Page 27 of Taken By the Crab King of Atlantis

Her hands are confident and strong, and my eyes flutter closed as my muscles relax.

When she hits the spot I’ve been trying to reach for days, I grunt with relief. She chuckles, a warm sound that gusts her breath against my hair.

How long has it been since I was touched like this? How long since someone noticed or cared when my body aches?

I've always done my duty to this kingdom without complaint, but Yen is reminding me what it was like to be seen for a person and not just a leader.

How good would her hands feel in other places? Too good to resist.

I force myself to open my eyes, taking in the empty hallway before us. I stiffen away from her hands.

“Thank you.” I turn to her.

“Of course.” When she meets my gaze, her eyes have a question in them that I don’t have an answer to.

My grip on the door of the elevator tightens, but I don’t move as she wraps her arms around my neck. Her lips are a firm press, confident with wine, and my spare arm wraps around her to steady us both.

The kiss is a sign of trust I wasn’t expecting, and I don’t deserve after my behavior tonight. There’s uncertainty in her eyes, and as I search her face, I recognize both fear and bravery. Fear of rejection and fear of trusting, and the bold overcoming of both.

Her fear reflects my own. Because holding her now, and feeling the force of my need for her, I don’t feel safe.

I would give up the world for this woman, Atlantis be damned. I would abandon my family and my duties, and give her whatever she wanted.

The last time I succumbed so completely to a woman’s will, we opened the doors to Atlantis, and Yvette lost her life.

The memory of the pain is so sharp it chokes me.

“You’re drunk,” I manage. The lift doors try to close again, and I press the door harder to keep them open. But my other arm still holds her. I like how she’s looking at me. I like the taste of her lips — sweet jasmine and wine.

The vision I had of us at dinner, a domestic, simple life I crave, rises to the surface. My heart pounds in my chest, and I can’t unlock my gaze from hers as her lips curl into a smile.

It’s a smile I haven’t seen before — a bold smile, quiet with victorious pleasure. “Shouldn’t we make the most of our time together?” Her eyes shine, and mischief dances in them.

All the reasons to say no slip away.

The lift doors close again. This time, I let them.

She leans in, pressing lips to mine softly and slowly. She catches her breath, and it stirs my blood, wiping out whatever uncertainty was left. My mouth opens, an invitation for hers to do the same, and she does so hesitantly at first, then more boldly as our breaths combine.

I keep it slow and controlled as she moans against me. My hands run down her back, soothing her impatience. Her eagerness makes my cocks stir restlessly.

When we finally break for air, she looks at me in a daze, lips bruised and wet.

“Ahem,” We turn to Quan, holding a pair of shoes in their hand, doors of the lift wide open. “You forgot these, Princess. Good thing you stayed in the lift, huh? Goodnight, kids.” They hand the shoes to a blushing Yen and waggle fingers at us.

I stick my hand in the closing doors again. “I’ll take the stairs,” I say, pushing past Quan and leaving abruptly once again, for the second time that night.

10

YEN

Iwake up to a ringing phone next to my bed, and a hazy memory of pleasure. The sensation fades as I bring the phone to my ear.

“Good morning, sacrifice, this is a wake-up call and a reminder that we will pick you up in twenty minutes for your tour of the city.”

“Thank you,” I say croakily, and hang up the phone. I have enough time to have a shower and brush my teeth so my mouth doesn’t taste like stale red wine.

I sit up and my head spins, so I sit cradling it for a good five minutes before noticing a large glass of water and two white pills sitting next to the phone. I had put them aside last night, following Quan’s strict orders for the best way to deal with a hangover.