“We need to get going.” She gave my hair a playful tug. “Help me with that foul jewelry so we can head downstairs.”
I’d dropped the gold pieces on the bed earlier. My knees still felt rubbery as I got up, and my ass ached in the best way possible. I hadn’t taken dick in a while, let alone a man of Rik’s size. I’d relish that ache as long as it lasted.
I kissed each of her wrists and then wrapped the bracelets into place. It was freaky watching them disappear against her skin. Rik licked her throat, making sure the bite had closed over. “There’s some droplets on your gown, my queen.”
“Good.”
She shuddered as the gold closed around her neck, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the metal.
I dropped to my knees and reached under the light lacy skirt to wrap the belt around her waist. Leaning against her, I lightly rubbed my chin against the gold and stared up at her. My lips trembled, my eyes burning with emotion. “Thank you, my queen.”
Cupping my cheek, she bent down and kissed me. “Always purr for me, Daire. I need your comforting cuddles more every single day.”
43
SHARA
Once the guys got changed—though I had to insist Daire change his pants so his dick didn’t fall out at an inopportune time—we headed outside to the garden in the back of the house. It wasn’t even noon yet, though it felt like I’d been up for days. The downside to getting up at the crack of dawn for once.
On one side of the garden, a tall stone wall separated us from the neighboring property. The other side was a shorter wing of the main house with a massive garage. The center courtyard was paved in beautiful Moroccan tiles with cushioned chaises and benches around a built-in fire pit. While there were several ornamental trees and shrubs, there weren’t any trees large enough to act as a portal connection to my heart tree back home.
The pool house was a low, nondescript building near the rear entrance to the property. Frank stood talking to a pair of guards at the gate, but as soon as he saw us, he joined the rest of the humans and Carys waiting at the door.
Gina curtseyed again, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, Shara, you look fabulous. Nevarre did an amazing job.”
“It’s not too… risqué?”
Magnum took my hand and bowed low, kissing my knuckles. “Not at all, Your Majesty. Not for a queen of your stature.”
Though it still made me blush to walk around in basically nothing, especially with Kevin, Frank, and the other guards watching. Luckily my hair was already doing its chaos thing. Long tendrils hung over my shoulders, covering up my barely concealed nipples.
Everyone planning to go on the boat had dressed in black and white formal wear. Even Carys had exchanged her normal tweed for a spiffy black suit coat with a black leather shoulder pad buckled around her upper body for Winnifred. Nevarre still had on his kilt but nothing else. Itztli, Okeanos, Vivian, Mehen, and Tlacel wore comfortable throwaway sweats and T-shirts they wouldn’t mind leaving behind once they shifted.
Guillaume wore a pair of black basketball shorts down to his knees and nothing else. Though he carried a duffel bag and had the Templar sword sheath swung over his shoulder.
I could only stare. Other than in my bed, Guillaume always wore jeans and long-sleeved shirts unless we had to dress up. I’d always assumed that was his preferred clothing because it was easier for him to hide all his blades. I’d certainly never seen him in shorts with his chest bare.
All my Blood had impressive physiques in different ways. Drinking in the way his broad shoulders tapered down to his waist, wrapped in the muscle of a knight who swung a heavy sword for hours, I was reminded of his countless battles. The torture he’d endured. The many times he’d been killed only to rise again. His body was crisscrossed with scars and punctures. Every single one a testament to his warrior honor.
My headless knight, the Dullahan. With an ugly foot-long scar on his chest, where they’d taken out his heart. A thick, jagged scar looped around his neck, where they’d taken his head.
Where I’d taken his head in Heliopolis.
“I guess I’m going to have to wear shorts more often,” he drawled. “Especially if you’re going to look at me like that.”
The sound of ripping material made me jump, dragging my gaze away from Guillaume’s chest.
Mehen lopped off the other leg of his sweats and strutted closer in the shredded remnants barely covering his ass cheeks. I couldn’t help but laugh, even though he planted his hands on his hips and shot me a murderous glare.
“That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.”
Ignoring his ire, I stepped closer and leaned against him, playfully batting my eyes up at him. “My, what tiny little shorts you’re wearing, my dragon.”
“The better for you to fucking eat me up, my queen.”
I dragged my nails down the long, bulging muscle of his thigh, not hard enough to feed but enough to make his eyes flare with heat. “When we get home, absolutely.”
“I’m holding you to that fucking promise.”