“It’s perfect,” I said.
For a moment, I almost forgot how upsetting it had been to lose the brave knife and battle the waters. But the merry mood was fleeting. Time was ticking away, and I didn’t know what to do. I wandered through all the rooms again, searching for clues. The goblins were everywhere, hopping and rolling around, but they could not answer my questions.
The sun set so fast, and before I knew it, I had to return to my bedchamber to wait for Nyar. I picked at my food. Each hour lost felt like a physical pain within me, like I was dying for not being able to save him.
As soon as he appeared, I knew he had no idea one of his subjects had died. They all seemed to know immediately that they had lost one of their own, but not him. They must be able to communicate amongst themselves, but the curse shut him out.
“Sabela.” A small smile crossed his face. “What happened to you today? It appears my people have had some fun.”
“Yes, but first…I have to tell you something. One of the—the kitchen knives—fell into the river. Before I could reach it…it…”
“What?” He pounded his fist into the door. “You were down at the river?”
“To get water for the rose.”
“And…” He seemed to realize something. “You’re still here.”
“Yes, I am, but—“
He looked at me, pained. “So you encountered her, did you?”
“She’s the one who cursed you.”
“Yes. But…” He put his hand to my face. He wasn’t wearing the gloves today, and his touch was careful. “She didn’t hurt you.”
“She certainly tried. She might have pulled me in if the knife hadn’t slashed at her, but…then it fell into the water and…I couldn’t do anything…! Will it die? Or be lost forever?”
“Truth to be told, I don’t know. But it did what it intended to do. I know that much.”
Nyar put an arm around me, his claws slowly tightening around my bodice until I felt the pinprick of them digging into my skin through the fabric. He cursed. “The worst of it is, when the curse happened and all my subjects were cursed with me, I never knew who was who, and they’ve never been able to tell me. I don’t even know who I’ve lost. But I have my suspicions… Garor was my loyal friend and bodyguard. It seems like something he would do. I can hardly mourn him when I’m not sure, though, can I?” He covered his face with a hand. “All of this, and my curse is unabated. I still need you as much as ever, but it seems disrespectful to even think of it.”
I placed my hand on his arm. “Why don’t you relax and let me ease your suffering rather than your taking me?”
“Ease my suffering…” He scoffed.
I drew him down onto the bed, giving him a little shove toward the pillows, ignoring his protests as he would have ignored mine. I unbuttoned his trousers myself and, knowing that it would only pain him to be teased, I took his cock into my mouth right away. It felt so good when he had done it to me last night, I thought he might like the same. I wasn’t used to having something so large in my mouth; it was hard not to gag, so I couldn’t go as deep as he might have wanted, but nevertheless I tried to use my lips and tongue as best I could, and judging by the sound of the pleased little growl in his throat, it was working. Encouraged, I stroked my mouth over him, going a little deeper each time.
His hips started to move with my rhythm, and then he put his hands on my head and started trying to take control of it, and I was forced to stop, with an embarrassed laugh.
“I can’t do it yet; I’ll choke.”
“Then, come here and we’ll finish as we always do. I can’t wait for you any longer.”
Always. I liked that word, it made it sound as if we had been doing this forever and would keep doing it forever. And that was how it felt to me. I could no longer imagine my old life, before I had been seduced by a goblin king every night.
He was still on his back on the bed. I hitched up my skirts and climbed onto him, immediately starting to ride him. He lifted his legs, putting his feet down, so he had more leverage to encourage my rhythm to go faster. I liked the way my buttocks and thighs felt nested where his legs met his body. I felt safe with him.
“They’ve tried their best to make a goblin maiden out of you, hmm?” he asked me.
“I’m afraid I’ll never look quite as…dangerous.”
“No, but…” He reached up to flick his claw at a lock of my hair. “You still look ready for trouble.”
“I think I’m in trouble right now,” I said, with a grin. I reached for the buttons of his shirt and unbuttoned a few. “I never get to see much of you like you’ve seen me.”
“I suppose I’m in too deep to deny you anything,” he said.
But then I sobered, thinking of the night before. “Last night…when you suddenly got so rough with me…”
“Let’s not speak of it.”
“I know it scares you, Nyar. It scares me, too, knowing I might fail. If I think about it too much…” I clenched my hands around his shirt before shoving it off his pale shoulders.
He pulled me against his bare chest and kissed me. His tongue in my mouth, his hardness inside me…it was almost too much to bear. I wrapped my hands around his back, beneath his shirt, my fingers digging into his slender muscles. With our bodies and legs tangled, he rolled me over, which was just as well because I was starting to get tired. I had never realized how much strength it took just to make love.
This time, we reached our climax at almost the same time, our mouths still locked together, our sounds of pleasure mingling, and even after it was over, he didn’t withdraw right away, but held me close.
“Are you wicked enough to be a proper goblin, I wonder?” he asked me.
“How wicked to I have to be? It isn’t true that goblins steal babies, is it?”
“Oh, it’s true.”
“You’re joking.”
“No, we have been known to steal an unwanted babe here and there. Humans have some useful qualities. Sprinkling in a few of them keeps our bloodline strong. I’ve never done it, though. I have been known to steal a pig for the feast of the harvest moon. But, only from men who deserve it.”
“How do you know the babes are unwanted and the men deserve it?”
“Observation.”
“I might be willing to help you steal a pig someday,” I said. “Only if you swear to me that the farmer is rich enough to manage without it. Even if he’s a nasty sort of man, he might have children who could go hungry.”
“No, I’m not sure you are wicked enough yet.”
“Maybe I’ll have to tame your wickedness instead.”
He kissed my forehead, his golden eyes growing shadowed, and now I knew he was thinking of the unknown but loyal goblin he had lost.
“Will you come outside with me tonight?” he asked. “To light a fire and honor the dead?”
“Of course! You know I’ve been wanting to spend the nights with you.”