Free The Spoils of Allsveil: Dark Heart Heroes #2 by S.N. McKibben Page A

of other men. I scrubbed my arm harder.
    “When I said I wanted you to set up a fund for the refugees, I didn’t mean for you to save them one by one yourself.”
    I stopped scrubbing. She knew about the girl. Damn. Gods-be-damn you, Paul. I laid back and closed my eyes. “Just drive your misericorde through my heart and be done with it.”
    Silence. I opened an eye. Bridgette was staring down at me, I daresay, with carnal interest. I blinked. Yes, she looked like she was admiring my physique. Not a cursory glance, but a look of craving. I might not be twenty, but my body had the chiseled angles of a warrior, proving that I worked hard for what I attained. Her eyes met mine and she shied away. Wait, look at me, I screamed in my head. Was I so starved for her approval that a look could fulfill that need? I started to get up.
    “No, I’ll sit by the fire and let you bathe.” Brie turned and headed for the other side of the room. It made me want to grab her and pull her in with me. But she had already crossed the room as if seeing me naked was the most embarrassing moment of her life. I quickly scrubbed, hoping I could gain another glimpse of that raw need I saw within Bridgette.
    Desperation breeds contempt, Aighta had said. But there is a difference between desperation and need. Desperation is a perceived need. Need, but do not be desperate. You have enough. You are enough.
    Invigorated, I stepped out of the tub and slipped a towel around my waist. The cloth was barely long enough to cover my thigh, but I wanted Brie’s reaction. I walked over to the chair next to her and sat.
    My prim queen kept her eyes on the fire. “I can wait till you dress.”
    My erection thickened, pressing against the towel. “Then you’ll be waiting all night.” I hung a leg over the chair’s arm. If she looked she’d get a full view of how enamored I was with her at the moment.
    Bridgette blushed. “Are you hungry? Should I send for food?”
    This was the most fun I’d had with her since our ride a few days ago. The knot holding the towel together loosened. “Even if I wanted food , I wouldn’t dress for servants either.”
    “Well, I have a report for you.” She sat up tall in her chair.
    “Oh?” My queen wasn’t just a pretty face. She knew how to find the right gossip, track it down, and bring me proof of its reality. Sometimes the rumor mill was steeped in truth. She might loathe me sometimes, but she still loved me. She showed it by warning me of potential dangers. But I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say. Watching Brie’s lips move, my cock made its way out from under the towel. In her full view, my most enamored part stood up like a man who proclaims victory with chest out and hands on hips. Draping a hand over my excited warrior, I stroked myself in nonchalance, watching Brie. Masturbation lost its allure a long while ago, but here exposed with my wife, it felt like a brand-new experience.
    Bridgette turned her head, “Are you listening to me?” Her eyes fell to my busy hand. “What—what are you doing?”
    “I’m listening. Keep going. I don’t have questions yet.”
    Her eyes remained on my cock. “Stop—stop that.”
    I pumped a little harder. I felt a bit foolish, very exposed , and more vulnerable than I had in years. But the thrill of seeing her uncomfortable, out of her sorts, letting me know I still affected her, kept me going. That, and it felt gods-be-damned good. It’d been years since my hand could give me relief. With Brie watching, self-gratification renewed the act.
    “You’re going to hell if you keep that up!” Bridgette never took her eyes off my jerking hand.
    “I already am in hell.” I pumped and could feel the rush of ejaculation starting to build. “But this brings me to heaven.”
    She looked at my face. I saw not horror , but excitement. She was aroused, watching me. But there was confusion in her eyes. She leapt up, but I was faster. I blocked her movement by holding