Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Be still, Leo had said the first time they’d slept together.
I want to look at you.
Tem remembered what it was like to be still on his cock, to sit there and watch him look at her. Now, face-to-face, she knew he must be remembering it too. Did he think of her at night, after Evelyn fell asleep? Was her body a home to him, like his was to her? Or did he prefer Evelyn’s? Tem couldn’t imagine there was any comparison. Evelyn would never know Leo like she did-never understand what turned him on the way Tem did.
Leo studied her too.
His gaze traveled from her eyes to her neck to her breasts, lingering there for far longer than was acceptable. Tem didn’t stop him. She wanted him to look. Leo’s gaze dropped to her waist, then her hips, then her center. Tem knew he wanted to touch her. She wanted to let him.
His lips parted. He licked them.
Tem was wet. If it were Caspen before her, he would be able to sense it already-smell it, even. But Leo was human, and he could only imagine how her body was reacting to his gaze-only fantasize that she might be as aroused as he was.
And he was aroused.
His cock was the hardest she’d ever seen it. Tem wanted nothing more than to touch it, to stroke it, to get on her knees and taste it. She remembered the carriage, when she’d told him he couldn’t fuck her. Now she mourned the fact that she’d had an opportunity to be with him and hadn’t taken it. What a privilege it had been to freely touch him-what agony it was to no longer do so. The only thing she wanted was to press her lips to his, to drag her mouth down his body until she tasted his cock. It was all Leo wanted too. Tem could sense it; her basilisk side was wide-awake, probing for him in the darkness. There was nothing she wanted more than sex.
But they could not have sex. They were no longer lovers; they were no longer together. They were just two people who wanted each other so badly that it hurt.
Leo cupped his cock in his palm, holding it as if that would prevent anything from happening between them.
“Well?” he asked. “Now what?”
“Now we make this right.”
Tem navigated the passageways with Leo close behind. She tried not to focus on his proximity, but it was impossible. Instead, she focused on what was to come. It was imperative that the meeting went well. Too many lives were at stake if it didn’t-not just Leo’s but the lives of the villagers as well. Tem knew that Caspen had the power to declare open war. But perhaps as a Hybreed, she had the power to stop it. If they were going head-to-head, Tem had to make sure she would win.
When they reached the doors to the council meeting, Leo hesitated. “Tem, wait.”
She waited.
It took a long time for him to form his words, and when he did, they were a whisper. “I cannot die tonight.”
“You won’t,” Tem whispered back. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise. “
Leo stared back at her, the moment becoming electric. For some unfathomable reason, he smiled. He didn’t try to kiss her; he didn’t pull her closer. He simply nodded, resolved to his fate.
They entered the council meeting together.
It was just as Tem remembered it: the long marble table, the stone chairs surrounding it.
Caspen sat at the head of the table, his face as hard as the stone around him. Everyone was naked, but this time, a coldness hung in the air that Tem could not escape-it bit into her skin like frost, and she found herself shivering.
Their presence was clearly unprecedented; Tem had no idea whether a human other than herself had ever attended a council meeting before. But Tem was a Hybreed, so in some way, she belonged. Leo, on the other hand, was utterly out of place. Despite this, he held his own. Tem was impressed by the way he carried himself: tall, the way a king should. His shoulders were thrown back, his chin held high. He didn’t look scared-only wary. And Tem understood more than ever just how much his life was in her hands. She would not endanger him-she would allow no harm to come to the human king.
As they approached the table, the woman closest to them looked at Leo.
“I have never been with a human,” she said musingly, her gaze traveling up and down his body as if he were her next meal.
“And you’re not going to start now,” Tem snapped, stepping possessively in front of Leo.
The woman laughed softly. “Why do you care? You are wed to the Serpent King. You already have a mate.”
“He’s my responsibility,” Tem said. “And I will protect him.”
“Will you fuck him too? Or can the rest of us do that?”
Tem resisted the urge to rip her head from her shoulders.
“Is his cock as hard as a serpent’s?” the woman continued, her eyes flicking between his legs. “Or is it fragile, like the rest of him?”
“Enough,” Caspen said.
The woman fell silent immediately, and everyone turned to face him. Last time, Tem had sat with him at the head of the table, sharing his seat. This time, she didn’t know where to go, so she stayed standing next to Leo. He was a light in this dark room, and she savored his body next to hers.
Tell him he can speak.
Caspen’s voice was clipped. Tem hadn’t realized that he wouldn’t even be addressing Leo directly. It was ridiculous, but it was also his right.
Tem leaned closer to Leo. “He says you can speak.”
Leo raised his eyebrows. Tem doubted he’d expected things to start off so abruptly. Neither had she.
“I come before you with my sincere condolences,” he began. “I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
Tem realized she was holding her breath. If there was ever a time for Leo’s words to work their magic, it was now. But Caspen was immovable. He stared not at Leo but at Tem, and she held his gaze despite the rage in his eyes. This was just as much her apology as it was Leo’s. Tem was the one who had brought the two kingdoms together-it was her word and her actions that had created the problem they were in right now.
When Caspen didn’t respond, Leo kept going, his words steady and true.
“I know you do not think much of me. And I cannot say that I blame you. But you must know that I never wanted this, and I did not order the attack on your people. That is the last thing I would ever do.” His gaze flicked to Tem, and she knew he was thinking of how much he loved her. “I understand that your people have suffered at my family’s hand. It is my greatest shame to carry that legacy. I only want peace, which is why I abolished the bloodletting.”
Leo paused, glancing at Tem for guidance.
“That was perfect,” she whispered. “You can stop now.”
Leo fell silent.
She’d meant what she said; Leo had done well. Basilisks appreciated straightforwardness, and Leo’s speech couldn’t have been more sincere. Tem knew he meant every word. She only wondered if Caspen knew it too. She addressed him with her mind.
He’s being honest. Will you forgive him?
Caspen’s eyes were still on her.
Will you forgive me if I do not?
Tem thought about his question. Could she, ultimately, forgive Caspen if he never forgave Leo? Tem understood how difficult this was for Caspen. So much of the basilisks’ pain stemmed from the royals-it had gone on too long, and the wounds were too deep. Tem was part basilisk, so she felt that same pain.
But she was also part human.
She had known her human side longer, and that side of her saw the good in Leo and in humans overall. If Caspen chose not to forgive him-or worse, to punish him-Tem doubted she would ever forgive him. She was still processing the fact that Caspen had demanded this of Leo at all. She couldn’t blame him, given their circumstances. But it still felt like a betrayal. There was only one answer to Caspen’s question. But before she could give it, Caspen looked at Leo and snapped, “You say you abolished the bloodletting. But then you brought it back.”
Tem didn’t know whether it was better or worse that he was addressing Leo directly now.
“I never wanted to bring it back,” Leo said. “And as soon as we did, I put a stop to it again.”
“And what will you do instead? Your people will expect a replacement. If they do not get one, my people will continue to weather attacks.”
“I will seek a loan,” Leo said. “And if I cannot acquire one, I will sell my possessions. There is no need for me to hoard wealth. Generations of my family have long collected gold. I have more of it than I could ever need.”
Tem looked cautiously around the table. To her surprise, the basilisks seemed to like that answer. They respected someone who was willing to part with their possessions because they did not have many possessions of their own. Hoarding was not something the basilisks practiced-it was a distinctly human trait to have more than you needed and still think you needed more.