Chapter 07 - Rogue Wanna-Be

There it was, time to come clean, or at least mostly clean. The cider sloshed around in my gut. I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. Between the guilt and how badly I wanted her, the whole absurd situation was too much. “Lily,” I said, low enough that the next table wouldn’t hear, hoping I sounded sincere and not like I was about to throw up. “I need to tell you something.”

She looked at me and waited, and she kept one hand wrapped around her mug. “What is it?”

I took a deep breath, the spiced cider doing absolutely nothing to settle my nerves. “Bumping into you wasn’t an accident. I was sent to seduce you. To get information from you. It was a test, set by my mistress.”

She stared at me with her mouth hanging open until it snapped shut. “You’re kidding me,” she said, so low I had to lean in.

“No, I’m not. I’m sorry. I know it’s a terrible thing to do, but—”

“Terrible?” she cut in, her voice rising and going cold. “You think? You lied to me, Samuel. You used me. So all that talk about your ‘mother’ and the flowers... all lies?”

Hearing it out loud made me want to puke. “I know. I’m so sorry. But I couldn’t help how I feel about you. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Gods, I was pathetic.

She glared at me. “Are you serious?” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “And who is this ‘mistress,’ hmm? What kind of test was this?”

I wanted to say whatever would make it better, and my head came up empty. My smooth lines and my rehearsed charm were all gone. I was a clumsy, lying idiot, and she had me by the balls. “Well, I’m training under a master rogue—” I started.

“So you’re training to be a rogue then?” she interrupted, biting her lip to keep a straight face.

“No,” I blurted out too quickly. “I am a rogue.”

“A rogue-wanna-be.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I tried to puff out my chest and project some kind of confidence. It probably made me look like a puffed-up pigeon. “I’m a real rogue.”

She propped her chin on her fist. “A real rogue?”

“Yes,” I insisted, my voice cracking. “A real rogue.”

Lily snorted, shaking her head slowly, and said, “Sure,” dragging it out long enough to make my pulse kick. Out of nowhere, she burst out laughing. It was a small, giggly sound at first, but it grew until she doubled over, her hands covering her mouth.

“You’re an idiot,” she said through her hands. “Oh my gods, you’re such an idiot.” She’d stopped glaring. Either she was amused or she pitied me, and I was hoping for a third option where she wanted to climb me.

I stared at her, confused. “What?”

She looked up at me, her eyes wet from laughing, and I was pretty sure that was a good sign. “You’re cute, Samuel. And I’m not going to lie, I’m curious. But you’re also kind of a mess.”

I blinked. “So... you’re not mad at me?”

She shrugged. “I’m mad, but I don’t know. There’s something about you. You’re honest, even when you’re lying. Does that make sense?”

“Not really,” I admitted, my head spinning. This was definitely not how I’d pictured this going. I’d expected yelling, maybe a slap, possibly a thrown drink.

She smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye, the same glint that had been there when she was haggling over prices. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

With that, she reached out and took my hand, sliding her fingers between mine. Her touch shot a jolt straight to my cock, and I was in way over my head. But I didn’t care. The mission and Ashara stopped mattering. All I could think about was Lily’s hand squeezing mine and where else I wanted them.

“So,” Lily said, low and teasing. “What was your plan to seduce me?”

I choked on my cider. I pulled at the collar of my shirt, which felt far too tight. “Uh,” I stammered, my face burning. “I... I hadn’t really thought it through yet.” Pathetic, Sam. Utterly pathetic.

Lily leaned closer. “Will you still seduce me, then?” she asked. “That way you can tell your mistress about your roguish seduction skills!”

I stared at her while every smart thing I knew drained out of my head and into my pants. “I... uh... That is... I mean...” I took a shaky breath and tried to get my mouth working. “Yes. I... I still intend to... proceed. With the... seduction.”

We left our mugs on the table and her crates stacked inside the door. The stairs creaked under our feet, each step echoing through the dimly lit corridor, and I figured the whole tavern knew exactly where we were headed. I’d actually done it. Well, I’d sort of done it.

Lily was here with me, going to my room.

Lily’s fingers were laced tight through mine, and every squeeze made my heart thump harder. I was going to prove to her I was a real rogue, and that the stammering wreck who confessed his entire mission after a few drinks was a fluke. Tonight, I’d show her skill and finesse, and maybe a few other things Ashara hadn’t exactly taught me. I glanced at her, her face half lit by the lamp at the end of the hall, and she smiled. That smile promised she’d be naked soon, or at least I hoped it did, and I was definitely ready to find out.

And Ashara wanted proof of my abilities? Well, she’d get it. It might not look like what she’d had in mind, but she couldn’t fault the results. Could she? My gut twinged at that, but I shoved it down.

At the top of the stairs, I looked back down into the bar. A woman in a dark cloak was perched at the end of the counter, her face hidden under her hood. She raised her mug to me in a silent toast and winked. The back of my neck prickled, and I grinned back anyway.

I pushed open the door to my room, the hinges squealing, and stepped aside to let her in first, mostly so I could watch her ass go by.

I wiped the grin off my face and stepped into the room, closing the door behind me. Lily had stopped just inside. Somebody had already lit the fire, and the room would have been cozy if Felix weren’t sprawled on my bed, one leg crossed over the other, a dagger twirling lazily in his hand. His violet eyes met mine, and he smiled, already enjoying himself.

“Samuel,” he drawled. “And you’ve brought company.”

I gritted my teeth. “Felix. What are you doing here?”

He shrugged, the dagger spinning faster in his hand. “I thought I would pay you a visit. I did not realize you were... occupied.” His gaze flicked to Lily, dragged down her sweater and up again before he looked at me. “You are busy tonight, I see.”

My face went hot. “Felix, come on. Can we talk about this later?”

He stood, taking his sweet time, and sauntered over to me. “My, my, Samuel. I had hoped to catch you... alone. No matter. There will be other nights, won’t there?”

Lily was watching us, and I was sweating through my shirt, because that ‘alone’ had my cock stirring and I hated him for it. Felix gave the dagger one more spin before he turned and left, the door closing behind him with a click.

I blew out a breath, my cheeks still burning from that smug bastard’s parting shot. But as I turned to face Lily, I forgot all about him. She was standing by the fire, the firelight outlining her hips and the deep V of her sweater, and all I wanted was my hands on both. The room was warm, the air thick with the scent of burning wood and something sweet coming off her skin, apples maybe, from all that cider.

I walked over to the door, locked it, and leaned against it for a second. My mind was a mess of nerves and half-cocked confidence, but I couldn’t let it show now, when I was so close.

The blankets were still rumpled from Felix’s little visit. I had better plans for that bed.

Lily faced me, still smiling, that mischievous little tilt to her lips that made me want to kiss her to see if it felt as good as it looked. And I was going to. Oh, I was going to.

“Where were we?” she asked, her voice low and playful.

I pushed off the door and walked toward her, my boots heavy on the wooden floor. “I think we were right about here,” I said, aiming for suave and landing somewhere around village idiot. But she didn’t seem to care.

She stepped closer, and her fingers were trembling, so maybe I wasn’t the only nervous one, but she wasn’t backing down. Neither was I.

Cold still seeped in through the cracks in the walls. It didn’t matter. We were about to make all the heat we needed.

I stopped in front of her, close enough that her body’s heat reached me and her breath brushed my chest. She looked up at me, cheeks pink, and my cock was already straining against my pants. I reached out and cupped her cheek, and she leaned into my hand.

“You’re really bad at pretending you’re not nervous,” she whispered.

I put on my best grin. “Who says I’m nervous?”

She laughed and pressed herself against me. “Your heart’s about to pound its way out of your chest.”

I glanced down, and sure enough, my shirt was fluttering like I’d run a mile. “Oh. That.”

She reached up, her fingers brushing against my collarbone, and my cock jumped in my pants. “You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she said.

I opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off with a kiss. It was desperate. She was practically inhaling me, and I was happy to let her. I grabbed her waist, pulling her closer, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, her fingers tangling in my hair.

I stumbled back, my legs hitting the bed, and we both went down, a tangle of limbs and fabric. She landed on top of me, her hands braced on my chest, and she smiled down at me with the V of her sweater hanging open right over my face, a view I’d have paid good coin for.

I kissed her again, harder this time.

We tore each other’s clothes off without breaking the kiss, the fabric catching in our fingers as we pulled and tugged and cursed under our breath. Our clothes ended up all over the floor, the bed creaking under us, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except how she felt on top of me and how good she smelled. Her bare tits were pressed against my chest, and I had both hands full of her ass, which was every bit as good as I’d hoped.

The kiss ended with both of us panting, and my cock was hard against her thigh. She laughed, the sound muffled against my chest, and I felt it all the way down to my balls.