Chapter 146

It really was one simple wrong turn that had led Kit to a dead end and an impasse. Once they were back at the crossroads, it was easy to see she should’ve went the other direction. She wondered what may have happened if she had gone the other way. Would he have let her go, or would he have caught up to her? The princess decided she was better off not knowing.

The trumpeters had relocated to the exit point, and as soon as Eli and Kit crossed the line, they blew their horns, signaling the contest was over. Kit was surprised to see the queen had already made her way over to this side as well. She was sitting in her carriage with the window flap up so that she could see out the glass. The expression on her face was priceless, but Kit chose not to look at her for more than a few seconds. Whatever her mother thought of the outcome, Eli had won the contest fair and square, and he would have his prize.

The rain was beginning to fall harder as the footmen escorted Kit and Eli to the designated carriage. Another peal of thunder shook the ground, and Kit heard screams from within the maze. She imagined it was mostly the women who didn’t know how to get out, afraid they’d be trapped in a bad storm. Her mother’s guardsmen had large flags on poles that could be seen above the walls of the maze, and they were working to escort everyone out as Kit settled into the seat next to Eli.

“What of Aeros?” she asked once the footmen closed the door.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He isn’t exactly tied. If no one collects him, he’ll make it back to the barn on his own.”

Kit wasn’t surprised at all to hear that, though she felt sorry for the Representatives who had rode in on horseback who were likely to get drenched riding back to the castle. At least her ladies would have carriages to take them.

From somewhere she didn’t see, Eli produced a towel and offered it to her, before she noticed they were on the bench behind him. He took another one and dried his hair as she did her best to wipe the rain away from her face. Her hair was pinned up so high on her head, running the towel over top of it wasn’t very productive; she knew it would have to dry eventually.

She heard her mother’s carriage take off and then one of her guardsmen approached Kit’s driver. “The road’s already impassible. You’ll have to take the long route,” he shouted through the downpour.

“Already?” the driver shouted back before adding a few swear words. “All right.”

“Be careful. And when the princess arrives, tell her the queen expects everyone to change into dry clothing and then assemble in the formal throne room as quickly as possible.”

The driver said he understood, and the Queen’s Guardsman moved away. “Why do you think she wants us to assemble?” Kit whispered to Eli as the driver gave the reins a shake, and the carriage started to move forward.

“I’m not sure, but didn’t you have an announcement to make?” he replied, his eyes focused out the window. Kit was looking that direction, too. As they passed the side of the maze, she could see several carriages being loaded up, and some of the Representatives were already headed back to the castle on horseback, riding as quickly as they could in the mud and rain. The wind picked up slightly, rocking the carriage, and Kit leaned forward even further looking for a few particular gentlemen. She saw Jate and Cassius helping her ladies into a carriage and then noticed Landon untying Aeros before he mounted his own horse. Reeve, Drake, and Danyen were nowhere to be seen, but she imagined they were either helping other ladies or had rode on ahead. Before she could look for Gavin, Asher, or Zane, the carriage moved down the road, and she leaned back.

“I hope Grandmother made it into the carriage safely,” she muttered.

“I’m certain she did. I would wager Junno ran out of ribbons quickly and left the maze to become a spectator.”

Kit giggled, wondering how many of her grandmother’s ribbons had been pressed upon Cassius. It crossed her mind that she owed a lot of gentlemen kisses as well. Perhaps that was one of the reasons her mother wanted them to assemble, so she could pucker up and pay up.

It would take a lot longer to return to the castle than it had to get there because of the road conditions. The long way meant circling all the way around the castle to the next road, which was a few leagues away from the one they’d taken in. Kit thought it would take at least a half hour, maybe longer, depending upon whether or not the horses could easily traverse the path.

It occurred to her that now might be the perfect time for them to discuss what had happened in the basement of Eli’s family home just a few days ago—though it seemed like weeks since so much had happened in the interim. Kit turned to face him, opened her mouth, and closed it. He was staring at her the same way he had been in the labyrinth, and she realized precisely what they had said to each other in between kisses and raindrops.

There was no need for words. Kit reached over and pulled the covering over the window on Eli’s side of the carriage as she simultaneously grabbed hold of the back of his neck with her other hand, parting her lips and plunging her mouth against his. He seemed caught off guard at first but then the rest of his body caught up to his lips, which had opened for her, and his arms came up around her. Kit grappled for the other shade behind her without even turning around, groping and failing a few times before she managed to get it down, and then she wrapped her other hand around the back of his head and pulled him in closer to her.

His hands were still on her waist when she brought her knee around to his other side so that she was straddling him, though the jostling of the carriage and the fact that he wasn’t expecting it kept her from centering herself at first. She wasn’t willing to release her grip on his lips to rectify the situation, so she continued to kiss him, her tongue devouring his, reveling in the feel of his mouth as they danced together. He still tasted sweet and refreshing, like rainwater, and every kiss revived her like a woman who’d been wandering the desert for years looking for even a drop of water to cure her parched condition.

Eli’s hand shifted, dragging her hips over so that she was evenly situated on his lap. He attempted to pull away from her and failed as she refused to release him, but on his second try, he gained some separation, “Kit,” he said into her throat, “Kit, we’re in a carriage.”

“Yes, I know. We’re all alone in a carriage and shall be for at least half an hour’s time,” she agreed before leaning down and finding his warm lips again. She ran her hand across his jaw, noting a hint of whiskers coming in, rough on her fingers.

Eli let go with one hand but steadied her with the other as they bounced across the rutted road. His free hand encircled her wrist. “What I meant to say, darling, is... it might be difficult to... that is....”

“Do you have a sheath?” Her voice was a husky whisper she hardly recognized as she stared into his eyes, unfalteringly.

His emerald orbs widened as he stammered, “Yeah... yes.”

A wicked grin pulled up one corner of her mouth. She was certain he would have one because he said he always carried one whenever she was around—and even though the last time had gone badly, her Eli wasn’t one for losing faith. He let go of her and reached into his waistband, pulling out a small pouch like he’d been carrying before, and Kit found his mouth again, sliding her hands down his chest, clawing at his jerkin and tunic as she went. Once she had his shirt untucked, she fumbled for his belt.

“Kit, what about your gown? Your knickers?” he asked whenever she had to come up for air.

The conversation she’d had with her ladies in the carriage earlier came back to her and she couldn’t help but giggle. Her gown was scrunched up between them now, and that would help her cause. He’d see as soon as she had his trousers out of the way. Thank the goddesses for the ridiculous knickers she was wearing.

Rather than reveal that secret right away, she stuck her chest out and leaned back so that her bulging breasts were directly in front of his face. “You don’t care for Antoinettian style?” she asked, sticking out her bottom lip.

“No, on the contrary, I love it.” His eyes were glued to the soft mounds in front of him, and Kit thought he might actually start to drool if she didn’t relieve the situation quickly. Her breasts were barely contained by the thin fabric as it was, so she only needed to reach up and loosen the binding slightly for them to spill out of the top. Once they were free, Eli continued to stare for a moment before he lifted one hand, the other still steadying her on his lap, and Kit couldn’t help but giggle again. He’d seen her breasts once before, but perhaps it was the fact that they were sticking out of the top of her gown that made them seem forbidden.

Eli came back to himself quickly enough. He kissed the top of each of her breasts before he lowered his head slightly and took a nipple in his mouth. Kit sat up straight, groping at the back of the seat to keep herself steady over the rocky terrain, her eyes closed and her head tipped back as she relished the fact that his mouth was exploring such a sensitive part of her body. The feel of his warm tongue on her flesh started a burning in her core, and despite the fact that he could likely linger there for hours, an urgency was building within her.

Lowering herself down, she pushed his shoulders back to the seat and found his mouth again. His disappointment in having to let go of her chest with his mouth was resolved shortly when her tongue began to intertwine with his again. She could feel the earnestness mounting within him as well, and while she continued to kiss him, she reached down and yanked his trousers down enough to find what she needed, Eli lifting his hips off of the seat to aid her search.

His cock was hard in her hand; she needed him inside of her. Fumbling for the pouch with the sheath in it delayed her only slightly. Once she had it out, she began to roll it down the length of him as he steadied her on his lap. She could tell he was trying to gain her attention again, likely still concerned about her knickers, but it wasn’t worth releasing his mouth long enough to answer a question he would soon find the answer to.

The sheath on, Kit leaned up again, having to let go of his lips as her breasts were fully in his face once more. He took advantage of the situation, flicking his tongue out to lick a nipple, while Kit repositioned herself, moving her gowns up and out of the way. Steadying one hand against the back of the carriage seat, she found his hardness with the other, and when she came back down, she took all of him inside of her, slick, slippery lips, enveloping him all at once.

Eli seemed startled as he realized there was no barrier from her knickers there, but his shock morphed into pleasure as Kit found his mouth again and began to work her hips back and forth in as steady a rhythm as the road would allow. She remembered the word she’d heard in the carriage on the way to the maze, “quickie,” and understood precisely why this would be called that. Not only was there not much time, the idea that they might be caught in the act was titillating, not that she was doing anything wrong. Still, she felt the urge to devour him as fast as possible, as if she were claiming him as her own.

His hands upon her hips worked her up and down as he bucked in time to meet her, and Kit spread her knees across the bench as far as she could. But despite the rivulets of sheer pleasure that vibrated up her core with every gyration of her body up and down on his long, rock hard shaft, the idea that she was finally with Eli, that after all of these years of longing, he was hers in every way imaginable brought an euphoria beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. She wanted to shout his name, to scream out in pleasure, but she kept herself as quiet as possible so as not to alarm the driver, only moaning softly and gasping for air when her lungs began to burn.

She reached a climax quickly, as she’d expected, and he kept her there for several moments, panting and writhing on his lap, his hands and lips managing to find her breasts despite the difficult duty of keeping her on his lap over bumps and deep ruts. Eventually, Eli began to rumble as deeply as the thunder outside of the carriage, and when he exploded inside of her, Kit stilled herself on his lap, relishing the feeling between her legs.

Her hands immediately flew to either side of his face and she lowered herself so that she was looking in his eyes. His grip on her waist increased and their foreheads came together. She closed her eyes and breathed him in until she felt as if she had inhaled him completely, and the two of them were one. Upon opening her eyes, she could see the intensity in his emerald irises as he took her in. His kiss was sweet and soft, though no less passionate, and Kit thought she could have sat there for the rest of her life pressing her lips against his.

“I love you, Kit,” Eli said quietly. “I love you so much, it’s an ache inside of my heart that never goes away. No matter how far from you I am, no matter how out of touch, it’s always there, and it has been for as long as I can remember.”

She didn’t have to imagine she knew what he was talking about because she’d felt the same way. “I love you, too. I have for so long, it’s a part of who I am. I can’t imagine a world where you’re not a part of my life, Eli. Nothing else matters—when you’re not with me, it’s as if my heart is suspended until you return.”

Carefully, Kit slid off of his lap onto the bench next to him, pulling her gowns with her but not moving her eyes from his face. He leaned in and kissed her once more, and Kit breathed him in, running her palm down the side of his face, her fingers lingering on his jaw before she finally pulled them away.