“For once, I actually like your demand,” Titus added. “Up you go, Claire.”
I scowled over my shoulder. “No.”
“You can’t turn down a royal,” he said, smiling. “And he wants you to shower first.”
“I thought you wanted a shower?” Exos gripped my chin to pull me back to him, a smile in his eyes. “Or was that you being difficult?” He kissed me before I could retort, causing Titus to chuckle as he rolled out of the bed.
“I’ll let you know when I’m done,” he said on his way out of the room.
Exos ignored him and continued kissing me, the moment intensifying now that we were alone. He pushed me to my back, his hips settling between mine. “I’m going to kiss you until he returns, Claire.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“And I’m going to make you come again.” The dark promise sent my heart into overdrive. “With my tongue.” He nipped my jaw on his way down, his gaze oozing sin as he looked up at me. “Consider it an introduction to the courtship bond, princess. And you have two of us vying for your attention.”
Oh God…
I might not survive this.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to worry, not with Exos drawing a hot path with his tongue through my slick folds.
This is my new life.
Best to just embrace it.
And I did.
Twice.
Part II
Titus
Two weeks.
Two... fucking... weeks... well, not fucking.
I was about to lose my damn mind.
Claire moved beyond the thin veil of the opaque windows as she dressed for our training session. I coveted our lessons together because it provided us with alone time—just us and our fire.
Watching her as she slipped the tight-fitting fireproof garments over her head made the embers in me burn hotter. A feat, considering they were constantly smoldering in her presence.
She glanced in my direction, likely feeling my eyes on her, memorizing every inch of her body. Then she disappeared from view, leaving my fingers curling into fists as the raw need in me demanded an outlet.
As if on cue, Exos appeared at the other window that overlooked the training courtyard just outside the Spirit Quad. He arched a brow as if to remind me that I wasn’t the only one with a claim on Claire’s body.
Yeah, yeah.
Neither of us could stand the idea of Claire fucking the other, so we’d come to a painful truce. Giving her pleasure took the bite out of our need, but it wasn’t enough anymore. And I knew he felt it, too.
Exos’s eyes narrowed as though he suspected I might take Claire right here in the courtyard—while he watched.
Not a bad idea, I thought darkly.
A part of me didn’t care anymore, but I also knew it would cause a divide that would echo throughout all the kingdoms. I couldn’t have Claire—not yet—not until we’d established an understanding of how to make this work.
Sex wasn’t necessarily a trigger to deepening a bond, but something told me if either of us fucked Claire, it would deepen our connection to something far more permanent.