Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(57)

Even though right now I desperately wanted to be Honor. I might be nothing but a maid, but I was a maid who had a very interesting life.

I didn’t know what to say to him, so I struggled to do up one last button, then opened the door to let myself out.

Before I could close the door, he suddenly jumped up from the bed and crossed to me in a few quick strides. I looked up at him, my lips hanging open, not really sure what he was going to do. He grabbed me and yanked me into the doorway. I only realized he was going to kiss me a second before his mouth collided with mine.

He kissed me until I was breathless, and then he abruptly pulled away. He gave me a nod and said, “Have a good day, Honor.”

Then he closed the door between us, and I was left standing in the hall, my clit throbbing, my channel sore from being stretched to take him in, his cum and mine wet between my legs.

I wasn’t ready to be Lucien Finn again.





Honor



The next days brought a bizarre combination of both pleasure and pain at once, just as Jaik had introduced.

The physician was always there now, when I fought, and I was always tested against Branok or Lynx over and over. They kicked my ass, but every single time, I fought a little bit better. I held my own a little longer.

And as painful as it was, as they broke bones or wrenched blood from my body, the damage was always quickly healed. Maybe the pain was worth it to me, as bizarre as it was, because the brutal beatings gave me a chance to inflict damage of my own on them. And every day I grew stronger. Not to mention, there was something deliciously primal about letting loose on the two of them.

Growing stronger was more important to me than being comfortable.

On a daily basis, I was broken apart all over again—more or less literally. And then the physician healed me. And I moved on about my business.

I thought maybe Branok and Lynx were beginning to develop grudging respect for me even though Damyn looked at us all like we were crazy. And maybe we were, but I felt like I understood these guys on some weird level, that I knew what would bring them to my side, would show them I was just as strong and powerful as they were, that I was worthy.

Maybe Lucien Finn didn’t deserve redemption. But if I had to wear his face, I was damn sure going to try.

Of course my mornings all started with Caldren. As we walked through the tunnels, he reached into his pocket and tossed a bag my way. I caught it against my chest and opened it, finding an unexpected glint of gold. The bag was heavy; this had to be a third of Hanna’s tuition right here. Four months of her freedom. I clutched the bag tighter, wanting to keep it, knowing it was wrong.

“Where’s this coming from?” I asked him.

He favored me with a smile. “My family fortune.”

“I thought you were disowned.”

“I have my ways.”

I tried to hand the money back to him. “You don’t need to take care of me, not if you can barely take care of yourself.”

“I’m not taking care of you.” He sounded affronted by the idea.

“I don’t know what you call it then.”

He stopped and faced me. Glowing luminescent mold hung from the tunnel walls, and it cast faint light on his handsome face as he sighed. “When my parents threw me out, I didn’t have anyone. I lost my only sibling. I was so alone. Here you are, trying to do your best by your sister and I guess I appreciate that. I want to help you if I can.”

His raw honesty shocked me.

“Thank you.” I licked my lips, feeling a nervous flutter in my chest, before I blurted out, “You know, I never feel like I’m ever really alone, even in this weird net of lies. Because I have you on my side.”

“What, sweet words, no glib remark?” His brows arched, a smile playing around his lips. “I’m a little shocked.”

But he wasn’t looking at me like he was shocked. It looked as if I’d made his day with my genuine expression of gratitude.

“I know we academy students aren’t usually grateful to instructors,” I teased as we headed through the passage. “We usually fantasize about murdering you all a bit, to be honest.”

“Not me, though. Everyone loves me.”

Being with Caldren was always fun, but it felt as if our relationship faded as we climbed the stairs. When we pushed open the door into the academy’s basement, we were back to being all but strangers, nodding goodbye to each other and slipping away down different passages.

Along with the sour and sweet of my days, I had to face the sour and sweet of Jaik himself. He wasn’t exactly unkind to me when I was Lucien Finn, not like the others, but he wasn’t warm and playful like he was with Honor.

I was surprised to find out he was capable of warmth. How many girls had discovered that side? I knew I was being stupid but part of me dared to hope that there was something special when he touched me.

Sometimes he found me when I was cleaning, and he’d come up behind me, wrap his arms around my waist, pull me against the hard length of his body and plunder my throat with his kisses. Maybe he wasn’t bored with me after all.

“Come to my bed tonight,” he murmured to me.

“Maybe,” I answered, but something kept me from going back to his bed, the sense that I would lose my damn mind if I kept dancing so close to him. He’d called me an addiction. I had a feeling that the high prince might be my own addiction.