THIRTY-TWO

KAIDOS

I paced the length of my room, dragging a hand through my hair. My thoughts were a tangled mess, all circling back to the same thing—Rory.

Had I gone too far earlier? Had I been too forward?

She had left so suddenly. I didn’t know if it was because she was scared, conflicted, or simply trying to push me away like she always did.

I scoffed under my breath.

I should be thinking about my brother. About what would happen next. But all I could focus on was her.

I cleared my head as I left the room. I needed to find Thane. 

I went to his bedroom and knocked slightly but there was no response. 

I pushed the door open and realized he had left the castle through the secret door. 

I knew how much Thane was scared of electricity even though he would never admit it. 

Thane has always been the tough one. He protected me against our old man and that was why I knew I would do anything to keep him safe. 

A maid passed me and I stopped her. 

“Did you see when the overlord went out?” I asked the girl who bowed her head, shivering before responding. 

“No…no…” she stuttered. 

I waved her off as I went back to my bedroom but the scent of Rory was everywhere. 

The night stretched on. The castle halls had fallen silent, the only sound the distant crackling of torches outside my window.

Rory wasn’t coming.

I should have known.

I exhaled sharply and turned toward my bed, ready to call it a night, when—

A soft knock echoed through the room.

I froze.

My pulse kicked up as I turned toward the connecting door.

Rory’s door.

I hesitated for only a second before striding over and pulling it open.

And then—

Everything in me went still.

Rory stood there, bathed in the dim glow of candlelight.

She was wearing the sheerest nightdress I had ever seen. The thin fabric clung to her body, stopping just above her thighs, leaving far too little to the imagination.

The curve of her breasts pressed against the fabric, her nipples barely concealed beneath the soft material.

Her hair tumbled down her back in loose waves, and for a moment, she didn’t even look real.

She looked like something out of one of my visions. A dream. A mirage I could never touch.

I sucked in a sharp breath, gripping the doorframe.

“I thought you wouldn’t—”

“—come?” she finished for me, tilting her head with a small, teasing smile.

The way she said it sent heat rushing through me.

She stepped closer, her bare feet padding against the floor, and my grip on the doorframe tightened.

“A deal is a deal, isn’t it?” she murmured. “Will you let me in?”

Her voice—smooth, almost playful—was different tonight.

Bolder.

Everything about her felt different.

It was like she was a different person and not the scared Rory who had run out of my bedroom earlier today.

“Are you alright?” I asked her. 

She frowned, “Should I go back?” 

I shook my head quickly, “No, of course not. I'm glad you're here.”

I stepped aside, allowing her to pass, my eyes never leaving her as I watched her ass jiggle in the night dress causing my groin to throb and stretch in my pants.

She moved with an ease I hadn’t seen before, as if she had made up her mind about something. As if the woman who had spent weeks resisting me had suddenly decided to stop fighting.

She made her way to the small bar at the corner of my room, dragging her fingers lazily over the glassware.

“Can I pour you a drink?” she asked, glancing back at me.

I didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, I watched her.

Every movement. Every flicker of emotion on her face.

I didn’t trust this.

“What’s going on with you tonight, Rory?”

She smirked, pouring herself a drink before swirling the amber liquid in the glass.

“What do you mean?” she asked, taking a slow sip.

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re different.”

“Is different good or bad?” she asked. 

I shrugged, “I could get used to this different I just wonder what prompted the change.”

She let out a small hum. “Maybe I just finally understand how things work around here.”

I stepped closer, until there was barely any space between us. “And how exactly do things work, Rory?”

She held my gaze, her lips curving at the edges.

“You’ve been in control for too long,” she murmured. “It’s time we play my way.”

A dangerous thrill shot through me.

She reached for my drink, wrapping her fingers around it, but instead of handing it to me, she pushed it away—far, far out of my reach.

Then, in one smooth motion, she dropped to her knees before me.

My breath caught in my throat.

My entire body went taut as I stared down at her, barely able to process what was happening.

“Rory—”

She reached for my waistband, her fingers skimming against my skin.

A sharp exhale tore from my lips.

My mind screamed at me to stop this.

To grab her. To pull her up. To ask her what the hell she was doing.

But I couldn’t move.

Because the way she was looking up at me—

Eyes dark.

Lips slightly parted.

Like she had finally decided to let herself have me.

And it was undoing me.

I reached down, gently tilting her chin up with my fingers. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

She gave me the smallest smirk.

“I told you,” she whispered. “Tonight, we will play my way.”

Damn.

And that was all it took for me to keep my mouth shut. Because the next instant, my trousers disappeared from my waist. 

Rory pulled my boxers down as she held my throbbing dick and smiled. 

“You’re so huge,” she gasped. 

She ran her tongue over the head of my dick and a slight groan escaped my lips. 

Before I knew it she shoved my dick into her mouth and I groaned loudly.