I’d expected to hear the Elders’ decision about Venan’s fate that night, but it turned out that wasn’t what was going to happen. Zuran and I were brought back to the hospital by Vi’den after a very long rant from Zuran, and Vi’den told us in his calm way he would return with news as soon as a decision had been made and Venan had been informed.

Zuran was irate. He felt they were drawing out something that didn’t need drawing out, either because we’d given them enough to realize Venan was innocent or because they’d already decided he was guilty. When we got back to the hospital, it was the middle of the night, probably somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, and the entire facility was silent. Even the Novai were asleep, their eyes hidden behind eyelids we had only recently learned were there. I didn’t know if Zuran wanted to stay up and talk or if he just wanted to go to bed, so I waited for him to tell me.

“Would you mind coming to my room?” he asked.

He’d asked me that every night since we’d gotten back from Ka-lik’et. I always slept in his room now, and I found it comforting to be curled up next to his warm body and even more comforting to wake up in the morning and find his arm wrapped around my belly. I knew he asked to be polite, but he didn’t need to ask. Frankly, I probably would’ve been upset if he didn’t want me in his room.

“Of course,” I agreed.

He guided me down the corridor to the door that led to his personal residence, and we entered as quietly as we could so as not to enter anyone in the neighboring rooms. Once we were enclosed in the silence, I sat down on the bed and looked up at him, waiting to find out if he wanted to talk or sleep. He sat down on the bed beside me.

“I am sorry I have been so angry lately, particularly tonight,” he apologized. “I know you have seen me become enraged, and I am certain that it is a frightening experience for you.”

“No,” I contradicted right away. “It’s not frightening. The only part that scares me about it is that you’ll get yourself into trouble.”

He nodded. “I understand, but I would still like to apologize. That is not how I wish you to see me.”

I looked at him, lifted my hands, and cupped his face. I turned him to look at me straight on. “I see you,” I said firmly. “All sides of you, even the less-than-pleasant ones. Your anger is not unjustified, just like Venan’s actions weren’t unjustified.”

“I only hope the Elders view it the same way,” he mused. “From my understanding, the Council only takes time to deliberate rather than making an immediate decision in very rare circumstances.”

I tilted my head. “Don’t you think the death of an Elder by his second-in-command is a pretty rare circumstance?”

For a minute, I thought he was going to get mad again, but then the fury that had been lingering on his face for days finally broke. A hint of humor came through, and his eyes sparkled. “I suppose you have a point,” he said.

He leaned in and kissed me, and I could feel the tension beginning to leave him through his lips. This was good. This was progress. All the stress would end up killing him, otherwise. When he pulled back, there was a new glint in his eyes, a glint I recognized from the inn on our travel back from Ka-lik’et. My stomach writhed in response.

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

“I believe the solution to my rage has been in front of me the whole time,” he said. “I think I may just need to take out some of my frustration.”

I raised a brow. “Do you want to punch a pillow or something?”

He laughed, but it was not a laugh of glee or delight. It was evil, threatening, and dangerous in the sexiest way.

“No,” he replied smoothly. “But you may need to.”

He leaned over me, guiding me back onto the blankets. I felt his fingers snake into the waistband of my pants, and he began to shimmy them downward. Immediately, I flushed as I realized his intentions. I bit my lower lip and looked down at him as he slowly undressed my lower half. He’d taken my panties with him when he eased my pants down, and, after several long seconds, my body was bare in front of him. He gazed at me for a moment in admiration, almost like he was staring at a painting in an art museum. He was considering me, studying me. Then, he lowered himself down between my legs, pushing my thighs apart, and placed his lips around my most intimate of places.

All at once, electricity shot through me. My back arched on its own as his tongue slithered up the length of my folds to the bead at the very top before venturing back down again and rolling in a circle. I was amazed at how instinctively my body reacted. There hadn’t even been any foreplay or a preamble to build me up, but I felt like I didn’t need it. It was like I’d been ready for him this whole time, and now that it was happening, my body was on fire. Every nerve was spasming, and, as he suckled his lips around my button, I moaned. I didn’t even care if the doctors or healers in the rest of the residences could hear me. I was Zuran’s captive, willing to do anything he wanted and willing to let him do anything he wanted to me.

His tongue snaked down again, but, this time, it burrowed inside just enough to send my hands shooting above my head to curl my fingers into the pillow upon which my head rested. I gripped it so tightly, I lost feeling in my fingertips, but I barely noticed because he flicked the very tip of his tongue over my hooded bead again at that moment. I realized this was a game to him, but I liked it. I liked that he was using me to release his frustrations. If how it already felt was indicative of what was to come, I was happy to be his voodoo doll anytime he needed.

His hands were roaming up and down my figure as he licked, stroking my stomach and caressing my thighs and even sliding up beneath my shirt to cup my breasts and tweak my nipples. I was hot all over, but I couldn’t stop shivering. It was the most intense build I had ever experienced. He was flicking, he was fluttering, he was swirling, he was tapping, he was prodding. Anything he could possibly do with his tongue, he did, and anything he could do with his hands to drive me even crazier, he did that too.

“God,” I groaned, lifting my hips up toward his mouth to increase the pressure. “Oh, god, don’t stop.”

I felt him grin against me, his lips spreading wide to meet my thighs squeezing him, and he hummed. I felt the vibration from his throat all the way to my core, and I knew I was only seconds away from perhaps the most explosive climax I’d ever experienced in my life. He trilled his tongue, then, and that was it. I dove headfirst into euphoria, and he rode the wave with me with his skillful tongue and his eager fingers.

When I finally came back to reality, he eased his movements to a still and looked up at me. His lips were shiny with my arousal, and there was a newfound lightness in his grin.

“Have you released your frustrations?” I gasped, barely able to form words.

He nipped my inner thigh. “For now,” he said carelessly. “But you might want to get some sleep. I have a feeling I will be frustrated again in a few hours.”