Chapter 44
What other answer could there be but that he’d gone mad?
Regardless of my turbulent thoughts, a wave of carefree laughter echoed through the dilapidated inn.
Clovis laughed for a long while, then looked at me, mirth still dancing in his eyes.
“This is insane, truly.”
I remained silent. ‘Don’t go any more insane. You seem quite mad enough already.’
“I never understood when Hestia said that.”
“What?”
“Such a waste. I should have seen more of this sooner.”
‘What did Hestia say about me?’ I blinked, bewildered, as a long finger elegantly traced my jawline.
“Open your mouth.”
“Gasp!” Instinctively, I raised my hand to cover my mouth. Clovis gave a slow nod.
“You don’t want to? If opening your mouth is so unpleasant, you can spread your legs instead.”
My breath hitched. “I was going to let you off with just your mouth, but if you keep this up, I won’t have a choice.”
Clovis grasped the hem of my skirt, which had ridden up to my thighs. Trembling, I lowered my hand from my mouth. But my lips remained stubbornly sealed.
Clovis didn’t force the issue further. Instead, he lowered his head. As if finding its rightful place, his moist lips settled on mine.
His hot lips pressed against mine, parting them with insistent pressure. Each time I tried to clench my jaw, a large hand gripped my thigh as if warning me to open up. The implication was clear: if I didn’t open my mouth, he’d open something else.
Finally, a hot liquid flooded into my opened mouth. Clovis’s tongue, having swept past the smooth lining of my lips and teeth, explored every corner of my mouth. Squeezing my eyes shut, surrendering to the deep kiss, I thought, ‘This is my first kiss…’
Regret over my stolen first kiss was short-lived. I hadn’t known a kiss could be as exhausting as s*x. Clovis practically climbed on the small table as he plundered my mouth and caressed my body, as if my lips were coated in honey and my bre*st were stuck to him with adhesive.
His touch was so insistent, so thorough, that I had a dreadful premonition of aching muscles the next day. He finally broke away when my lips were swollen and my arms, which had been pushing against him with all my might, went limp. I finally drew a breath.
As I gasped for air, Clovis slowly surveyed my body. His tongue darted out to lick his lips, as if to say it wasn’t enough, and a shiver of fear ran down my spine.
He stared at me for a long moment, his eyes filled with something akin to madness, before picking up his discarded coat and draping it over me.
“Having you on this rickety table is rather tempting.”
I gulped. “But a man is only as good as his word, so I’ll refrain.”
‘You can pretend to be honorable now, but you’re already a first-class bastard in my book.’
I cursed him inwardly, clutching the fabric of his coat tightly around me. The tension draining from my body left me shivering with cold. Clovis, watching me, looked oddly satisfied.
For a moment, I saw Reynard’s face superimposed over his, that wide, ear-to-ear grin. My heart felt heavy, as if weighted down with lead.
***
The knights averted their gazes, faces flushed, as they saw me wearing Clovis’s elaborately embroidered coat.
‘How kind of them. They couldn’t have missed the sounds coming from inside that shabby inn.’
“Let’s go.”
The knights and I awkwardly avoided each other’s eyes. Amidst the awkwardness, Clovis remained unfazed, calmly ushering me into the carriage.
I had seen Clovis’s black mare among the horses and assumed he would ride, but after settling me inside, he sat across from me.
Huddling against the returning chill, I watched him. Clovis instructed the knight outside to depart immediately and received something in return.
The white bundle of papers he received from the knight was covered in dense script.
‘It seems he has so much work that he has to attend to it even now.’
‘Then why not stay in the palace and do your work? One or two royal knights could have probably managed against two Black Eagle mercenaries.’
Grumbling inwardly, I glared at Clovis, then my eyes widened as I saw the document he was reviewing.
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