Realm of the Chosen: A Reverse Harem Romance

Chapter 15-1

Chapter Fifteen

Kit wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out. When she rounded the last corner toward her chambers, Eli was standing outside of her door speaking to Cassius. Seeing her, he quickly finished whatever he was saying, handed something to Cassius, who pounded him on the back, and Eli headed off in the other direction, still wet from the rain. Kit felt her heart drop. He hadn’t wanted to see her; she couldn’t blame him. She had just screamed in his face, interrupting their first intimate moment together.

“Ah, here comes my radiant Princess,” Cassius said as she reached him. “Are you all right?”

“Wonderful,” Kit said, forcing a smile to her face. It wouldn’t do to complain in front of her guards. She nodded in thanks to them and then ducked inside. A few other guards, as well as Avinia and Isla, were just passing through the antechamber with buckets in their hands. They both squealed in disdain when they caught sight of her.

“What in the world?” Avinia scolded. “You’re a mess!”

“You look like you fell in a mud puddle!” Isla agreed.

“Ladies, thank you for your assistance. Is the bath filled?” Kit had no desire to defend herself at the moment, to anyone.

“Yes, it’s full.” Avinia shook her head in disdain.

“Very good, then. Thank you. You may leave. You may all leave.” She made sure both of her cousins knew she meant them, too, and a firm hand on Cassius’s wrist would let him know he was not included.

The others went out, and Kit considered bolting the door from the inside but decided against it. She’d lock the door that led to the bath, though.

“All of us?” Cassius asked, a crooked grin on his face as he spun her to look at him. “Do you want me to leave, too, Princess?” he teased.

“No, you get to stay.” Despite the fact that she was still quite damp, she leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. His clothing was dry by now since he’d only endured a few moments of unpleasant weather while she’d ridden all the way home in it. It hadn’t felt like home—until that moment when she was in his arms.

“I have something for you.” He let go of her with one hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small vial. Kit recognized it as the object Eli had handed him, right before he rushed away. “The commander picked this up for you at the infirmary. He confirmed my suspicions that you are catching a cold.”

“I’ve been sneezing a bit,” Kit admitted. She took the vial, opened it, and swallowed back a bitter substance she’d taken several times as a child, though Armant’s version wasn’t quite as revolting as Mikali’s, his predecessor’s, had been.

“I think, we need to get you out of those wet clothes and into a nice, hot bath.” Cassius had both arms around her again, his fingertips carefully stroking up and down her back.

“I think that’s the grandest idea I’ve heard in ages.”

He led her into her room and closed and locked the door behind them, and Kit waited eagerly for his hands to come back to her. She turned around so he could unhook her gown, and she tried to block out the idea that this was actually the second man who’d taken this same dress off of her that day. She was fairly certain this encounter would end on a much happier note.

Cassius’s touch wasn’t as light and careful as Eli’s. It was more familiar in a way. He’d taken her clothing off many times now where as Eli had never touched her in that fashion before that day. Still, the scent of Cassius’s rain washed skin, his breath tickling the back of her ear, had her feeling much more relaxed than she had the moment she’d walked back into the castle.

Once again her gown fell to the floor. His hands automatically reached for a garment that wasn’t there. “Where’s your stay, Princess?”

“My stay... stayed behind,” she replied, and while he let out a small chuckle at her joke, she was certain the fact that she wasn’t wearing it must’ve raised a thousand questions in his mind. She’d be happy to answer them if he chose to ask. Otherwise, perhaps it would all come out in the bathwater.

He slid her knickers down to the ground before pulling her chemise off over her head and discarding it. Kit turned to place her hands on his chest. He was still fully clothed, a problem that would need to be remedied soon. “Thank you,” she said quietly, as comfortable with him nude as she was dressed.

“Why don’t you go ahead and get in the bath before you catch a chill, and I’ll be in directly.” His voice was heady, his warm breath tempting her to lean in slightly and find his lips, but she waited, eager to feel the soothing water wash away the rest of her worries.

She turned to walk into the adjoining bathing room and heard a sigh escape his lips. Looking over her shoulder, she couldn’t help but grin at the expression on his face as he took in her bottom. He didn’t try to hide his pleasure or bother to look away. Kit giggled and turned back around, putting a bit more swagger in her step as she went. “Maybe I’ll just bring a sheath in there with us, just in case,” Cassius called after her.

“Oh, you better,” she said, stopping to glance over her shoulder one last time before she entered the bathing room. The tub was full, steam rising off of it, and the scent of roses and oils hit her senses. She could tell Cassius had overseen the operation because there were heated stones lining the bottom of the tub to keep the water warm, in case it took her longer to return than she’d originally anticipated. Her ladies would’ve never thought of that.

She sunk in to her shoulders, pulling the few pins she had in her hair out and tossing them aside as her skin welcomed the warmth of the water. It sizzled around her, soaking up her worries and carrying them away.

Kit closed her eyes and tipped her head back, inhaling the floral aroma and feeling her tight muscles melt into the liquid. She didn’t even hear Cassius come in until the water around her began to ripple. She opened her eyes to see him sinking into the water across from her, on the other side of the substantive tub.

Lost in the chiseled muscles that made up his chest, his powerful biceps which rested on the rim of the tub, she couldn’t formulate a sentence at first. He was the picture of royalty, what a king or a duke should look like. Even the carefree smile on his face indicated he should live a life of luxury where he commanded anyone and everyone around him. Kit couldn’t help but consider herself lucky that the good people of Warchester Keep had submitted such a fine fellow for her consideration, and the thought of ever sending him away seemed like a situation from a bad dream.

Finally, after taking him in and pushing aside the warmth radiating between her legs, which had nothing to do with the heated bath, she asked, “Why are you so far away?”

“I thought perhaps the lady would like a few moments to enjoy her bath, use her fine soaps, wash aside the day, and then, when you’re ready, I’ll be here.” The ease of his smile and the care he took in making sure she had everything she needed warmed her heart, and Kit closed her eyes again, taking his suggestion to heart and focusing on letting go of the anger, hurt, betrayal, and shock she’d felt earlier in the day.

There was an array of scented soaps spread out on the edge of the tub, and Kit knew exactly where her favorite one was without even opening her eyes. She scooped up the one that smelled like lavender and began to wash herself, staring with her arms and her legs before moving on to other more intimate parts. She could feel him watching, could hear his excitement in his unmeasured breathing. When she was certain she was as clean as could be, she opened her eyes and stared at him a moment.

“Do you need some help with your back, Princess?”

Laughing, Kit brought the soap and floated over to him. She turned, brushing her long hair over her shoulder, and slid her rump back against his lap. His arousal was obvious as he moved himself aside to make room for her. The feel of his thick c**k against her hip made her want to put everything else on hold and enjoy him first, but she also relished the fact that he wanted her so badly. Making him wait could only work toward her benefit.

Cassius slid the bar of soap up and down her back, using his hands to work away knots Kit hadn’t realized were there until his firm fingers broke them up. Once she was good and clean, she sank down even further into the tub, and he cupped his hands to rinse away the suds.

Kit settled back against him, glad to feel his arms around her. She rested her head against his shoulder and took some slow deep breaths, wondering what she should tell him and what was best left unsaid. She couldn’t mention that the house was Eli’s family home; she’d promised her commander she wouldn’t do that. It was the only such agreement she’d made, though. Everything else that slipped her lips would come out because she trusted Cassius not to tell anyone.

He didn’t pressure her, didn’t ask, just continued to hold her until she was ready to speak. One hand stroked the sensitive flesh just below her ribcage while the other rested on her thigh. It was if they belonged together, like their bodies were meant to be in the same space, and Kit didn’t want to disturb the moment by talking about anyone else.

But she also needed to unburden herself, and there was no one other than Cassius she’d rather speak to about any of the occurrences of the day. Avinia and Isla would listen and probably give some decent advice, say some words that would make her feel better. But Cassius was the one who would truly know what to say to help her move past the revelations she’d recently been afforded. Certainly, Jate would’ve had some positive remarks as well. Maybe even Landon or Reeve, but of all of her men, Cassius was the one she trusted most to convince her that whatever the obstacle, whatever the negativity that invaded her life, she could move past it.

So she began by saying, “Today didn’t go as planned.”

“No, I guess not.”

“Although, I did find what I sought to discover.” That part of the day had worked in her favor, even if she’d managed to get the place destroyed and ruin the friendship she’d had with the person meant to live there.

“What was that?” Cassius asked, his thumb drawing small circles on her side.

She tipped her head so that her forehead rested on his cheek. “I needed to know about that house. I wasn’t sure why. It had been eating at me for years. I wanted to know what had become of the family that lived there.”

“That’s why Pierce was asking about it?”

She sat up a bit. “Yes. For someone who prides himself on being able to discover secret information, that man isn’t very secretive.”

He chuckled. “Well, I think his mother may have been better at that then he. At any rate, I did overhear him asking a few people about it. Including Eli, who told him if he wanted to stay on the right side of the queen, he wouldn’t ask such questions.”

“How ironic,” Kit mumbled, but she couldn’t say more. “Did Pierce honestly think I hadn’t asked Eli myself?”

“Maybe he felt he knows the commander better than you and could win him over with his charm.”

Kit sat up, the water splashing around her, and they both began to laugh. Cassius didn’t let her get too far, pulling her back against him. “Well, I can’t tell you what I found out about the house, but I did find out.”

“I understand,” he said settling back into his small caresses. “I think I can put most of it together anyway.”

It was certainly possible since he had to know that Eli was at the house with her. “She burned it down.” The words came out of her mouth like poison, and she felt as angry at her mother for destroying what was left of Eli’s home as she’d ever been at her for anything.