Safania's POV
"Go take a bath," Cassius told me. "I'll be waiting for you here when you're finished."
I looked at him trying to assess how much trouble I was in, but it was impossible to tell. When Cassius was upset, he would get even more quiet than he normally was, which made it hard to get any sort of clue as to exactly how upset he was.
Instead of trying to figure it out, I grabbed a simple robe from the closet, thankful that I hadn't taken all of my clothes with me. I'd have to get my bags from Ari later.
"Could you help me take this armor off?" I asked Cassius quietly.
Cassius walked over to me and began untying the back of my armor. "How did you get the Lieutenant's armor?" he asked.
"I borrowed it."
"How did you manage to do that?"
"Like your father said, I'm very persuasive," I replied vaguely.
I was hoping Cassius would let me leave it at that. At first, I had just asked Ari to borrow the armor. His exact response had been, "If I help you enter the tournament and you end up dying, the prince will skin me alive and turn me into a rug."
I took that as a no.
So then I helpfully suggested that if he wanted to change the social structure of Peria, like I suspected he did, having a future member of the royal family owing him a favor would be a good place to start.
That had persuaded Ari to change his mind.
But despite how much time Cassius and I had spent together, we hadn't really discussed Perian politics. From our discussions about philosophy and how he treated lower class people, I got the sense he would be okay with shaking things up...but now did not seem like the right time for that conversation.
"There," Cassius told me, as he undid the last tie. "You're free."
Relieved at not having to give more of an explanation, I went into the bathroom, took off the rest of my clothes, and drew myself a bath. I scrubbed the grime and sweat off me until my skin was raw. Finally clean, I dried myself off with a towel and threw on the robe I had chosen. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out to face my new fiancé.
Cassius looked up at me when I stepped out of the bathroom. He had taken off his dress clothes while I was taking a bath, leaving him in a loose-fitting shirt that hung nicely on his well-toned frame. He seemed to similarly appreciate my robe, which was a thin, light blue material that left little to the imagination. We looked at each other for a moment until he spoke.
"What were you thinking?"
"That I wanted to be with you," I responded, without hesitation.
"I thought we were going to be honest with each other. After I found out about you being marked, I thought we were finally done with the lies and the secrecy."
"If I had told you about the tournament, you would have said no."
"Of course I would have said no!" Cassius said, raising his voice. "Do you have any idea how I would have felt if your lifeless body had been dragged out of that arena? People die during Oske, Safania. At least four died today, and thank the lord you weren't one of them."
"There are some things worth dying for," I said firmly.
"Listen to me..." Cassius began.
"No, you listen to me," I interrupted. "You still see me as this frail, weak little girl who you had to nurse back to health. I survived on my own for five years Cassius. The most you had seen me do before today is throw a knife into a painting. You weren't there when I defeated four of your best soldiers. You weren't there when I took on entire gangs of men and singlehandedly beat them. Before today, you had never even seen me in combat. This wasn't just some crazy whim. This was me thinking I had a legitimate shot at winning, taking a risk, and having it pay off. I won the tournament Cassius! You seem to be forgetting that."
"You shouldn't have thought you had a legitimate chance," Cassius responded calmly, but still clearly angry. "You had only been training with Ari for two weeks."
"Sword fighting yes. But I didn't really use my sword fighting skills to defeat anyone. Ari and I realized my strengths were speed and identifying other people's weaknesses. That's something I've practiced for years. That's how I won."
"You barely won that last round," Cassius countered.
"Aron's weakness was his pride," I explained. "I knew if he thought he had won, he would let his guard down and I could catch him by surprise. Almost losing was part of my plan."
A quick look of admiration swept across Cassius's face, but it was immediately replaced by frustration. "If we're going to be married, if you're going to be my queen, we have to be a team. And we can't be a team if I have no idea what you're doing."
"We also can't be a team if you don't respect me as your equal," I told him. "A war is coming. I would never tell you that you can't fight for your kingdom, even though I'm terrified of losing you. But it's okay for you to forbid me from doing what I know I need to do?"
Cassius sighed. "I would at least tell you. And I would listen to what you had to say, even if I ultimately disagreed. You don't even give me the chance to disagree. You just decide what to do without even giving me the chance to give my input."
He had a point, as much as I hated to admit it.
"I should at least tell you when I'm planning on doing something dangerous," I acknowledged. "I will, but only if you promise that you won't stop me just because you're worried that I might get hurt."
Cassius let out a derisive laugh. "I'm not going to promise that," he scoffed.
"This is exactly what I mean!" I exclaimed. "You have veto power over my actions, but you get to do whatever you want?"
Cassius came close to me, making me look up at him due to our height difference. Normally I liked that he was taller, but right now it just irritated me.
"Do you think you're the one in charge in this relationship? That between the two of us, you're the dominant one?" Cassius asked me in a stern tone.
I met his dark stare with one of my own. "You think you are?"
Cassius bent down to whisper in my ear. "You asked to be with me. Your request was granted. Now you're mine."
I involuntarily shivered at his words, especially the cold tone in which he spoke them. But I was not letting him win just because I was flustered.
"You agreed," I shot back defiantly. "I am yours. But you're mine too."
Cassius studied me carefully, his expression unreadable. Was it anger? Respect? Before I could figure it out, he spoke again.
"You're playing with fire Safania."
"Good thing I don't burn."
The last words he spoke before throwing me onto my bed sounded like a threat, but felt more like a promise.
"You will."
Before my brain could catch up to what was happening, Cassius's lips were on mine. He straddled me underneath him while skillfully grinding himself against me.
"Cassius!" I gasped when I came up for air.
Cassius gave me no time to recover though, as he easily tore off my robe. He kissed my neck while he ran his hands all over my now naked body. This was the first time I had been fully exposed in front of him, but I wasn't self-conscious. All of my worries, hesitations, and fears just seemed to vanish; all I could focus on was the warmth flooding through me and the feeling of Cassius's body pressed against mine.
I reached for Cassius's shirt, trying to remove it, but Cassius grabbed my wrist and pinned it to my side.
"Why...?" I started to ask, but before I could finish my question, Cassius dipped his head between my legs. I gasped as he ran his tongue along my slit before settling at my bud. He teased me relentlessly, licking, sucking, and even gently grazing me with his teeth.
The sensation was like nothing I had ever experienced. I completely lost the ability to form a coherent thought. My eyes closed, my hands instinctively gripped at the bedsheets trying to anchor myself to something so I wouldn't just dissolve.
Encouraged by my reactions to him, Cassius quickened his pace and intensity. I felt a pleasant pressure rising up in me again, but this time I wasn't afraid. This time I knew what was about to happen. But right before the pressure reached its peak, Cassius stopped. I groaned out of frustration.
"Tell me that I'm in control," he told me, as he switched to teasing me by slowly stroking my sensitive core.
"Are you serious?!" I asked angrily.
"Tell me that I'm in control," he repeated calmly.
"Cassius, please," I whined.
"Tell me," he insisted.
"You're an ass."
"That's not what I'm looking for," he replied simply.
With that, he dove between my legs again, building up the pressure again. My back arched, my muscles tensed, my entire body begged for release. But he wouldn't give it to me. He slowed yet again.
"Who's in control?"
I bit my lip, hard, to stop myself from answering. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. But it was getting so hard to think, my body trembling uncontrollably from need. It took all of my willpower to stay silent.
"So stubborn," he murmured, amused.
He went back to his merciless attack on my sensitive bud with his mouth, but this time, he slipped a finger inside of me. I gasped, unprepared for the intensity of the sensation. I could feel him curl his finger inside me, stroking my inner walls, which made me moan in pleasure. Once again, he teased me until my breaking point, then stopped. I whimpered, his denial of my orgasm feeling unbearable.
"Who's in control?" he whispered in my ear.
"You," I breathed. "You Cassius. You're in control. Please, please let me -."
Before I could finish my sentence, Cassius dove back between my legs. I immediately reached my peak, with waves of pleasure crashing over me. I cried out from the intensity of my climax, feeling like every nerve in my body had been set ablaze.
I collapsed on the bed, my body completely spent. As my breathing slowly returned to normal, Cassius laid down next to me and kissed my forehead with a smug smile.
"I hate you," I told him as I tied the robe back around me.
"No, you don't," he replied, still smiling while brushing away a strand of hair from my face.
"How did you know I was so close?" I asked him.
"It's actually pretty easy," he replied. "Your eyes start to glow. They did last time, too."
I felt myself blush. Cassius immediately noticed the change in my demeanor.
"Hey," he said, putting his hand on my cheek. "Why are you embarrassed? It's amazing."
He pulled me close to him and closed his eyes. "I can't wait to marry you," he told me.
"We still have to find 100,000 people to add to your military," I replied, trying to temper his excitement.
He turned his head to face me, with another smile on his face. "I'm pretty sure I have that figured out," he said confidently. "But we can discuss that tomorrow. You need to rest."
I hadn't realized it, but once Cassius said it, I discovered I was struggling to keep my eyes open. After all the anxiety, the emotions, the fighting, and our bedroom episode, I was beyond exhausted.
"Will you stay the night?" I asked Cassius.
"Of course," he replied. "But I'll wait to get ready for bed. I want to stay with you until you fall asleep."
I nodded sleepily. Cassius helped me under the covers and then stroked my hair. "I love you Safania," he told me.
"This doesn't mean you won the argument," I told him, still struggling to stay awake.
A smug grin took over Cassius's face. "I think it does," he told me. "You said, and I quote 'you're in control'."
I didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore, but that didn't mean I was going to give in. I would pay him back – in the best way possible. I let ideas for revenge float around in my mind as I quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.