The Queen's Line (Inheritance of Hunger #1) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,46

own train of thought as he spun around with a grin on his face.

Thao had suggested to Cosmo that I might make a good subject of a sculpture. Thao would've been even better. It was a shame he was so rude to the others, because he had a look I admired and it might've been nice to feel for him the way I did for Owen. At the very least, I would've liked to examine his tattoos again, but the fencing gear didn't allow for that either. We were both strapped in from toe to throat.

"I'm exhausted," Thao said. "How long do you usually do this?"

"I think I just wanted to beat you once more," I admitted, reaching up and pulling my own mask off, turning away to hide myself as I tried to wipe away my sweat and smooth my mess of hair.

When I turned back, Thao was significantly closer than I remembered.

"If you are feeling unsatisfied, I could think of better remedies, Bryony," Thao said, words silky and teeth glinting at me in his smile.

I gaped back at him and then settled my confusion. Did he really think that would work with me?

It'd been three mornings of waking up in bed next to Owen and feeling…curious. This morning, he hadn't even waited for my command, just scooped me up and kissed me until I was whimpering and trying to sort my thoughts through the haze of warmth and touch. Owen said I would know when I was ready, but instead, I only found myself constantly wondering if I was ready. So yes, I was unsatisfied, and maybe I had been trying to distract myself or burn away some of the simmer still left in my veins with a bit of sport. That didn't mean I wanted to be so transparent about it, or that the simmer was for this man.

Thao stepped closer, enough that I caught the spicy whiff of him, and then his eyes drifted over my shoulder and his grin grew wider.

"I wondered where you two were."

I spun to see Wendell leaning in the tall doorway of the room, head tipped and smile soft. "Who won?" he asked.

"Bryony, a number of times," Thao said, the pass of his hand over my back muffled through his glove and my dense jacket.

He moved to Wendell then, and it didn't occur to me to look away until Thao had his lover pressed to the door frame, their lips connected in a fierce kiss. And even when it did occur, I still watched. Wendell groaned into the kiss, pulling away and stretching his throat for Thao to nip and lick down its length. Bright blue eyes met mine and I flushed, caught in my curiosity as Wendell smiled softly at me.

"Join us, Bryony," Wendell said, and my eyes widened until he added, "For lunch."

"I…I think I will go for a ride first," I said, tearing my eyes away from the lovers and ripping the glove from my hand, pulling open the collar of the jacket.

"A ride? We can join you," Thao said, panting a little and leaning into Wendell, who circled the other man's waist with his arms.

They were a pretty pair, all wrapped in one another, but they misunderstood my attention. I'd never seen men together in all the sexual displays I'd grown up around. While I wanted to be touched, I didn't really know Wendell yet and half the time I didn't even like Thao. Thao was courteous to me, but not to Owen or Cosmo, and Wendell seemed to have a little too much of the diplomat in him for me to really break through to the man underneath.

I shook my head, unlacing the jacket with clumsy fingers. "No, just my own company for this, I think."

Thao frowned and Wendell took his cheek in hand, drawing him in for another, softer kiss as I passed them in the door and headed for my room. Cosmo was working on arranging his new studio to his liking, and Owen had mentioned over breakfast that he wanted to explore the grounds. With Wendell and Thao behind me, and the palace staff still a small number, I was able to travel the halls unobserved aside from a few stationed guards. I shook out my hair from its pins and freed myself from the tight fencing jacket by the time I made it back to my room. I had on a light blouse over my corset, and I wrestled myself out of