Chapter 12

LUCIEN

^Kiss me. Ki-ki-kiss me. Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison.^

I spent a lot of the party talking to Albert, the leader of this group of traveling performers. His family of five had started by putting on shows in their village, then they took it on the road and recruited artistic and talented people along the way.

Now, their family had about fifty members. Together, they all made a living by performing in every village in every kingdom.

I’d heard of them before, so I knew they were popular. Though they had performed at royal palaces many times, this was my first time watching them perform—normally I only watched the women at those parties—and I saw why they were so renowned.

First was the magnificent blade dance of Albert’s twins. Then a vanishing sword act, a levitating rope, a man regurgitating nails, and a butterfly dance. It was all so captivating.

I looked to my left throughout the show and saw that Nicolette was more captivated than I was. She didn’t even notice when I refilled her glass or put food in front of her.

I turned to Albert and asked about getting a ride to the capital. He generously offered me the use of his skreet, a species of large bird that looked like fire while flying. Albert said the bird could take us there in a less than an hour.

As I considered his offer, I looked again at Nicolette. She had made a mess of the dress. Stains splotched the front and crumbs gathered in her lap. She looked utterly adorable.

Then I thought about what would happen once we got to the capital and what it would mean for me to be there. I would have to be a king again, and kings had duties to perform.

I wouldn’t have any time for Nicolette, and I needed more time with her. Time to find out who she was, how she had the power to make portals without Zaxonian silver, and more about the mirror.

~Time to convince her to stay, you mean~, came that voice from deep within my mind.

I turned back to Albert and thanked him for his offer but said I couldn’t possibly take use of such a rare and notoriously difficult animal. It would scare Nicolette.

He then offered me a horse, which I gladly accepted with the promise to hire his family to perform at my next event as payment.

I faced the fire, happy to have found a bit more time with Nicolette, and a group of heavy-breasted Salissan women were dancing erotically, pulling women from the ground to join them.

Nicolette rose and joined the women, saying nothing to me as she went. She followed along as one taught her the basic moves, then she was in her own world.

Pants in this realm were tight already, but mine grew tighter as she continued to dance.

This was the highlight of the whole performance. She eclipsed all the other acts. Her dancing captivated me. She moved gracefully, sensually, and it didn’t look like she was trying. It looked like she had danced this dance before.

I bent forward and looked closer at her. What wasn’t she telling me? Had she been to my world before? Would she tell me if she had?

She turned and looked straight into my eyes, and I couldn’t look away.

Her red hair glowed like flames as she stood in front of the fire, creating a fiery halo around her head. Her face was flushed from dancing, or maybe from inebriation, and her skin was glistening with sweat. I wanted nothing more than to taste it.

I tore my eyes from hers and looked around the fire. It seemed all the other men here wanted to taste her too. One man even spilled his drink because he wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking. I wanted to gouge their eyes out. She was mine to look at like that.

I raised a hand and the music stopped. The dancers looked around, confused. “Nicolette, enough.” I said in a strict voice.

I felt bad about making her stop, but I couldn’t watch anymore. I couldn’t let ~them~ watch anymore. Besides, she was clearly intoxicated and I didn’t want her so close to a large open fire.

She tilted her head and pouted, then ambled away from the other women toward her seat. She walked sensually even though she was unsteady.

I’d wanted to see how her human physiology reacted to the food and liquor here, which was why she got alcohol at all, and she seemed normal. Just tipsy.

I raised my hand again and signaled the musicians and dancers to continue.

Albert leaned close to me. “I’m sorry, my liege. If I had known you didn’t want her to dance, I wouldn’t have let them teach her the moves,” Albert said with his head bowed.

I touched his arm. “I wanted her to dance, Albert.”

He looked at me and gave a relieved smile.

I chuckled lightly. “Maybe not in front of so many other men.” I gulped down the contents of my chalice as Nicolette rounded the table. “That woman,” I said to Albert, pointing to Nicolette, “is not from my kingdom. I want to see if she can fit in.”

Albert nodded. “Your Highness, you have chosen a truly beautiful queen.”

“Queen? Slow down.” I gestured for more drink.

“My apologies, Your Highness.” Albert looked up to her as she reached my side. “She is a rare beauty, though.”

“That she is,” I said as I turned to follow his gaze.

She was still catching her breath and had beads of sweat trickling down her face, chest, and belly. Her cheeks were still flushed and her hair was still glowing. Was the alcohol making her look this good?

She looked like a woman who had just had amazing sex, and I wanted to be the one to make her look this way. My pants grew tight again as I thought about her sweating and panting under me.

She plopped down beside me. “Mr. Ozzz-ricc. Your hair, I wa”—hiccup—“I want to cut it.”

Her comment caught me off guard. Then I looked at her eyes. She wasn’t tipsy, she was drunk.

She lifted a hand to my hair, then combed it with her fingers. “You have the silkiest hair, did you know that?” She hiccupped again. “I wanna cut it as a souvenir.” She giggled.

I grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from my hair. “I think you are drunk.”

“Hey, no I’m not.” She slurred her words and her head drooped.

“You are talking gibberish, woman.” I gently pushed her arm back to her, but the momentum caused her to tip back. My hands quickly reached around her waist, catching her midfall.

We were face to face and I could smell her. Beneath the alcohol, beneath the soap, I could smell ~her~. It was like nothing I’d ever smelled before. And the closeness of our bodies made me buzz, giving me a high that no alcohol could give. I was close to my limit.

I sat her up and pulled away.

She raised a finger in the air. “OK, maybe I am a little tipsy.” She giggled. “Tipsy, get it?” She laughed at her joke.

Her laughter put me over the edge. I decided it was time to play with her again. “Oh? Just tipsy, you say?”

“Mm-hmm.” She nodded her head resolutely.

“Then how about we have some fun, Nicolette? How about we make a bet?”

She perked up at this and tilted her head, listening with a clearer focus.

“First, I want to go somewhere quiet, where we can be alone. Then, tomorrow morning, if you can remember what I have done to you, then that means you were right, you were not drunk, and you will win. But if you cannot remem—”

“Deal.” She stuck out her hand with an eager look on her face. Eager and determined.

I smiled, wicked thoughts making my pants tight again, and grabbed her hand.

In an instant, we were on the bed in the tent Albert had provided just for us. I finally had her all to myself.