The Queen's Line (Inheritance of Hunger #1) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,41

beating like an unwelcome drum, and much of my body was stiff. I'd done almost no traveling growing up, and I'd forgotten that it would leave me feeling so jumbled and sore.

I rolled in the bed, biting off my own groan, and came nose to chest with Owen, pressing my face to his warmth and wiggling in to feel the soft stab of his cock against my stomach.

"Don't mind that," Owen said, and I smiled into his skin. "It's to do with you, but also just the morning."

"I don't mind, really."

"What needs doing today?" Owen asked, his arms finding their way around me and gathering me closer to his chest. His cock pressed between my thighs, and I resisted the impulse to wiggle against it just to see what sounds he made.

"I wanted to make a list of what needs to be repaired around the palace, at least until we have a new steward to help, but Wendell says the finances might not allow for much work," I said. "I suppose today I only have to wait for news."

Owen's arms shifted, one sliding lower to cup around my hips. "Are you feeling better?"

"A little worse, I think. It will pass."

"No one would think ill of you if you wanted to spend the day in bed," Owen said.

"Mm, I might. What would I do in bed all day, anyway?"

He shrugged, his chest shifting against my cheek. "Read…sleep, ignore some of the worries you've been nursing since the choosing."

"Since before," I corrected gently. My eyes drifted shut, and for a moment, I soaked up the warmth of the embrace. Somehow, even though he'd bathed twice in the palace already, Owen still smelled a little like hay and horses, but in the sweetest way. He made it easy to relax, to spend time so close with him as if he weren't someone I'd only known for a handful of days.

Owen leaned back, and I opened my eyes again to look up at him, finding him staring and studying me in the way that Cosmo or Aric sometimes did.

"Come here," I said, even though we were already so close.

Owen seemed to understand, hunching and dipping his face to mine. I was feeling curious again, and we smiled before our lips connected, soft sips from one another that grew deeper with every pass. I cupped his rough jaw in my hands, holding him in place for my tasting, and then gasped as his own gripped my ass through my thin nightgown. His tongue flicked between my lips, brushing over mine and then stroking and pulling away.

"How curious are you feeling this morning?" he breathed, voice rough.

"A little more," I answered immediately, craning my neck for more and ignoring the ache that twinged through my muscles.

Owen rolled us, hands sliding down the backs of my thighs to guide them open. We both groaned as his hips settled between mine, heat and rigid length nestling against the bunched fabric pressed to my sex. He held himself over me, moving one hand to brace by my shoulder, and he stared down to watch my reaction.

"Is this how it would be?" I asked, glancing down between us.

"Not at first," Owen said, catching my eye again.

I raised an eyebrow. "No? I thought this was the general premise."

He grinned and rocked, and my breath caught in my lungs at the soft pressure. "It is, but I think first I'd like to…" He paused and then his grin grew. He shifted, and I swallowed as his hips pulled away from mine and he shimmed down my body, pausing briefly with his face above my chest to dip and kiss my breast bone. He settled, making room for his own broad shoulders between my thighs, creating a stretch in my muscles that was shockingly delicious.

"If you were feeling patient, I think I'd like to kiss every sweet inch of you. But if you were very curious, and you really needed me, I'd start here," Owen said, holding my gaze as his face lowered, breaths brushing my nightgown, heat bleeding through and radiating against my flesh. He moved slowly but he didn't pause, just held my gaze until his mouth pressed over my core, the kiss pressing into me through the thin layer of fabric, fire following under my skin. He rose up with an equally patient pace, and I realized I was panting, my eyes wide and fixed on his lips.

I sat up and Owen pulled me up onto his lap, holding me