my skirts, the many layers bunching as he shoves them to my waist.

When his fingers brush against the wet curls at the apex of my thighs, he grins and nips at my lip. “Such a naughty queen.”

“Stop talking and fuck me.”

He laughs as he undoes the tie at his trousers, dropping them around his ankles. “At your service, Your Majesty.”

Jeo thrusts into me a second later, so hard that my body slides backwards against the wood. But it’s good. It’s what I want, what I ordered, and I shall have it.

He leans in, hands holding my hips in place as he moves in and out of me in powerful strokes. “Does this please my queen?” he asks, mouth pressing against my neck, nibbling at the sensitive skin.

It does, but I want more. I want all the things Midas never gave me.

I shove at Jeo’s chest. “Down.”