Chapter 20: A Throne of Ruin: Chapter 20

“Maybe he’s not going to come,” I said into the hush, sitting in the corner of the tower room with a book that I couldn’t concentrate on enough to read. The twilight sky behind me continued to dim.

“He’ll come, miss,” Leala said, putting my dress in the washroom so that he didn’t see it when he came to get me. “Otherwise I would’ve been informed of a change of plans. He might be delayed, what with tracking down your pants.”

I’d told her everything, of course. Finding the pants wouldn’t have taken him but a moment. He could move fast in his dragon form, and his sense of smell would be more useful than his eyes. Forcing the dragon to shift and give Nyfain control back, though, might take a little longer.

A knock sounded at the door. Leala gave me an excited smile as I put the book down and stood. She brought over the robe, and I slipped into it, pulling it closed over the little white slip that flowed over my body, stopping at my upper thighs. No slippers adorned my feet. I was supposed to remain barefoot for reasons unknown.

My stomach fluttered as I pulled the door open. Nyfain stood before me, wearing a flowing tan shirt and dark brown pants, equally loose and easy to move in. Slippers covered his feet, and his hands were clasped in front of him, his body language subdued. The bond gave him away, though. I felt a swirl of excitement and anticipation and warmth.

“Hello, milady,” he said, tilting his head. “Will you come with me?”

Leala tiptoed forward and handed him the key to the room. He took it without comment, holding it until both of us stepped out. Leala winked at me and then hurried down the stairs. Nyfain stepped around me and locked the door before sliding the key into his pocket.

I took a trembling breath, no idea why I was so nervous. He bent and scooped me up, cradling me against his chest.

“Is it the man or the dragon?” I asked, slinging my arms around his neck.

“The man. The dragon is in timeout.”

“So is my animal.”

“Please don’t mention why. My control is tenuous at the moment.”

I smiled. “Still no walking for me?”

“You have bare feet. I wouldn’t dream of having you walk on the floor of this castle in bare feet.”

He had a point there.

“I was worried you wouldn’t show,” I admitted, nuzzling my face against his cheek.

He pulled me in a bit tighter. “Sorry for the delay. I had to change the setup of the salon room to fit with one of the scene suggestions you gave me.”

I smiled, embarrassed and excited again. “What’d you think about all of that?”

“I think we can knock most of those out.”

“Are any of those…a first for you, or…”

He descended the stairs. Various staff members glanced at us on their way past, probably heading to their rooms to change for whatever was going on tonight.

“All of them, yes. I wasn’t much into rule-breaking back in the day, and my father wasn’t one for…thinking outside of the sexual box. This castle after the curse drastically opened my eyes. I was particularly interested in your notes on chapter eighteen.”

I ran my lips against his jaw, thinking. “Jog my memory.”

“Our brazen heroine decides to lure her enemy and his lover into her rooms and seduce them to get information.”

“Ah yeah. That setup was odd, but the threesome scene was hot.”

“It was hot, yes. Particularly when the notes revealed that you have experimented along those lines.”

“I’ve never had a threesome— Oh, you mean letting a girl go down on me?”

“Yes. That is exactly what I was getting at, yes.”

I laughed as he reached the first floor and went right. It was a part of the castle that I hadn’t done any wandering in. It occurred to me that for the amount of time I’d been here, I hadn’t done nearly as much exploring as I should’ve. Then again, without access during the night hours, I didn’t have much opportunity.

“It was an erotic experience.” I kissed his cheek and then the scar running from the side of his lips. Unlike in the past, he didn’t flinch away. “I was staying at her house for the night, and she had her own room. We got to talking, and the conversation turned sexual, as they do.”

“Yes, they certainly tend to with you.”

“We were sixteen, and neither of us had gone all the way, and the world around us was crazy. So when she asked if a boyfriend had gone down on me, and I said yes but it hadn’t been all that great, and she asked if she could try…”

“You went with it.”

“Why not?”

“Why not is right. I agree.”

He entered a room with a round foyer. Seats lined the walls, facing a central desk. All were empty. No candles had been lit to brighten the dark space.

He moved through without a problem, using his animal enough to see in the dark. Or maybe his connection was constant, and he didn’t have to pull and push at him to get at the power and extra talents. I would’ve asked, but it didn’t seem wise to bring up the dragon right now.

“Then what happened?”

I chuckled. “First we kissed, and it was light and kind of teasing. She didn’t jam her tongue in my mouth and root around like men tend to do. Don’t get weird—

kiss exceptionally well. But most of the men I’ve ever kissed— Stop tensing. They are ancient history. I feel nothing for them.”

“My reaction to you mentioning other guys is not rational. It’s primal. As you have seen, it’s rooted to my dragon. I can’t control it, and lately I can’t control him.”

He stopped in front of a nondescript door at the end of a hall filled with nondescript doors. They didn’t even have numbers on them.

“Well, anyway, most guys just jam in their tongue and take over your mouth. Or they stick their tongue out and, like…try to play with yours. I don’t know, it’s not great. But she teased and kissed with lips and only went deep with the tongue when we started touching and shedding clothes.”

“Hmm. Mmhmm. Tell me more.”

I laughed as he carried me into a little chamber with a curtain across the space in front of us, like a changing room. He put me down and delicately stripped the robe from my shoulders.

“What did you do after shedding clothes?” he asked, sucking in a breath when he saw what was under the robe. “Oh, baby, this is nice. Great goddess above, I know you don’t like to hear it, but you are so beautiful. So perfect.”

I laid my hands on his chest and slid them down to his stomach. “I like hearing it from you. I know you see more than just my face and tits. Anyway…”

“Yes, tell me more about this experience while I fondle you.” He ran his hands over my breasts and down the silky fabric, gliding them over my hips next. They went along my butt and up my back, outlining my body, touching and feeling sensually.

I closed my eyes and savored the feeling. “She kissed down my skin, and I can remember closing my eyes and my body getting hot. Her touch was so light over my flesh, and when she gently flicked my nipple and hesitantly sucked on it, I couldn’t help just lying back. It felt so good. It, like…speared all the way down to my pussy.”

He moaned softly, kissing down my neck now, pressing his hardness against me but not going further.

“Wait, why is it okay to hear about women touching me but not men?”

He paused in his movements. “I honestly have no idea. Maybe because I know you romantically lean toward men? And therefore women, especially in your past, aren’t a threat?”

“Well, after she spent a glorious amount of time on my breasts, I was really turned on. I would’ve let her do almost anything. Then she started kissing down to my navel. I got a bit nervous, but I was also turned on, like I said…”

“Mhm, mhm. Go on…”

“Her fingers…” I closed my eyes, remembering. “They skimmed so lightly, and I was so hot from her touching. It drove me crazy. The nervousness fell away. She crawled between my thighs and gave me these…feathered kisses, her lips skimming my flesh. I remember I was writhing and squirming and panting. And finally she got to my pussy and licked up my slit and just…like…savored it all. She took to me like you do, but lighter and more teasing. It built the anticipation, and when I thought I was going crazy, she sucked harder, and I fucking…fell apart. It was the first real orgasm anyone had ever given me. It was sensational.”

“Did you return the favor?”

“I…tried. First with her nipples and then with her pussy, but it wasn’t really my thing. I mean, sucking dick isn’t a great thing in general, but something happens when it’s someone I want to please. I did want to please her as a friend, but…”

“Your heart wasn’t in it.”

“Yeah. I mean, I tried, but she ended up stopping me and treating me to more of her pleasure. She wasn’t getting it from me. I felt bad about it at first, but then I was on the road to another orgasm— Fuck, I was being a dude. I just took, took, took, accepting the orgasms she gave me without returning the favor because I was bad at it. Damn it, now I feel like a real asshole. No wonder she didn’t want to do that with me anymore.”

“That’s a really bad ending to the story,” he said with a slight smirk. “That’s a tragic story, not an erotic romance story.”

“It gets worse. About a year later, she realized I was becoming a social pariah because of the way I dressed and my interest in hunting, and she stopped being my friend. She started throwing insults and talking shit. I didn’t have many friends before her, and after that, I had hardly any.”

He looked down on my face, stroking my chin. “That is a horrible story, and now I feel bad about life, and I hope you never take to writing romance novels.”

I blurted out a laugh, propelling tiny droplets of spit onto his face.

“Yes, spitting in my face about sums up the ending of that story.” He wiped his face, and I laughed harder.

With a little chuckle, he leaned down and kissed me lightly on the nose.

“I’m sorry about your childhood,” he said softly. “That doesn’t sound very fun.”

“You were mister popular, right?”

“I was the prince. I had all the friends a guy could ever want, and at the same time…none. No one would share anything too personal for fear that my father might try to get it out of me. I was set apart because of my position.”

“That doesn’t sound any better than my situation.”

“Only I didn’t start off the story in one way, then take a left turn into Slit-My-Wrist-Ville.”

“Oh my—” I slapped him, laughing.

He laughed with me, pulling me into a hug. “Okay, are you ready? It’s time for your visit to the salon.”

“You’re not going to choke me with your dick?”

“I don’t know, honestly. But not at first. Not until I lose control, at any rate. I’ll make sure you get plenty of pleasure, so you don’t end up like your ex-friend and get nothing for all your hard work.”

“I wish I never told you that story.” I laughed. “You are the worst!”

“I have my moments. Okay, turn— Damn it, I forgot the blindfold. Hang on.” He stepped back. “Actually, close your eyes.”

I did as instructed, nervousness coiling through me.

“Don’t be nervous,” he murmured. His hands curled around my upper arms. “Open your eyes.”

Confused, I did as he asked.

His face was the picture of seriousness. “You will be at my mercy in a moment, Finley. If at any time tonight you are uncomfortable, say something. If you want me to push your boundaries, I will, but we’ll need to establish a signal so I’ll know if I’ve gone too far.”

“Banana hammock.”

He tilted his head. “What?”

“I’ll say ‘banana hammock’ if you’ve gone too far.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Right. Odd choice, but sure, fine. Please know that I will always keep your best interests at heart, and only hurt you if you want me to.”

I swallowed. “Okay. Don’t spank me. Or flog me. No hot candle wax. I will not call you Daddy. If you’re going to tie me to the ceiling and floor, fine, but stick to tickling and not something painful.”

His eyebrows dipped low. “Looks like you got an eyeful when you were sneaking out the other night, huh? Ms. Smith told me you got to see her purple dildo in action.”

“Yeah. That I was surprisingly fine with. I might want to pop you in the ass with one someday.”

“Oh, lucky me…” he said dryly, and I laughed.

“But the stuff with Leala and that demon was a bit much for me.”

“What a fucking life, huh?” He stroked his fingers across my cheek, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “Do you trust me, Finley? Please answer honestly. I need to plan accordingly for what comes next.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Okay. Stay here, close your eyes, and I want to get the blindfold.”

He came back a moment later, his scent putting me at ease. A slip of material pressed against my eyes, and I waited as it tightened. His arms came around my back and legs, and he lifted me, carrying me past that curtain and presumably into a room where something sensual that would require a modicum of trust was bound to happen.

“Don’t be nervous,” he whispered, setting me down gently.

I gave him what was probably a crooked smile as I tried to ignore the butterflies floating around my stomach and ribcage.

His hands touched down on my outer thighs, right below my slip. He slid them upward, lifting the silky fabric as he did. Up and over my hips, my waist, on up until he was lifting my arms with the fabric seemingly pooled at his wrists. Then it was gone.

“No panties,” he groaned, and my smile brightened. I liked torturing him. “I’m not sure I’m as good as your tragic ex-friend, but I’m going to try my best.”

His lips barely touched down on mine, light and teasing. Fabric whispered and air caressed my skin. Was he taking off his clothes?

“How was that?” he asked, his tone subdued as he took my hands.

“I think you should kiss the way you always kiss and leave the more erotic kissing to the ladies.”

He laughed, deep and delighted, and my heart fluttered. “Note taken. Okay, I’m going to help you get into here…”

He pulled my hands gently to get me to walk forward.

“Step up,” he said as my toe bumped into a barrier.

I did, and then again, and again, climbing steps.

“Okay, stay there,” he commanded softly, power infusing his words. He held my hand, lifting it a little as he moved. Water sloshed, the sound like two feet stepping into a basin. It sloshed a little more, and then he was leaning into me, his tongue flicking across a nipple. “Here we go.”

His hands pressed firmly on my ribs, and he lifted me into the air and then lowered me, sliding my front down his. His hard cock skimmed my right inner thigh until it caught at my apex, but he didn’t allow me to stop and play. My body pushed it down between us until my feet hit warm water. It traveled up to my mid-thighs before my soles touched a warm metallic surface.

“Is this a…bathtub?” I asked.

“Of sorts. No offense, and not to impugn my own salon experience, which I wouldn’t trade for the world, but I think you’ll find this a little cozier than a breezy seat on a bunch of slats in a makeshift bathhouse. If it weren’t for the grumpy salon worker, I might not have enjoyed myself.”

I laughed at his description of the sponge bath I’d given him, then sucked in a breath as he walked me back a step. My calves met resistance, but he kept pushing until I lowered onto a seat partially covered by warm water.

“This has been cleaned, right?” I asked as he continued to lower me, my top half leaning way back.

He paused, and I tensed. His dark chuckle said he was kidding, and he kept going.

“I cleaned it myself, princess,” he said as my back hit a soft cushion. The seat was heavily reclined, nearly like lying in a bathtub, but with my lower half higher so that the water cut across my body. “The surfaces are magically treated. They don’t decay in the water, and the water doesn’t get cold once it is poured into the bath. It’ll only chill again after it is drained. These baths aren’t a new addition since the demons took over. They’ve been in existence since before I was born. The salon was primarily a place for women to get themselves looked after—hair, nails, that sort of thing. But given the setup, which I only discovered after the curse, something more was going on here. My father would not have approved, but since it was , he clearly never stuck his nose in. You’ll see what I mean.”

“Kinky?”

“I think so. I suspect there were lots of happy endings. There was probably a reason the women of the noble class were so well groomed.”

“But demons didn’t work here, then.” The water came up just past my bust, leaving my head and neck out of the water.

“No. I’m not sure who was actually doing the…treatments at the time. I haven’t been able to bring myself to ask the staff.”

“So you want me to go in undercover?”

A pulse of power slithered across my flesh. I moaned and couldn’t help spreading my thighs a little on the seat.

“That answers that,” he murmured darkly.

“What?”

“I do not want you to go in undercover, no. I don’t want anyone else servicing you but me. Not even women. I can see my reaction gives you pleasure.”

“I want you to claim me.”

His hands pulled back from my knees. Silence curled around us, and my animal vibrated in pleasure.

“Sorry,” I said, realizing what I’d done. I’d called to the dragon.

“It’s good. I’ve got that bastard locked down.” The strain in his voice said otherwise. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “But if you want to maybe…ask Leala about the situation in the salon…”

“No problem. She’s not real bashful, I don’t think. I mean, she’s definitely professional—she’s very polite and doesn’t swear—but she’s not reserved.”

“She was a lady’s maid to a noble who lived in the castle. A woman a bit older than I am now. She wasn’t a blood relative, but I thought of her as a cousin. Her parents lived in the Red Lupine kingdom—a wolf kingdom. Her father was a beta, her parents both wolves, but despite the odds, her animal was a dragon. They thought she should come here to learn guidance from those with the same animal. She was welcomed, of course. Dragons always are. With her connections in the other kingdom and several vicious, well-placed challenges, she was working her way to the top tier of the noble hierarchy.” Water sloshed, and waves reached farther up my chest. “Okay, I’ll be washing you first and then shaving you. You are wearing the blindfold because I don’t want you to see the room.” Humor entered his voice. “Don’t worry, I won’t accidentally slice your clit off. I need you to be able to come, and working with that is the easiest way.”

I sighed as his hands rubbed my neck and moved down my body, leaving suds in their wake. Soon they dipped under the water, where suds obviously wouldn’t form. He should’ve made me stand to do this. And also used a sponge. Clearly he wasn’t used to washing other people.

“How did she turn out a dragon if her parents were wolves?” I sucked in a breath as he rubbed his thumb across my clit.

“It still shocks me how little you know about your own kind. If this curse ever ends, I worry about how many will die trying to accomplish their first shift. It’ll be chaos.” He worked down my legs.

“We didn’t have many shifter books. I need to hunt for those in your library. I got distracted by all the fictional stories and…notes.”

“Easy to do. I, myself, have been quite distracted. And was a little later than I could’ve been this evening because I got engrossed earlier.” He kneaded my feet, and a little more tension drained out of my body. “A person’s animal is almost always chosen by genetics. More often than not, if a person has two strong wolf parents, the child will be a strong wolf. If they’re weak, the child’s power will be weak. Same with dragons, bears, whatever. Occasionally a latent gene presents itself within a child, though. Two wolf parents turn out a bear. Or a dragon. Typically, the child will stay with the parents until they come of age, since the first few years as a shifter are all about learning one’s animal—how to shift and share space. After that, most often the child will be grouped with similar animals so they can learn more about that animal. Dragons aren’t much for packs, so a dragon would not understand the pack mentality of wolves. And vice versa. So usually dragons are sent here, since this…used to be the largest collection of dragons in the world.”

“Do shifters tend to mate with like animals?”

He washed water onto my exposed areas, probably getting rid of the suds. His palms touched down on my knees, and he gently pushed them apart. Nervousness swirled in my belly.

“Oh, Finley…seeing you so vulnerable and nervous, trusting me completely to take care of you… You’ll be my undoing in this life.”

His body lay on mine, his hard cock rubbing against my clit. I moaned softly as his lips touched mine. His kiss was soft and sensual, his tongue lightly skimming across my bottom lip but not darting in when I opened my mouth to him. Instead, he continued to use his lips, sucking a little, nibbling, teasing. He’d taken the note.

“Why are you smiling?” he murmured.

“You’re a quick study.”

“For the first time in my life, I’m listening to the teacher.” He backed off, his hands flowing down over my body and back to my legs. His forearm came across my thigh, and my butt rose a little on reflex. The water line now cut across my pussy, tickling.

“Oh wow,” I said, wiggling just a little, wanting to reach down and stroke. I resisted, though, knowing he’d get to it. Wanting him to remain in control.

He applied something cool to my mound and beside my folds, probably shaving salve.

“For the more powerful shifters, yes, they absolutely mate with their animals in mind,” he said. “They seek out shifters who have the same animal and a similar power level. The goal is to produce the most powerful shifter possible.”

“But if power is the most important factor, then it shouldn’t matter if the offspring’s a wolf, a dragon, or whatever.”

“You’re forgetting that often beasts are sent to be with like beasts. So if a dragon and a wolf mated and had a wolf offspring, the wolves would get a powerful shifter instead of the dragons. Not to mention the parents might have to send their offspring away.”

“Ah. Gotcha. So it comes down to shoring up strength within the kingdom.”

“Yes, princess. Now you have it.”

Cool metal touched down on my upper thigh, right beside my folds. It scraped across in little brush strokes, shearing me like a sheep.

“Why are you embarrassed?” he asked in a subdued voice, and the mood in the room changed dramatically. Tingles crawled up my body, and I involuntarily parted my knees just a bit more.

“I’ve let things grow a little wild since my ex. And before that, it was just a trim job. I didn’t realize…”

“I’m no ladies’ man, but only a fool would complain. I’m only doing this because you asked for it.”

He was absolutely a ladies’ man, but he didn’t need to charm or cajole for it. He just had to show up. His stellar body, his large frame, his power and strength, his severe attractiveness—all he had to do was walk into a room, and every woman there would take notice. He could probably insult a woman, and she’d willingly come to his bed. I was guilty of it, surely. I had definitely tried to push back, but I couldn’t deny I was all too happy to get this delicious alpha between my thighs. Damn my animal for rubbing off on me.

The metal continued to glide, not touching anything distinctly pleasureful but sending shivers racing across my flesh all the same. His diligence, focus, and clear attention to detail were obvious as he went back over certain areas, heightening my anticipation for his touch, the sensations of the moment. My body quickly keyed up, all my attention on the feel of that blade and his fingers as they pulled the skin taut or braced against my inner thigh. In a strange way, this was more sensual and erotic than anything I’d yet experienced.

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit,” I murmured huskily.

A breath fell against my aching, sensitive flesh, his huffed laughter. He paused, clearly noticing my body’s response.

His breath pushed air at my pussy in a steady stream now, caressing. Tickling. I whimpered and arched back, the non-touch so tantalizing I could barely stand it. He kept at it, driving me crazy. I clenched the muscles in my pussy rhythmically, contracting my hips, responding to that non-touch. Anticipation and desperation to be touched wound me up to impossible heights. I whimpered again as I tensed. My nipples tightened to hard buds.

The breath stopped, and then a hot tongue flicked my clit.

“Oh fuck berries—” I clenched as an orgasm hit me, jarring my body into shaking on the seat. I groaned, the release only tiny, shallow, my entire person now hyper-focused on his proximity and the quest to be fully sated.

“And now I fully understand the virtues of light teasing.” He chuckled darkly. “This will be an excellent tool in my arsenal. I’ll make you beg and plead to come.”

“I’m not proud. I’ll beg to come any day.”

“Self-serving little wench,” he said with a laugh. “But you are lying. We haven’t played dominance games yet. Our animals are desperate for each other because we’ve held back from claiming each other. If we decided to do so, our beasts would do battle. To claim and mate a female, a male must overcome her by sheer force. I doubt it makes sense to you now—you’re not the type of woman to think fondly of someone overpowering you—but I’ve only ever heard it’s the most erotic experience for both people. The male feels powerful, which we like, and the female feels that she has chosen a strong, sure mate to protect her and her brood. Win-win. Or so I’ve heard.”

“But what about will? I thought you said that a man’s domain was physical dominance, and a female’s was will.”

He pulled back and laughed.

“That wasn’t a joke. I’m serious,” I said, a little miffed. “I stopped you the other day. I even hit you with my power…somehow. You’re more powerful than me physically, but I can shrug off your commands. You can’t shrug off mine so easily.”

The metal touched down again, on the other side now, working steadily.

“Yes, you’re exactly right, princess. And trust you to think of that when I’m talking about dominance. You’re an alpha—you won’t easily relinquish power.”

“Right, but…about my question.”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve only heard about this from men, and none of them have ever brought up their woman’s will. Either they claimed women who didn’t have a strong enough will to fight back, which wouldn’t be something they’d want to admit, or women pretend they don’t have that weapon so their men can win and feel mighty. My mother used to say that sometimes it felt like a woman’s entire job as wife was to protect her mate’s ego. This is probably direct proof.”

He chuckled as he worked down the other side.

“You’d like me to protect your ego when you claim me, then?”

The metal pulled away, and his other hand grabbed my thigh, squeezing firmly but not enough to hurt.

“Sorry,” I whispered, grimacing. “That was me, not my animal, but I… That thought just got away from me. Sorry!”

“For now, so we don’t ruin the moment, we’ll just pretend that’s a possibility, shall we?” he rasped.

“Yes.”

“The honest answer is…probably. I’m not worried about my ego—these last sixteen years have completely shredded it. But if you use your will, I don’t think I will get close enough to fuck you. What happened earlier today, when you shoved me back with it…” He splashed water around my groin and lifted my butt a little higher. He started on the underside, and now his touch was right about where I wanted it. On the outside, but I needed it in.

I expelled the breath out of my lungs and spread my legs a little wider, imploring him to take a break and push a couple of digits into my needy cunt.

“Do you like that?” he whispered.

“Yes,” I breathed.

The razor kept going, slowly and methodically. My inner muscles were back to working, trying to heighten the sensations in my body.

“Your animal is still greatly hindered, not suppressed but not far from it, and yet you unleashed enough strength of will that it knocked me back. I’m not the biggest dragon, but I’m bigger than most. I was the strongest, the most powerful, before the curse. And I felt that blast like a brick wall. With all my strength and power, I probably could’ve stopped myself from taking a step back, but it would’ve been tough. Whatever your animal is, she packs a lot of power. You’re still growing into it, too. When that power is finally unleashed, you’ll be mighty. Mark my words, princess. I felt it in the woods when I kidnapped you the first time, and it’s only grown.”

“You told me that I could’ve been great. As though you grabbing me would destroy that.”

“Yes. But I can’t really explain, or I’d die. I’ve changed my opinion, though. You be great one day.”

But he still believed I’d have to leave him to do it.

“Now,” he said, pushing past a potentially bleak moment, “how much am I shaving off? A lot, a little?”

“All,” I said.

His hand touched the outside of my thigh and stroked down softly, supportive. He kissed the middle inside of my thigh delicately, and tears crowded my eyes. I heaved a shuddering breath.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, planting another soft kiss. “Everything is going to be okay. Please believe me.”

But it wouldn’t, not without him.

“Let’s just pretend we’re in an alternate reality,” he went on, wiping the salve across my skin. “A reality where we find ourselves stranded in this strange castle for a night, with just each other. This night is the only one that exists. There was no yesterday, and there is no tomorrow. There is only this moment. I, for one, don’t want to waste it. How about you?”

“Okay.”

He ran his hand down the outside of my leg again. “Prepare to be amazed.”