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  It was a surprisingly sedate affair with actual business being discussed. Dylia was glad of her nap when Darmon finally dismissed the attendees somewhere after midnight.

  He said his goodbyes, and then, his master of ceremonies asked everyone to look at the hands of the person nearest them. When a few giggled at the gold paint, the master of ceremonies announced that those who had gilded hands had volunteered to donate twelve thousand credits to the children’s hospital.

  There were gasps as the door closed behind them, and Dylia kept herself straight and alert until they were back in his quarters. That is when she slumped and started looking for a shower.

  “What are you doing?”

  She looked at the gilding. “I want to shower this off before it covers everything.”

  “It is expected that you gild the sheets, Dylia.” He shrugged off his outer robes and began peeling off layers.

  She tried to find a way to get her clothing off, and then, she remembered that she would have to be cut out of it.

  “Um, your highness, would you be so kind as to help me out of this? Please.”

  He chuckled. “Sure. Come here.”

  He had gotten his shirt open, and his trousers were all that was left. She walked up to him, and he examined her clothing before nodding and going to the desk. He pulled out a small blade and slid it into her right sleeve, slicing it away then her left. He leaned back and eyed her top. “I believe this will require two cuts.”

  He stepped in close, and her pulse quickened as he slid his hand under the sash that supported her cleavage and the one that kept her breasts immobile. The first slice released the strain from her neck, and the second let the air rush in.

  He hissed in pity. “That must have hurt like hell.”

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t comfortable.” She dropped the fabric with a relieved sigh.

  “Now, this is going to be difficult.” He ran his fingers along her waistband.

  “Why? It is the same fabric.”

  He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Because I desperately want to massage the red lines out of your breasts with my tongue, and it is the on the way down.”

  She quirked her lips. “Perhaps I should lie down?”

  He grinned. “It is an option.”

  She walked to the bed and lay back. He slid the knife between her belly and the fabric, and sliced away.

  She was wearing nothing but the breeze through the silken curtains and the gold dust. He set the blade back in the desk and leaned over her breasts, examining the wrap marks closely. He licked at the tight nipple nearest his mouth, and she jumped in surprise.

  He looked at her with his eyes flicking red and gold. “Is there a problem?”

  She squirmed. “I am not sure that I am going to be able to do this without something happening.”

  Darmon grinned and lifted her up, carrying her to the bed. “I certainly hope so.”

  She shivered as he set her down, and she winced. “Everything is going to be covered in glitter.”

  He laughed. “That is the idea.”

  He stripped off the rest of his clothing and crawled on top of her. To her shock, he slid his arm under her back and rolled with her. “There you go. Explore at will.”

  She opened and closed her mouth in surprise.

  Darmon smiled. “Perhaps you would start with a kiss?”

  Dylia leaned down, and the semi-permanent structure that was her hair slithered over her shoulder. She tossed it behind her and blushed as she focused on his lips. She brushed her lips across his, and when he responded, she licked delicately at his lower lip. He leaned up and returned the favour. She slid her hand behind his head and teased his lips apart. The kiss started slowly and built in intensity when his tongue slid into her mouth. He tasted... it was like something she had tasted once and forgotten, but now, she remembered how much she liked it.

  She wondered what the rest of him tasted like.

  Chapter Six

  Since he was offering himself to her, she decided that she was going to see how long the offer would stand before he tried to take action. She broke their kiss and started to work her way down his body. A kiss and then a lick, tasting him as she went. Each muscle, bead of sweat, and each tendon that she passed got tasted in turn.

  Dylia took in the difference between his collarbone and his pectorals. The tight bud of his nipple was darker in taste than the groove down his sternum. To be fair, she sampled the left side of him to make sure that she could tell him apart in the dark.

  Wherever she went, she left a trail of gold. She could tell where she had been by glancing up his body.

  She moved down his abs and nipped at his hip before turning her head and blinking. “Oh.” She tilted her head and looked at his cock. It seemed more tapered than the ones she had seen in sex ed. She pressed a soft kiss to the tip before she licked him. The cock twisted, and she blinked and sat back. “That isn’t supposed to happen.”

  He sat up and gripped her arms, twisting her across him and onto the bed.

  He chuckled and kissed her softly. “That is one of the issues with being the descendant of drakes.”

  He took her hand and pressed it to his cock. “It can move as I will it to, but it takes some focus.”

  She looked down in surprise as it flexed and turned against her palm. “I am pretty sure that I would have heard about that.”

  He smiled. “It doesn’t move on reflex; it is similar to wiggling toes or twisting your tongue.”

  Dylia blinked and looked up at him through her lashes. “What else does it do?”

  He grinned and moved over her. “May I show you?”

  She nodded and leaned up to kiss him. She whispered against his lips. “Yes, please.”

  He took over and pressed her back on the bed. She mourned when the kiss was over, but she inhaled sharply as he followed the path she had made on his body. It felt remarkably different when he was doing it to the slow exploration.

  Dylia shifted on the bedding as he nipped his way across her breasts. She thought she felt the occasional graze of his teeth, but he didn’t have pointed teeth, did he?

  Her body was hot. The grazing of her breasts and light suction on her nipples had been a surprise. Her skin had taken on a pulse that sped up and flared with the location of his lips. The pulse inside her belly was also unmistakable. The moisture that was emerging was simply embarrassing. Class hadn’t prepared her for that.

  Darmon moved down her body, licking at her navel while his hands lightly played with her breasts. She thought he was just going to mimic her kiss and then stop, but he settled between her thighs, and she felt his tongue parting her folds.

  Dylia squeaked when the strong thrust of his tongue inserted itself in her. The squeak repeated when his tongue slid impossibly deep. That was when there was a small pinprick of pain that heralded a wave of pleasure that had her clutching his hair to hold him there while she rode it out.

  She flopped limply, her skin glowing with heat. Darmon moved up her body and kissed her neck. Between her thighs, he slid into her, and his cock rippled and twisted into her. She inhaled sharply but wrapped her arms around Darmon as his hips began a slow thrust and retreat. He nibbled at her neck and kept moving inside her.

  Dylia existed in a wave of shivering friction that culminated when she felt the sting on her neck. She bucked against him; a hoarse shout ripped out of her. Darmon kissed her, and she tasted blood. The taste was what she had been missing, and when another wave of spasms ran through her, she exhaled the extra power into Darmon. He tensed and then groaned, jerking his hips against her. She could feel him bucking within, and when he stilled, she slowly relaxed, dropping her arms to either side of her and unlocking the legs she had wrapped around his hips at some point.

  Darmon kissed her softly, and he murmured in a husky voice, “That was a very interesting thing.”

  She looked at him, dazed. She didn’t have words. He smiled, and she flushed scarlet. He frowned. “Don�
��t tell me that it was your first.”

  Dylia licked her lips, tasting him and a bit of herself. “It was pretty much a first for all of it.”

  He sighed. “Right. I knew that you hadn’t... I am sorry if I rushed you.”

  She chuckled. “I think it happened in its own time. Was there something wrong? I remembered you were a lot more vocal at the... um... party.”

  He smiled. “Glad you were paying attention, but I have had a first tonight as well.”

  “Um. Why are you still inside me?”

  He kissed her sweetly. “Because this is the best place I could imagine to be, and I am delighted to be here.”

  She blinked in surprise when he started to move inside her again, without shifting his hips. The deep writhing was complemented when he reached between them and touched her clit. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but he circled her clit slowly and then with a firmer touch when she jerked at each rotation. Her breathing was ragged in her own ears, and she closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look into Darmon’s intense eyes.

  Her release was different this time, localized instead of the full body. She arched against him and whimpered, clutching his shoulders while her sex contracted around him. He didn’t cum again. He paused and withdrew, lying on her for a moment before rolling to one side.

  “You are very unexpected, Dylia.” He tucked her against him.

  She felt a wave of fatigue. “How so?”

  “It seems you are everything that I need; now, how are you doing that?”

  She shrugged and listened to his heartbeat as she let sleep take her away. It had been a very busy day.

  Dylia woke up, lying on her stomach, and hearing masculine voices discussing something.

  She sat up with the sheet held to her breasts, and she looked past the desk to see Darmon being scanned by an older man that had the look of a physician.

  She wrapped the sheet around her and tried to make her way out of the room and into a shower.

  “Dylia, please, come and meet Dr. Faus. He is the imperial physician, and he has been treating me for a deficit for the last twelve years.”

  She shuffled toward him, holding the sheet tight against her. She curtsied when she was a few feet away. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Faus.”

  He smiled kindly, his blue gaze warm. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Dylia. Now, why did you give his highness energy?”

  She blushed. “It seemed to be the thing that my body wanted to do. He already has the rising, so it wouldn’t hurt him.”

  “Interesting. You had that much energy to spare?”

  “It is still settling in. It was loose.”

  “Ah. You have Strygga Syndrome?”

  “Yes. I was treated for it as a toddler.” She frowned. “Is it a problem?”

  “No. I am just trying to create a patient history.”

  Dylia was wary. “I am not your patient.”

  Darmon chuckled. “You are now. Dr. Faus is also an expert on the rising. He will be able to keep track of your levels and offer ideas for workouts or supplements.”

  She nodded. “Shall I make an appointment?”

  Dr. Faus shook his head. “No. Come with me. I will give you the exam here, now.”

  Darmon was awake and dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers tucked into boots.

  She held the sheet to her until the doctor requested that she drop the sheet. Her cheeks were on fire, but she slowly lowered the sheet until he could scan the surface of her skin.

  The doctor moved the unit over her skin, but there was no amusement in his gaze. He was focused on his readouts. He spent a bit of time in the area around her hips and belly, turning toward Darmon with a frown. “We will discuss this later.”

  She blinked, and Darmon’s golden cheeks blushed.

  “I was caught by surprise.”

  Dr. Faus huffed. “I see. Well, young lady, you are in excellent health but still very glittery. Why don’t you take a shower?”

  She nodded at the dismissal and went into one of the bathing rooms that had a shower. Dylia looked in the mirror and winced at her hair. She quickly unraveled it, undoing twenty minutes’ worth of work in two. She sighed as she combed her fingers through her hair, and after that, she headed into the shower and began a power scrubbing that went from head to toe, and then, she did it again. When the gold powder was out of every crevice and out from under her nails, she pushed the memories away. They were distracting, and she had enough small aches in her body to remind her of every detail without her brain getting in on the act. One more pass with the scrubber, and she was clear of the gilding and cleaner than the day she was born.

  She got a towel from the folded stack and wrapped it around her hair. The next one went around her body. She didn’t know what to do with the sheet and the ribbon.

  When she left the shower room, there were a half dozen maids and women with various implements. She looked to Darmon, but he was with a dresser. There would be no help from him there.

  She submitted to the primping and prepping, making sure that she could move her arms in the gown. Today, no gilding was required, so she was just dressed as a highborn woman. The gown was soft, fastened at the shoulder and ribs, and because it was wrapped, it would allow her to move freely.

  She was delighted to be given a pair of boots to wear over the silk stockings that were the only thing under the dress.

  When her hair was twisted and pinned into place, the curtain was pulled back, and Darmon was standing there. He exhaled. “You take my breath away.”

  The women with her made little sighing sounds.

  Dylia curtsied deeply and then stood straight. “Good morning, your highness.”

  He held out his hand. “Come now; we have to attend a breakfast.”

  She frowned. “Why is it formal?”

  He smiled. “My parents have arrived. You are going to meet them.”

  Digging her heels into the stone floors and hiding in his quarters was probably out of the question.

  He tightened his hand on hers, and he kissed her quickly. “Don’t even think about running.”

  She sighed. “You owe me for this.” She looked up at him, and his eyes were flickering colours again.

  He whispered in her ear, “Dylia, I am definitely willing to pay.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Why are they here?” She fixed a bland smile on her face as they walked toward the private dining room.

  “They have heard that I have a companion, and they want to meet her.” He raised her hand to his lips. “They want to meet you.”

  “Where have they been?”

  “They are travelling the stars but arrived home last night. I got the notice that we were required for breakfast this morning. You don’t say no to them.”

  She nodded. “I remember hearing about them when I was growing up.”

  He grinned. “You should have tried being their child. It was an interesting combination of training and education.”

  “It wasn’t an option on career day.”

  He chuckled, and the door to the dining room opened as they approached. A couple who looked to be in their early fifties was sitting at a corner of the surprisingly small table. The room was at least forty feet long; the table was six feet square.

  The previous emperor rose to his feet. “Good morning, Darmon. You are looking well.”

  Darmon settled Dylia in a chair across from his mother, and he went to kiss his mother on the cheek before hugging his father. “I am very well, Father.”

  Dylia kept her polite smile on her face as the ex-empress looked her over. “So, you are new, dear.”

  “Her name is Dylia, Mother.” Darmon sat next to Dylia and took her hand and put it on the table.

  “Dylia. That is a kind of a weed, isn’t it?” The ex-empress scowled.

  “Lodia. You are being impolite to Darmon’s new toy.” The ex-emperor was patronizing.

  The meals were served, and Dylia waited unt
il Darmon ate before she picked up her fork.

  The ex-empress tutted. “You don’t even know that you are supposed to wait until we eat.”

  Dylia took a bite and swallowed. “You don’t even know that as a companion, I am entitled to eat with him so that there will be no disruption in my service. Your husband never had a companion, so there is no way you would have known.”

  Darmon smiled slightly. “She isn’t wrong.”

  His mother huffed and put her napkin down on the table. “I have lost my appetite.”

  Dromanoi, the ex-emperor, spoke to his son. “You should teach your pet respect.”

  “Father, she isn’t my pet, and she returns the respect given. Why did you come?”

  His mother whispered, “We heard that you were disporting yourself with that woman at a state dinner. She was wearing gold, for star’s sake.”

  Dylia kept eating. The food was quite good, and she rarely got to eat her fill.

  They argued back and forth about the wisdom of being at his side as a known sex companion. She finished her meal quietly and then sat and sipped at her tea.

  The ex-empress watched her with her eyes narrowed. Finally, she asked, “Do I know your family?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Who are your parents?”

  “My mother died when I was ten, but my father is Dr. Amthon Ormiak.”

  The ex-empress’s eyes widened. “You played at our anniversary party.”

  “Yes, your highness.”

  The woman sat back, stunned. “Why are you whoring with my boy?”

  Dylia noted that there wasn’t any other sound in the room, but she answered. “I am not whoring or, at least, not getting paid. I am bound to the empire, so it isn’t really like there are a lot of options.”

  Darmon chuckled. “Dylia is a rising. She will be joining me on defender duty. She is quite powerful.”

  The shock on their faces was nice, but Dylia sipped at her tea. She considered every insult and prodding to be a chance to prove her control.

  The ex-empress pointed. “She’s a rising? And you slept with her?”