16. Sorcha

Chapter sixteen

After lunch, we were back in the carriage, being carted off to Mertis. That sparring round had my blood pumping, making me realize how much I'd missed it in this past week. It also made me rusty, which was the excuse I gave myself for not winning. It was so frustrating—I couldn't even blame it on his strength. He was swift and well-trained, his technique almost flawless. Though I sort of hated him for it, I also found it very attractive. The feeling was confusing, but one I couldn't focus on while we were stuck in this small carriage.

The ride passed with little fanfare. I was always on the lookout for any of the thieves on the road, but it had been mostly quiet. I also enjoyed seeing Valcor. Every small village we rode through was vastly different from Peradona. The buildings were more spread out, seemingly built with the land in mind as opposed to against it.

Once we reached the inn, I could swear I smelled the sea air. It was probably in my head, but it made me excited either way. I helped put all the horses away while Zarios brought our things to our room. Tonight, we opted to have dinner in the tavern downstairs. It was a fairly quiet tavern, with a large bar and wooden furniture. We ate and drank, joined by Damyr and Kiaza.

It was nice getting to know them. Kiaza told me about her parents in Mertis, who she was planning to visit while we were there. Damyr was funny and very talkative. It seemed he and Zarios had a good friendship. Though Zarios pretended to be annoyed any time Damyr opened his mouth, I could tell it was for show.

It even felt like I was seeing a new side of Zarios. Though he was his normal, aloof self, Damyr managed to get him laughing a few times.

"Did he tell you about the time we jumped into the fountain in Raatan?" Damyr asked.

I almost spit my ale. Zarios narrowed his gaze. "Don't you dare."

"Oh, please tell," I said at the same time.

Damyr smirked into his glass. "So, we had just left a wild party, and this one," he said, poking the side of Zarios's cheek. He batted him away before Damyr continued. "had a bad competitive streak back then."

I laughed. "Had?"

Zarios bumped me lightly as Damyr kept going. "Naram bet him that he could beat him in a game of cards, looser had to take a dive in the fountain. Of course, I joined in on the bet and won. They demanded a rematch, which they also lost, and before they both knew what hit them they were running naked from the guard, dripping wet in the middle of winter."

I was laughing so hard by the end, I could hardly breathe. Even Kiaza was giggling lightly.

"It's not that funny," Zarios grumbled, his arms crossed and his tail flicking behind him.

"It's pretty funny," I said, wiping a tear from my eye.

"Well, I think I'm going to retire for the night," Kiaza said, standing and stretching. "We need to be prepared for tomorrow.""I'll join you," Damyr said.

She quirked her brow. "Not like that," he said. "Unless…" He winked at her.

"In your dreams," she said before they both left.

"Are you ready to go?" Zarios asked.

"Not quite," I said. "We've been cooped up all day. It's nice to be out. But if you're tired, I can meet you upstairs."

"I can stay," he said. "We're having fun."

Hearing him say that sent the butterflies in my stomach fluttering. There was no one here to perform for, he could have decided to go to bed, but he wanted to stay.

I smiled at him, and to my surprise, he smiled back. "Want to make a bet of our own?" I asked.

He huffed. "I can assure you, I will not be stripping tonight."

I couldn't help my gaze lowering over him, thinking about that possibility. I was blaming my lowered inhibitions on the drinks. "I was more thinking winner has to tell the loser a secret."

"A secret?"

I nodded.

He looked to contemplate it. "Fine. What are we betting on?"

I looked around. "Darts," I said, pointing to the board in the corner .

He chuckled. "You're going down, Princess."

"We'll see." I'd been practicing my knife throwing lately and felt confident about this.

He grabbed the darts from the board and handed me my set. I went first and hit bullseye once, then the inner circle with the other two. When it was his turn, he hit the exact same way, a bullseye and two in the inner circle.

We continued taking turns, our scores almost the same until he slipped up and hit the twenty. "Uh-oh," I drawled. "Someone messed up."

"Don't worry about me," he said, pulling his darts from the board.

We played a few more rounds without him catching back up. I was on my last one. If I nailed this, I would win. I lined up and hit my first bullseye with ease, then my second. I was about to throw the third when someone coughed directly behind me. I jumped and threw my dart to the side, hitting the eleven.

I gasped and turned around. Zarios was standing a step behind me, looking in his ale as if nothing happened. "Cheater!" I accused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said nonchalantly. "Go get your darts."

I grumbled as I moved to the board and pulled my darts out. He went next and hit the center three times, winning the game.

"You only won because you cheated," I said with a pout.

"I only used what I had to my advantage."

I scowled. "That's just another way to say you cheated."He approached me and ran his finger between my eyes, smoothing the crinkles there. "Don't be mad, Princess. It's just a game."

I wanted to be mad, but his nearness shoved my other feelings to the side. "Fine, but I want a secret too. I should have won."

He gave a huff between annoyed and amused. "Fine. A secret for a secret. I need to think on mine."

"I do too." I didn't have many secrets. What would I tell him?With that, we paid and went upstairs. As we reached the door, Zarios looked at me a little shyly. "Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What?"

As the door pushed open, I didn't need him to tell me. The room was bare, save for a single bed in the corner and a bedside table on each side. There wasn't even room for anything else. My eyes widened.

"There's only a single bed."

I gulped. "I see that."

"What would you like to do?" he asked. "I can get another room."

"No," I said, too quickly. "We don't want to be suspicious," I quickly amended.

"That means we would need to sleep…together," he said.

I nodded. "That's fine. We're adults. We can sleep in the same bed."

He gave his own nod. We quietly prepared for bed, taking our turns in the shower down the hall until we were both finally ready.

I tried to be normal as I climbed into the right side.

"That's my side," Zarios said as I sat down.

I looked up at him. "Does it matter?"

"Yes. I sleep closer to the door." His face was completely serious.

"I am perfectly capable of sleeping near the door."

"Just let me sleep there," he said, sounding exasperated.

"Moons, if it's such a big deal."I shifted over to the other side and felt the bed sink as his large body got in. My stomach swam with nerves, nerves I tried to let go. What I said earlier was true. We were two adults on a mission, perfectly capable of sleeping next to each other.

That thought left me when I turned and found myself face-to-face with Zarios. The lights were off, so I could barely see him, but his eyes shone in the moonlight. I took in a sharp breath as my lower belly heated.

"Goodnight," I managed. I rolled over, needing to pretend he wasn't right there.

I listened to him shuffle around next to me as I willed myself to go to sleep, though it didn't seem to be happening.

"Princess?" I heard softly.

"Sorcha," I corrected.

"I think I'd like to tell you my secret now."

I turned until we were face to face once again. Now that it had been dark a while, I was able to make out his expression a bit more. His face was serious, his eyes intense.

"Yes?" I whispered.

"I liked kissing you last night."

I felt frozen in time. "You did? "

He nodded.

"I did too," I admitted.

"Was that your secret?" he asked. The intensity in his gaze was the only reason I was honest.

I shook my head. "But I would like to tell you now."

It felt like all the air in the room was sucked away, and I could barely believe what I was about to say. "Tell me," he said lowly.

My mouth felt like sandpaper, my hands sweating. Somehow, he'd gotten even closer.

When I worked up the courage, I finally said, "I'd like to do it again."

A beat passed between us, then another. His face remained the same. I thought about running away. It would be less embarrassing than whatever was happening now.

Before I could formulate an escape plan, I was being pulled forward until I was flush with Zarios, and my hands instinctively went to his chest.

"Are you sure?" he whispered against my lips. He was only a breath away.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I pressed forward, bringing our lips together. He felt just as good as last time. His warm breath fluttered on my face as he pulled me impossibly close. My hands worked up his shoulders, wrapping around his neck. He had that same sweet tea taste as earlier, paired with the ale we'd had downstairs.

I licked his lips, and his mouth opened, his tongue exploring my mouth however he wanted. His hands came around my hips, gripping my ass hard. I moaned into his mouth, the slight pain turning into pleasure. I could feel how soaked I was from just this kiss. I wanted more.

His hard length poked into my abdomen, and he rutted lightly against me, looking for his own friction. I could feel something else, something hard going along the underside of his cock that I hadn't noticed before. I wondered what it was.

Before that thought could go much further, his hand wrapped around my front, gripping my breast through my slip. He swallowed my sounds of pleasure with his mouth as he flicked my nipple until it hardened. He gave the other one the same treatment, and I pushed against him, finding the friction I craved against his massive thigh.

His mouth moved down to my neck, kissing down my jaw and under my ear.

"Please," I moaned.

He growled, the sound vibrating the whole room. "Do you need to come, Princess?"

"Yes," I cried. I couldn't even play coy. I needed it like I needed my next breath.

He rumbled in approval. My slip was moved up and away, leaving me bare beneath him, save for my underwear. He backed up a bit to look between us, his gaze roaming my body like a caress, heating my entire body.

"Moons, you're gorgeous." His voice was almost reverent. I had to be blushing from head to toe, and I hoped he couldn't tell in the dark.

His mouth came down on my nipple, licking along the hardened bud. My back arched into his touch seemingly on its own, needing to be closer. His body was so warm, it felt as if I would be set on fire by his touch.

Large hands traveled down my body, over my sides and down my stomach, towards the edge of my panties. I shivered under his touch as his finger ran along the seam, down my thigh.

"Can I?" he asked, his voice rough.

"Yes," I said like a plea.