Lover's Curse (Red Queen Awards Winner)

Bonus Chapter: From Consort to Queen

A/N:  This chapter is rated E, and is an alternate universe where Mare didn't leave. Mostly self-indulgent PWP

So long as we're together.

Maven has long left my bed, off to scheme for his crown without me. It shouldn't sting. I know I will always come second, no matter how I worm my way into his heart. Still, I need to gaze at his face in the morning, to know that someone will never leave my side. A feeble fantasy. Even now, he can't be there for me.

"Hey."

My ears perk despite myself, thighs clenching in anticipation. Maven glides onto the bed, his arms perching on either side of my head. "Did you miss me?"

Fuck, I'm already wet. "I was asleep."

"I missed you." He massages the swell of my breast. "Paperwork is so boring. I wanted to ravish you the entire time." His face nestles between my tits, a smile creeping past his lips. "May I bite a nipple?"

"Eager, aren't we?"

He grins. "They're hard."

"Are you?"

His hips arch atop mine. "Feel for yourself."

I want to. I want to feel the supple leather of his crotch, to make him moan and beg at my feet. "I'm leaving today."

"So you say." The words are lazy, with a hint of fear. "I sensed you were slipping last night. I thought I'd remind you why you're here."

"Is she?"

Maven stills.

"Is Elara here? Is she whispering to you now?"

"My queen." His fingers dance along my arm. "I am still your king."

"And my whore."

He parts my legs, snuggling between my thighs as if they were home. "I'm good at being your whore, aren't I?" His breath feathers against my core, voice trickling up my spine. "And you just might be mine."

I'm too breathless to disagree. Maven nibbles my thigh as he chuckles, a light graze of his teeth that deepens to a bite. I arch, gripping his hair and yanking him to no avail. He daws back, eyes lidded. "You're beautiful when you cum."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"For your confession." He licks a long stripe along my leg, lifting my ankle to savor the flesh. His other hand stays steady on my thigh. "You love me, Mare. Accept it."

"Never."

"Keep telling yourself that." A finger tickles my folds. "One day, I might actually believe it."

Maven stares at me, steady and silent, two blue flames flickering in time to my heartbeat. He could slice me open, spill my secrets, etch his name into my bones where they will lie forevermore. I lean back. "Fuck me."

"As you command." His fingers pry my folds apart, rubbing, delving past my entrance to the pleasure beneath. My blood pulses with each swirl, each pinch, each tender trace of aching core. "I'll break you if I must."

I bite back tears. "You already have."

"No." He licks the edges of my clit, biting my folds until I write against his lips. "I make you whole. I make you more. I'd marry you if I could."

"You wouldn't. The politics–"

My heart thumps, a rabbit's, ready to burst as his voice caresses my ear. "I've called you my queen. Are you ready to make it real?"