“You!”
Selena just stared at her, not sure what to say. The woman didn’t seem to have any good manners at all—or else she just didn’t care what anyone thought of her.
“Servants! Where is the food—why are we not being served yet?” the Emperor—who had been speaking across the table to one of the other males—suddenly demanded. “The royal stomach rumbles—are we to be starved to death at our own table?”
“We beg your forgiveness, your Majesty,” one of the black and gold liveried servants murmured, leaning down to speak to him. “But we are still waiting for all the Royals to be seated.”
“What?” The Emperor looked around and finally saw Empress the Third, who was still glaring down at Selena with her fists clenched at her sides. “Empress the Third, do be seated,” he said, frowning at her. “We are truly starving—wasting away to nothing!” And he patted his ample belly, as if for proof.
“I refuse to sit with that little bimbap at my right hand!” Empress the Third snarled, glaring at Selena. “She’s wearing my platinum and crystal harness! And she’s wearing crimson—that’s my color!”
“Hey!” Selena protested. Now that she knew what “bimbap” meant, she was a lot more upset about the derogatory term being applied to her.
“Very well then, she shall not sit by your right hand—she shall sit by your left,” the Emperor declared. “Trade places with her. And you, my dear,” he added, eyeing Selena’s exposed body in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable. “Come and sit here beside us.” He patted the cushion which had been designated for Empress the Third, who was still standing and fuming with silent fury.
But she didn’t stay standing for long. As soon as Selena moved over to the next cushion, she grabbed the one Selena had been sitting on, beside Valen, and took it around to the corner of the table. Pointedly, she put it on the ground between Selena and the Emperor and sat down, wedging herself between them as she snarled silently at Selena.
Aside from being so close to a woman who clearly hated her, Selena was all for this arrangement. She didn’t want to be any closer to the Emperor than she had to—she was more than a little afraid that his chubby, beringed fingers would find their way to her thigh under the table. So having Empress the Third between them, suited her just fine. Also, Valen was able to scoot over again, so he was still sitting to her right, making her feel safe because she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Really, Empress the Third!” The Emperor sounded exasperated. “Must you always push in where you’re not wanted?”
“His Majesty wants me all the time, or why else would he have married me?” Empress the Third said, smiling brightly at the Ma’shorkan monarch.
“But you’re impeding our royal view of the lovely Selena!” the Emperor protested. “How can we see her plump nipples with you in the way?”
“Your Majesty may look at my plump nipples instead!” Empress the Third declared. And she sat up on her knees and brazenly pushed her breasts—bare except for the golden harness—into the monarch’s face.
To Selena’s surprise, all the women at the table immediately copied her, sitting up on their knees and pressing their breasts into their Master’s faces.
“Hey, am I supposed to do that, too?” she whispered to Valen, who was frowning at the display Empress the Third was making.
“I’m afraid so,” he murmured back reluctantly. “It’s considered rude not to copy what the Royals are doing when dining with them.”
“All right.” Feeling slightly awkward, but also kind of sexy, Selena got up on her knees and pressed her breasts against his face.
Valen didn’t seem to mind, at least if the way he rubbed his cheeks against her bare slopes was any indication.
“Mmm, little one—your breasts are so soft and full,” he rumbled appreciatively. “I have never seen such lovely ones.”
“I’m glad you like them, Master,” Selena murmured, feeling a sexy little thrill go through her. She liked the feel of his scratchy whiskers against her naked curves—she even wished the crystal suction domes weren’t in the way. She would have liked to rub her nipples against his lips temptingly.
What—in public? whispered a shocked little voice in her head. Would you really want to do that in front of everyone?
Actually, she would. It turned out she was more of an exhibitionist than she’d imagined, even in her wildest fantasies, Selena thought. She was just wondering if it might be possible to discretely unscrew the crystal domes from the rings surrounding her nipples, when everyone around her started getting back into their places and she realized the public display was over—for now.
Empress the Third had settled back on her cushion with a satisfied look on her face, as though she had accomplished what she wanted to, by the time Selena also sat back down.