The Forsaken King

Huntley came up behind me and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. Slowly, he pulled it up, waiting for my arms to rise.

I lifted them above my head and felt the material fall away.

His mouth closed on my neck as he removed my shift.

I felt it then, a powerful sensation all over my body, a constant hum in my ear.

His arm wrapped around me as he kissed me, as he undid my trousers and got them loose.

My heart pounded in a different way, raced with a speed it never had before, but the vibrations were absent. I didn’t feel it rattle in my rib cage like it did when I was afraid. It was powerful but also still, quiet.

I turned around and pulled his shirt over his head. A muscular torso met my gaze, powerful pecs and abs that were harder than his shield. I kissed him everywhere, right on the skin over his heart, and undid his pants at the same time. I could feel his heart beat against my kiss with the same enthusiasm as mine.

Naked, we got onto the bed, his narrow hips moving between my thighs as he pinned me against the sheets. The world around us felt blurry, while we were in clear focus. It was like being drunk but still having full control of your faculties.

My palms slid up his chest as I looked him in the eye, never seeing eyes so blue until now. “Can you feel that…?”

His mouth closed over mine for a deep kiss, his aggressive mouth taking mine like it’d been days rather than hours since he’d last had me. His moan answered my question. His hand dug into my hair and fisted it as he tilted his hips.

When I felt him slide inside me, I felt it then, even stronger. “Fuck.”

He gave a kind of moan he’d never had before, guttural and deep, with lips that paused against my mouth as he released it.

I felt the ache in my chest as if a boulder was on top of me. It was painful, but only in its intensity, like it was too much for my body to handle. It was powerful. It was beautiful. I gripped him to hold on as I breathed against his mouth, knowing he could feel it too.

He started to rock into me, our eyes locked on each other, our bodies on fire. “Yes, baby. I feel it…”

TWENTY-SIX

Huntley

It was unlike anything I’d ever felt in my life.

It surpassed the adrenaline I felt in battle. Surpassed the greatest lust I’d ever felt with my favorite whore. It surpassed the pain in my chest whenever I saw my brother for the first time after a long estrangement. It surpassed everything I’d ever felt.

The sex was already great. Never thought it could be greater.

And I never thought the best sex of my life would be with my wife.

Wife.

Fuck, I was married.

Eternally bound to a woman in life and in death.

I looked at her beside me, her hair a mess, her lips swollen from our hungry kisses. She was all over me like usual. My arm was circled around her waist, and I cinched her closer to press a kiss to her brow.

She didn’t stir.

It was the morning of her departure, the departure that I had prevented.

Now, I had to face the queen. Face her wrath. Face her disappointment.

And worse, her heartbreak.

I’d never really considered the consequences until I was forced to confront them. Keeping Ivory alive had been my priority, to the exclusion of all else. If only my mother were rational enough to listen, this could have been avoided, but I suspected she wouldn’t think of it that way.

The high from last night disappeared once I realized what I had to do. And do now.

I left the bed, and she still didn’t stir. Her hand automatically reached out for me like I was still there beside her.

I got dressed and left for the castle—ready for my fate. My heart had never felt so heavy, and my body had never carried so much dread. With every step, I came closer, and even though I moved at a slow pace, everything was happening so fast. Before I knew it, I was face-to-face with Asher.

“I will retrieve Her Highness.” He disappeared, leaving me there to look out the windows to the valley in the distance. Last night was a series of flashbacks, of our sweaty bodies writhing together in the most intense passion either of us had ever felt. Was it that way for all married couples? Or was it just us?

I didn’t hear her approach. She appeared before me, feathers in her hair, in a long-sleeved dress with the white feather stitched into the fabric over her chest. She had the same presence that my father had possessed—full of regal poise. “If you’ve come to change my mind, your endeavor will fail.”