Ascension Saga (Interstellar Brides): Book 5

“Stupid Ardor,” I muttered.

“Welcome to the club,” Trinity countered.

“Yeah, well, yours is all done and you’ve still got Leo to give you a happy ending every night. I’ve got Ardor and the only cock that will satisfy me is rotting in your dungeon.”

“He’s been there a couple of hours, Faith. I doubt it’s falling off already.”

And thank God for that. It would be a complete and total waste for all women in the universe.

My sister continued. “There are plenty of guys who can soothe your Ardor here. The males in the queen’s guard are, as far as I can tell, all good ones, if they’ve been awakened. There’s the Royal Consort. I’ve met him. I can, for a fact, say that his cock is quite large and his balls… well, his balls might be a little sore if you decide to play with them.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared. She was sprawled, very un-princess like, on one of the couches, hugging a pretty blue pillow to her chest.

“How do you know so much about a consort’s balls? Isn’t Leo enough?”

She grinned. “Long story. And yes, Leo is totally enough.”

I walked around the couch, dropped down onto it so I faced my sister. “God, I’m naked. I smell like sex. And I had to sneak into Mom’s palace wearing a stupid-ass sheet.” I tugged at the collar of the robe I wore and pulled it more tightly around me. Even covered now, I felt more naked than ever. “I need a shower.”

“You have crazy sex hair. So, yeah, I was wondering how long it would take you to realize that.”

I took a breath, then another. “Trin, what am I going to do?”

She cocked her head to the side, smiled, but this time one that was laced with sympathy. “Leo and his dad are looking into Thor and his parents.”

“You said you had evidence against him. What kind of evidence?”

She nodded. “Leo’s dad—the older guy who burst into your little love fest this morning—retrieved data that showed Zel had a comms call with someone in the Jax household just a few hours before he tried to kidnap me. The call went to Thor’s bedroom, to be exact.”

“He doesn’t live there anymore, which you are well aware of since you burst into his apartment like a SWAT team.” I wasn’t really upset that the guards had come. If Thor was bad, it was better he was caught. But I hadn’t really needed those guards to see me in such a compromising position. The first time I saw Leo’s dad I had Thor’s head buried in my pussy.

I groaned.

“True, but security data shows that Thor was at his parents’ mansion at the time. He has a history with Zel. They were best friends. Leo said they grew up together. They were close, Faith. That’s two strikes against him.”

I remembered back to my conversation with Thor the night before. He’d told me the exact same thing as Trinity, that they’d been childhood friends, but he’d also said he hadn’t spoken to him in years. “I don’t think… I don’t think he’s bad,” I replied.

When he’d mentioned this, Thor’s cock had been in me at the time, or pretty darn close to it. Unless he was a really good actor, I believed him. He’d thought I was a maid then. And that we were mates. He’d said it over and over, touched me like I mattered. Naked, in bed, sated after hours of sex? It would be a difficult time to lie. And if I really had been a maid, he would have had no reason to avoid the truth. What did I care about some man I’d never met before? “He told me they hadn’t spoken in years. I don’t think he would have lied to me. He didn’t know who I was. He thought I was his mate, the household servant.”

“Think he wouldn’t lie, or hope?” she countered.

I harrumphed, because I hated when she thought logically. Damn her linear brain.

“He’s the one who left me with Zel at the reception, Faith,” she continued. “He said I was in good hands and patted Zel on the shoulder before he walked away. He practically handed me over to a ruthless bad guy on a silver platter.”

“Thor has no reason to do this.” I said it, but I didn’t quite believe it. Not anymore.

“Did Zel?”

I shrugged, thought of the unconscious guard whose life I had been determined to save. Remembered the irritated look on the assassin’s face when he told me I’d saved the life of a traitor and nearly gotten my sister killed. Shit.

I licked my lips, tried to condense everything I knew about Thor down into feelings. “It doesn’t make sense. I mean, he rescued me at the police station from being taken off by the Optimus unit.” I shivered and lifted a pillow off the sofa, hugged it to my chest. “That would have been bad. You saw how he protected me from you.”

“Faith, I know you want him to be innocent. God, if it were Leo we were talking about, I’d be freaking out. But Nix and the others broke down his door while he was eating you out.”

“Don’t remind me. I don’t think I’ll be able to look Leo’s dad in the eye. Ever.”

“Thor fed your Ardor. I know what that feels like. It’s a really deep connection. Trust me, I know what you’re going through right now. I really do. And I don’t think you can be impartial. Especially not while your Ardor is still going strong. All I could think about was getting Leo in bed again.”