Chapter 19
LUCAS
There was no peace in this palace, especially when the queen demanded your attention first thing in the morning before breakfast.
The summons came from one of the maids, and I took my time going, needing to wait Liz out before going back to my room. She was gone by the time I slipped in, and a quick shower made me almost forget about what happened between us and how I fucked it all up.
Almost.
Then I was heading to see Laverna, who was sitting in her office and frowning as soon as I entered.
“Any progress on Benjamin’s decision?”
I shook my head. “We’ve eliminated the impostor. That’s the important thing.”
“That was the important thing. The important thing now is that he finds a bride. I don’t see him picking a candidate yet. What’s the delay?”
“I think he’s already chosen the finest among them. The one who would match his political needs.”
“Then he’d best hurry up. I would talk to him personally, but you know your brother and I don’t want to drive him away.”
“I’ll make sure he does.”
She nodded in satisfaction. Laverna tilted her head, eyeing me closely.
“You’ve been different lately. Is there something I need to know?”
Laverna didn’t specify how different, and I didn’t want to assume. Benjamin and I had kept that little incident a secret, and Liz…she was inconsequential to the queen. I shook my head.
“There’s nothing. You’ll have your good news before coronation. Trust me on this.”
I stepped out as soon as I was dismissed. I wandered the halls, then slipped inside one of the smaller libraries, where I found Kyle sleeping on the couch with a book on his lap. The sight of him reminded me of his sister, and I slipped out of there before he could wake up.
The day passed by in a blur, even while Liz was at the forefront of my mind. I did my best to forget, throwing myself into paperwork. I knew they were going to be riding horses today, and I knew she would be a part of it, considering she still needed to maintain her fake identity until this was all over.
By late afternoon, rain fell and kept on until night time. When I was sure everyone would be in the dining hall having dinner, I wandered the halls and let the loud rain silence my footsteps. Alcohol would be good now, but I didn’t have a headache yet, and I didn’t want to end up waking with Liz taking care of me again. It was too much, and it would lead to something that I couldn’t stop this time.
Maybe I could just stay in the west wing. But thunder suddenly boomed, and my mind went to the horses, some of which I knew were afraid of this particular force of nature. Before I knew it, my footsteps were taking me to the back of the palace, where I went past the gardens and trudged through the mud to get to the stables. I was soaking wet by the time I got there, but the relative silence inside the warm place sent me a surge of comfort that I hadn’t experienced the whole day.
Footsteps sounded, a soft crack through the hay. I stiffened, thinking an intruder was around.
One of the stall doors opened, and a figure stepped out carrying carrots.
Liz stared at me, pausing her steps. She looked shocked to see me at first. Then she was eyeing me up and down, setting the carrots aside and taking some blankets from another stall box. She threw them at me before she went to attend the horses.
“What is the matter with you? You’ll get sick if you keep doing things like this.”
She kept muttering as she fed the horses, then cooed at Roast about how a good girl she was.
“Did she give you any trouble today?”
Liz smiled at Roast, switching from feeding to brushing the horse’s hair. “No. She was very behaved and made me look like a pro.”
They eyed each other, the adoration clear.
“I’ll go. Have a good night, Liz.”
I made a step towards the stable entrance, ready to face the rain again. But her voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Wait.”
I turned around and saw her walking towards me, determination in her eyes. She didn’t quite look at my face yet, and I wondered if she was about to deliver some line about how despicable I was for what I’d done.
Instead, what came out of her mouth was the last thing I expected.
“You kissed me first.”
“Yes.”
“Twice.”
“I think that’s been established.”
Liz nodded. “Yes, it is. The thing is, I’ve always been about consent, and I gave it those two times.”
“I never intended—”
“I’m still talking.”
The firm statement had me staring. I shut my mouth and let her talk, knowing she was still trying to drive her point.
It would have been funny if I wasn’t aching for her so much.
“So I gave it those two times, Lucas, which is why there’s no need to apologize. But that’s the thing. You started both of those kisses, and I was swept in the moment before I could really think about it.” She sighed. “And now, I’ve thought about.”
Silence followed her statement, save for the loud rain.
“I’ve thought about it, and I realized I never took what I wanted, only what I needed—never once in my life, in fact. And you know what? I’m sick of it, and the decision is clear as day for me now. Lucas?”
“Liz?”
She stopped right in front of me. Then she looked up and met my gaze.
“I want to initiate it this time.”
The words slid in through my jumbled mind, latching on before I realized what I was seeing in her darkened golden eyes. The hunger was stark, and so were the nerves and desire warring with each other. My belly somersaulted when she began unbuttoning her dress, then sliding it down. She wore only panties beneath, and the sight of her, with her curls framing her face and that heat in her eyes…how was any mortal man supposed to resist?
My mind dictated me to leave her be, to let her go before I could do further damage.
“You have to understand that I won’t be able to stop after this. You have to be sure.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes shone. “I want you to be my first, Lucas.”
Yes, I should have left.
But my heart and my needs were selfish, and they were what catapulted me into striding forward until I caught her in my arms.
One pull and I was hoisting and carrying her. Blinded by my need, I kissed her as I’d been wanting to since this morning, and the familiar taste searing in my blood made me crave for more. I was walking endlessly, and I didn’t realize that I was walking towards the empty stable box, where hay was abundant and I could lie her down on the soft surface.
Hands flew. She tore at my wet shirt, touched my chest and arms, running her fingers all over it and clutching my neck to pull me closer. I slid my kisses down her throat, then further down as I lavished her breasts. I wanted to be slower, but the urgency that consumed us both didn’t allow for that, and soon my mouth was trailing lower, my tongue licking a path that had her moaning out a response.
“Lucas…”
“Shh…let me take care of you…” I rasped. “Let me make it good for you, Liz.”
I slid her panties off, then urged her legs apart and waited until they did it on their own. The sight of her, pink and moist and glistening, had my mouth watering, and I let my thumb do a light, gentle caress before I leaned forward and licked her slit.
Her body jumped up in shock, but I held it down and kept licking her, keeping my strokes light and unhurried. She tasted light on the outside, wonderful, and I let her adjust to the rhythm of my licking first before delving deeper with my finger. I slid one in as slowly as I could, feeling her stiffen against my touch. But I waited her out, feeling her loosen up bit by bit until that one finger was completely inside her.
Slowly, I slid out of her, then slid back in. I kept the rhythm of the thrusts consistent, feeling her body relax slowly as she moved in time with it. I thrust my tongue inside her too, licking, before I found her clit and sucked.
The reaction was instantaneous. She bucked from the hay, a cry escaping her lips as her body vibrated. It was an intense explosion, and I kept on sucking her juices as she kept exploding for me. Finally, her body slumped, and I gave her one last lick before I slid up again and gave her soft, intimate kisses.
Liz’s hands moved to my trousers, and I knew what she wanted. I slid them off, let her play with me for a little bit. Then, when I was so hard that one more stroke would set me off, I removed her hand and positioned myself at her entrance, meeting her eyes.
There were a thousand emotions there, and I absorbed each and every one of them. I kissed her some more, sliding my tip in, stopping every time I felt her freeze. She was so tight, and the feel of her made me want to just slide in one single push. I gritted my teeth against that urge and waited her out.
It was a slow process, but we both worked together. Finally, I was in to the hilt, and the feel of her muscles clenching around me almost had me coming. I counted in my head, trying to think of innocent things so I wouldn’t pound into her like an animal. The waiting was excruciating, but it wasn’t long before I felt her muscles loosen up and stop driving me away. She placed her mouth near my ear, whispered a kiss before she said, “I’m ready.”
I was unsure at first, not wanting to hurt her—but Liz remedied that by pushing her hips insistently, a move that had her mouth forming an O of surprise as the first flicker of pleasure came in her eyes. I took that as my signal and slid out her slowly, then slid back in, watching her expression change from wary to amazed, then to lost as she threw herself into the moment.
Slow didn’t last long, and soon I was thrusting into her in fast, hard movements. I swallowed her cries and kept at it, never stopping even as I felt her muscles clench and her explode all around me. I stayed with her as she climaxed a second time, watched as her eyes blurred.
Then I closed my eyes, pistoned my hips with abandon, and drove in one last time.
I emptied myself inside her and let the pleasure take me.
* * *
I woke up to the sound of thunder booming outside the stable—and the clenching of my stomach as a familiar sensation hit me.
It was hunger.
It was as stark as when Benjamin had once found me, and the intensity of it caused me to crawl on my hands and feet, moving away from Liz’s sleeping form as silently as I could. She was buried under the blankets, sleeping soundly.
I thought the sight of her would calm me down. Instead, the hunger raged, and I watched as my hands turned into sharp claws ready to strike.
They reached out for her. Gritting my teeth, I scrambled back and grabbed my own arms instead, willing myself to calm down. But the wildness was building, and the beast was about to come out. It wanted the horses.
It wanted Liz.
I threw myself out the stable door, going back out in the rain and dragging my protesting body along.
And I disobeyed my instincts to feast on Liz’s flesh.