She sucked him slowly, taking her time and savoring the taste, bringing him close
to release and stopping. She did it again and again until the angry, indulgent
expression disappeared from his face, his muscles flexing and his dark eyes watching
her with obvious frustration.
His focus was completely on her now. Mind and body. “Danika,” he growled when
she pushed him to the brink again and stopped.
She pulled off his phallus with a pop and blinked innocently. “Yes, Master?”
For a moment, King Lucien looked conflicted. Like he was torn about what to do.
Then, with a frustrated moan, his hand grabbed a handful of her blonde hair and
yanked her roughly back onto his hardness.
Oh, yeah. Gone was his scowl, infuriatingly indulgent attitude; now he fucked
Danika’s mouth like he actually wanted it, making her feel helpless and powerful all
at once.
She did this to King Lucien. The knowledge went to her head, and she moaned
around his thick member, relaxing the muscles of her mouth, letting him fuck her
throat and enjoying every second of it.
He twisted her hair in his hand and wrapped his fingers around her skull, moving
her with the force and speed he needed. After giving her six strokes, his body
tightened under her touch. He pushed her head down with enough force to keep it
there. His erratic breathing increased, his thighs trembled slightly on either side of
her, and his groaning increased. She knew he was close. She adjusted the angle she’d
been using, just enough that she wouldn’t choke, as Chad had taught her. She felt his
body clench, and he groaned with the force of his release.
“Danika.” Her name on his lips was everything she wanted… needed.
She tasted his hot, salty essence as he held her tightly to him, and her eyes watched
his face greedily like he’d never let her before. She wasn’t blindfolded, and she
basked in the feeling.
He was in a mindless state of release, and his body shivered repeatedly. He’d likely
punish her later for watching him in his moment of weakness-but oh, was it worth it.
Finally, he allowed her to lift away from him, and she took her mouth from him
and looked around frantically. She had him in her mouth; her eyes found an empty
drink can within her reach if she stretched out her hand.
He tugged himself back into his clothes and watched her with a lift of his eyebrow.
His eyes said everything. He expected her to take up the can and dispose of
everything in it.
So she’d confirm his thoughts that he was repulsive?
Then she closed her eyes and swallowed.
She knew he watched her do it, and she felt his muscles tense. She opened her eyes
and stared at him with her cheeks flushed. His expression dissolved, and for the first
time, she saw a look she had never seen in his eyes. Tenderness.
Danika glowed under that look. It didn’t matter if it was a thing of the moment. It
didn’t matter if he’d still punish the very devil out of her later. He wasn’t giving her
that stony gaze anymore. Instead, his expression was tender, and that was all that
mattered.
He sat up in his chair and lowered his head towards her. She closed her eyes tight
and braced herself for whatever his intent might be.
Then he kissed her forehead tenderly.
Danika’s eyes were closed when she felt the lips perched upon her forehead. Then,
her eyes snapped open, and she watched wide-eyed when she realised what he was
doing.
The touch of his lips lingered. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling. He was
kissing her forehead. She could hardly believe it. Of all the reactions she expected
from him, this was not one of them. The king was putting his mouth on her.
Truly, it was worth it.
He pulled back finally and stared her in the eyes. “Good job,” he said at last.
She glowed over the compliment and bowed her head. “Thank you, Master.” Her
voice came out a little hoarse and scratchy because of the way she had just pleasured
him.
When he leaned back in his seat, she pulled away from him. That was when she
noted her environment again.
“Wow. I must say that you’ve got yourself a very good slave. She did a good job,”
King Pesih said from across the room.
King Lucien said nothing, even though he heard the king’s comment. He was deep
in thought.
She’d seen his scars. When he looked in her eyes, he didn’t see repulsion or
mockery. He saw genuine concern for him. She’d stared up at him and he saw the
pain in her eyes.
Then she’d pleasured him. It was something he had never expected. She’d
pleasured him, and she’d proved to him that she didn’t find him the least bit repulsive
because of his scars.
King Lucien watched her as the entertainment continued. Then she’d placed her
head on his knee.
He let her.
He didn’t jerk at the contact because her hands felt different on his body. And he
didn’t order her away, even though he knew his leg would start hurting if it held her
weight for too long.
Instead, his eyes were on her hair, and a scowl settled on his face again. Who was
this woman?
She’d made him sleep. That, he did not understand, but it had
happened twice. Now he saw another part of her he never wanted to see. A part of her
that wasn’t repulsed by him. A part that felt the pain of others.
Was it all pretense?
Because he was finding it hard to believe how a monster like Cone could father the
woman before him. The absurdity of it was too much. Too unbelievable.
And yet…
He closed his eyes and shut his mind to the thoughts. Anger filled him at the
thought of her father. Rage replaced anger, and it burned hard.
He made a mistake by shutting his eyes. With his eyes closed, he opened more
doors for the demons of the past to haunt him.
The sheer bliss he’d gotten from her dulled under the onslaught of the
overwhelming flashes of his memories of his scars. The horrible memories of it all.
The sound of Cone’s maniacal laughter as he howled and writhed in pain.
His hands tightened at the edge of his seat as he squeezed his eyes tighter to pull
himself from the abyss of that misery.
It wasn’t an easy feat to achieve.
And when he achieved it, the coldness was back in his eyes, all traces of tenderness
gone.
He stared down at the slight weight on his leg. She’d fallen asleep, her head
cushioned on his thigh.
Finally, the courtroom activities were over. Danika was fast asleep with her head
resting on the king’s thigh.
As the other kings made their way out of the courtroom to their carriages, they
looked at them with surprise and curiosity. They expected him to roughly snatch his
leg away from her head, and they expected him to punish her severely for such
audacity.
He showed no reaction. He said nothing.
All the people finally left until it was only the guards of Salem.
“Chad,” he said after a while. He never had to raise his voice.
The door opened and Chad entered. He bowed his head. “Yes, my king.”
“Take her to her bedroom. Do not wake her,” he ordered.
“Your wish is my command.” He bowed again before he moved forward and lifted
Danika from the floor. She slept peacefully as he carried her. He walked through the
long hallway that led to her bedroom. On his way, he saw the mistress Vetta and
bowed his head to her, but he didn’t stop. Even when he felt the heated glare of the
mistress’s eyes on him, he didn’t stop. When he got to Danika’s bedroom, he opened
the door and entered.
Baski was the only person he saw in that room. His eyes searched for Sally, but she
wasn’t there. Baski saw the sleeping woman he carried and got the bed ready and they
laid her on it.
Danika sighed dreamily, her body going lax.
“Has the meeting in court ended?” Baski asked him after Danika on the bed.
“Yes. All the kings are on their way back to their kingdoms,” Chad replied.
Baski nodded her thanks. She wanted to see the king; she couldn’t wait to share the
news about Remeta to him. The thought of telling the king the good news of Remeta’s
improvement filled her with happiness. She also wanted to make sure that he was
alright, because she hadn’t seen him all day. She’d been at home taking care of her
daughter.
Baski went in search of Remeta and Sally and found them in the backyard beside
the orchid plant. They stooped low, picking seeds while Sally told her a story. Baski
stopped short and watched the way her daughter listened attentively and curiously
while Sally’s inaudible words came out of her mouth. She noted the way Remeta had
bathed and was clothed.
Tears pooled in her eyes. It had been so long; she never expected to see her
daughter this way again. For the first time in ages, Remeta was determined to get
better. She thought of taking Remeta with her to see the king, but she didn’t want to
risk it.
Remeta had a deep aversion for men because of what she’d been through, and that
was why Baski hadn’t allowed any man to visit her child all these months. She also
knew that it was the reason King Lucien didn’t visit.
King Lucien had a deep affection for Remeta. She and Declan had been two of the
king’s biggest weaknesses while in captivity. King Cone knew this, and he exploited
those weaknesses mercilessly. He made ten-year-old Remeta the king’s slave because
he knew it would drive Lucien mad. It did.
King Lucien went berserk after all the nights and days he had to listen to Remeta’s
screams whenever King Cone or his guards took her. He went insane like a wild
animal in his cage, and that’s what King Cone wanted.
Then he killed Declan. That pushed King Lucien to the very edge of madness. He
was still teetering on that edge to this day. The demons of the past threatened to push
him over every single day. Baski knew more than anybody that it wasn’t easy for
King Lucien to hold on to his sanity.
In the end, Baski left Remeta and Sally alone and went in search of the king. She
went to the royal court, but he was no longer there. When she went to his chamber,
the guards told her that the king had gone out for a walk. So she waited for him.
She waited for hours before she finally saw the king walk into the hallway that led
to his chambers.
Baski looked closely and observed that Lucien was walking with a slight limp. It
hurt her seeing he had overdone it. She would have offered him her body to lean on,
but she knew he wouldn’t appreciate it. The king didn’t enjoy being seen in his
moment of weakness. And he didn’t appreciate such offers.
Baski wondered what happened in court. Why would he go for such a long walk?
Why would he punish himself like that?
“My king.” She bowed her head in greeting.
“Baski,” he said in acknowledgment as he walked in steady strides past her to enter
his chambers.
She walked patiently behind him, then turned and instructed the guards to go to her
bedroom to get some herbs. She gave them the name of the herbs and seeds they
needed to bring before she dismissed them.
Baski followed the king inside. With each step he took, Baski could imagine the
pain he was in. He walked past his bedroom and entered the library, then lowered
himself onto the chair at the center of the room.
Seeing him seated, Baski walked to the bathroom and returned to the library with a
bowl filled with water. She lowered herself to her haunches in front of him. “Please,
let me help.”
Silence.
He was leaning back in the chair, his eyes closed. The set angle of his jaw told her
more than anything that he was in physical pain. He let the silence stretch, only the
wind coming in from the window whispered to them.
“Why bother, Baski? It doesn’t matter,” he groaned finally.
“It will help ease the pressure on the leg and reduce the pain. Please, I want to
help,” she pleaded.