Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
A dull wave of panic threatened to overtake her as she held her breath, momentarily terrified that he wouldn’t answer. Then: Tem.
She felt sick.
He must have sensed this, because he asked, What is the matter, Tem?
There was no other way to say it. I’m about to spend sixty seconds with the prince. Alone.
Maybe she was imagining it, but she swore she felt a wave of displeasure from Caspen’s end of their connection. When he spoke, his voice was controlled.
Yes. And?
So he’d known the Frisky Sixty was tonight. And he’d chosen not to tell her. She made a mental note to yell at him for that later. For now, she had to make use of her limited time.
And it’s customary for the girls to undress.
In the pointed silence that followed, Tem felt a ripple of anger. Caspen had been doing this for centuries-he was familiar with the entire training process and knew perfectly well what traditionally occurred during those sixty seconds. Why was he forcing her to explain it?
Are you going to undress?
Now Tem was floored. Given their history, the question was almost cruel. She narrowed her eyes.
I haven’t decided yet. What do you think?
There was no mistaking the anger in his voice. What I think is irrelevant. Your duty is to impress the prince.
Don’t you dare speak to me about duty.
I beg your pardon?
The door opened. The seventh girl came out. The eighth girl went in.
You have neglected your duty since the very first day we met. Everyone else was informed about tonight but me. Everyone else has had sex but me. You’re doing me a disservice, and you know it.
Caspen bristled. Are you questioning my methods?
I thought that was obvious.
His anger only grew. What is obvious is that you are impatient, insubordinate, and childish.
Tem didn’t have time to be hurt by his words. Anyone would be impatient in my position.
Is there a reason for this conversation? Or did you only call upon me to argue?
Tem’s stomach twisted. He was going to make her say it. If I undress, the prince will see what you gave me.
A pause.
I can remove it, if that is what you wish.
Tem frowned. She couldn’t read his tone. If you remove it, would you…give me another?
The pause was longer this time.
Tem could physically feel the seconds ticking by.
I would give you anything you asked for, Tem.
It was an evasive answer. She was beginning to expect those from Caspen.
There was no time to think it over properly. She had less than a minute before she would be face-to-face with Leo. She had no idea whether she would undress. All she knew was that Caspen hadn’t prepared her for this. He had purposefully kept vital information from her. And now she-and she alone-would suffer the consequences of his actions.
Remove it.
Caspen’s reply was made of ice. As you wish.
Tem winced as he slammed the barrier between them back down. A moment later, a bursting pulse shot through the claw. Rather than growing in strength, this one blazed brightly and then diminished, and by the time it was over, Tem felt achingly empty, as if nothing were ever there in the first place.
The eighth girl came out.
“Good luck,” she said when she passed Tem. “He’s in a mood.”
Tem didn’t have time to wonder what that meant. The butler was already beckoning her forward. Tem stood slowly, noticing every beat of her stammering heart. The butler opened the door for her, revealing a darkly carpeted room with books on the walls. A library.
Tem stepped inside. The butler closed the door.
Less than ten minutes had passed since she’d seen Leo, but it was clear he’d had several more whiskeys during that time. He was reclined in an armchair, his hair mussed, his shirt unbuttoned. His trousers were undone; Tem could see the white linen of his undergarments. A smear of red lipstick pulled the corner of his mouth into a gruesome shape, continuing in a blotchy streak down his neck. Vera’s handiwork.
Despite herself, Tem felt a rush of heat at the sight of him. She’d never seen the parts of Leo that were exposed right now-the sharp angle of his clavicle, the dip of muscle just below his hip. His cock was hard, straining against the fabric of his trousers. Tem wondered dimly whether he’d had it out a moment ago.
Leo sat up straight when he saw her.
“Tem,” he rasped.
She stood in absolute silence.
An elaborate metal hourglass rested on the desk. Its glass body was filled with gold flakes, all of which had settled to the bottom. No doubt it was perfectly measured to last sixty seconds. Leo’s long fingers grasped the hourglass but didn’t turn it yet. Tem spoke before she lost her nerve.
“If you expect me to take my clothes off-“
“I expect nothing of the sort,” he interrupted her.
Tem scoffed.
Leo’s mouth twisted in a smile. “Do you not believe me?”
“Why would I?”
Leo’s eyes traveled over her body. Even when she was covered from neck to toe, it felt like he was looking straight through her. “What I expect and what I want are two different things, Tem.”
“And what exactly do you expect?”
“I expect you to be difficult. Like you always are.”
Tem crossed her arms. “And what do you want?”
Leo took a long swallow of whiskey. “Whatever you’re willing to give me.”
But Tem knew better. She knew the nature of men and the way they coveted. She knew Leo wanted what he couldn’t have. How long until he took it?
“And what did Vera give you?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.