Chapter 85: A Mission
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The thin silk did nothing to hide her body’s moonlit contours. Heat surged down his abdomen, filled his ant rod. The hardness pressed against his thigh.
Mia’s gaze flicked downward, she saw the bulge... saw the fabric tenting. She gasped. "Kai!" She half-rose, sets of emotions exploding across her face: shock, anger, the memory of that night’s shame.
Kai’s heart lurched. He started to lift his hands in protest, but it was too late.
Mia stepped back, clutching her shift. "You... you beast!" The silk clung, revealing even more as she moved. She flushed hotter. "Get out and wait outside. You... You pervert!"
Kai stammered, "Princess, it’s not that I can’t control... but your beauty is something that makes me lose control."
Her eyes flashed. "Leave, before I forget every blessing I spoke to Mother!"
He rose, stumbled over crimson cushions, nearly tripped on a golden brazier. "Forgive me..." But she turned away, hiding tears of frustration or fury, he couldn’t tell.
He fled through the curtained arch, the scent of jasmine snapping behind him like a whip. Outside in the hall he leaned against cool stone, breath ragged. His rod throbbed between plates. He slammed a fist against his chest, furious at his own biology.
Inside, Mia sank onto the couch, trembling. The silk shift clung to her damp curves. She pressed fists to her cheeks. "Stupid, stupid heart. Why are you beating so fast?" Yet the image of Kai’s broad shoulders lingered, as did a confusing flutter low in her belly.
Far down the corridor a scribe turned a corner; Kai darted into a stairwell before the ant could see his shame. He raced to the gate, out into the chill night, where only willow fronds knew his name.