SWNOVELS Chapter 10: Drinking
A large imposing desk sits between us, but even that doesn't feel like enough. He's been interrogating me for what is probably only twenty minutes but feels like hours, demanding I tell him everything about the King and I's relationship. Unfortunately, I have no good answers to his probing questions, and the ones I do have I feel uncomfortable talking about.
Why does it matter what King Heloix and I talk about or how I got the cut on my face? Judging by the nature of his questions, I'm assuming that the King doesn't know or approve of his Second doing this.
I'm not sure if I should say anything to the King though. He was so angry with me for ruining his dinner that I wouldn't be surprised if he punished me for tattling and questioning the intentions of his Second.
"What happened when Heloix pulled you out of the room?" The Second asks me again, his voice stern.
I shrug, uncomfortable telling him that the King hugged me. "Nothing. He was upset that I was helping in the kitchens and told me to stick to my assigned job. Then he left."
The Second narrows his eyes at me, clearly not believing what I'm saying.
"That's all?" He probes further.
I nod, keeping my mouth shut. The Second sighs and gives his temples a quick rub. I want to ask why he wants to know so bad but I know better than to pry.
"You may leave." He finally says, gesturing to the door.
I don't hesitate to take him up on the offer, immediately jumping out of the chair I'm sitting in and rushing out of the room. The Second's office is on the top floor near his suite, and I'm all too aware of my current proximity to the King.
As much as I know that I should go back down to the servant's quarters and go to bed, a larger part of me seeks to find him and apologize for ruining his meal tonight.
My feet carry me down the hallway towards the King's chambers, and before I know it I'm standing in front of his door. His guards watch me with curious eyes, no doubt wondering what I am doing here so late, but they make no move to stop me.
Tentatively, I raise my fist and lightly tap on the wood. It's ripped open directly after the first knock, and I'm met with the King's chest. I back up a step and look up to meet King Heloix's eye.
"I wanted to apologize for today. I shou-"
My words are cut off as the King abruptly moves to the side.
"Come in." He says roughly, eyeing the guard behind me.
I follow his command and make my way into the room. The fear I have from being around him is still present, but has lessened considerably over time. Despite the King's nasty reputation, he's been pretty decent and hasn't brought me any harm.
The second I'm fully in the suite the King releases the door and lets it slam behind me. I stand idly in the room, watching as he goes into the kitchen and gets down two glasses from the cupboard. He pours a dark liquid in one, but pauses and hesitates as he goes to pour it in the second glass as well.
The King looks up at me, his eyebrows furrowed in question. "Have you ever had alcohol before?"
I shake my head vigorously. It's against the rules in most kingdoms for humans to drink any sort of alcohol, the punishment for doing so often severe. He hums to himself at my response before bending down to put the bottle away. I expect him to fill the second glass with water, but am surprised as he comes back up with a wine bottle in hand.
"Better start you off with something light then." He mumbles to himself.
I watch as he fills the second glass with wine, trying not to get too in my head about it. One glass isn't going to kill me. I've seen some Beasts drink eight or nine and be completely fine afterward, save for some heavy belching.
The King grabs both glasses before approaching me once more. I hesitantly take the glass from his outstretched hand and stare at the liquid with caution. It's a pale yellow color, and smells quite fruity.
"It's Pinot Grigio- should be pretty easy for you to drink. I won't be offended if you don't want any though." He says, sensing my hesitance.
This is likely the only time in my life I'll ever get to drink wine, and I know I'll regret it in the future if I don't take the opportunity. Unhurriedly, I bring the glass up to my lips and take a small sip, surprised by the taste.
It's unlike anything I've ever had before, and tastes pretty sweet. I don't particularly enjoy the flavor, but don't hate it by any means either. I bring the glass up to take another sip, aware of the King's eyes on me.
"You don't need to apologize for today. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." He says, voice soft.
Shocked, I snap my attention back to the King. Is he apologizing to me? Beasts never apologize to humans?
I'm not sure how to respond to him, and watch in silence as he takes a large gulp of his drink, crinkling his face in displeasure as he swallows.
"Do you know how to play chess?"
-
1.5 hours later:
"Absolute bullshit." I shout, feeling completely blindsided as the King takes my knight. "I needed that one to put you in check! Now I don't have any good pieces."
He glances up at me in surprise, clearly shocked by my word choice. "Then you should try to be better at this game."
I cross my arms and pout as the King sets my knight off the side.
He laughs at my antics before taking a large gulp out of his glass. I decide to follow his lead and grab my glass, only to find that it's empty again. King Heloix notices my predicament, immediately getting up to get me a refill.
"You serving me. I quite like it!" I tease.
I'm on maybe my third or fourth glass, and can already feel the effects kicking in. My mind is a bit hazy and I keep catching myself saying things out of turn. I know I'll regret this tomorrow, but am having too much fun to care about that just now.
A new glass is placed in my hand, and I give the King a large grin.
"Thank you!" I say, slightly embarrassed as I realize that I'm shouting. "I fear that I'm getting a bit tipsy." I tell him honestly, although I'm sure he already knows.
The King hums at my statement, and looks at me thoughtfully. He places a hand on his chin, stroking it as if he is deep in thought.
"Can I tell you a secret?" He suddenly says, leaning in until his face is only inches from mine. "I already am."
-
2 hours later:
My hands grip my sides in pain as I try my best to stop laughing.
"Stop, it hurts!" I shout.
The King laughs along with me, another pillow in his hand ready to throw at me.
"I will once you stop insulting me." He responds, cocking his arm back, preparing for launch.
"I mean seriously- what kind of name is Heloix?" I snort out, trying to dodge the airborne pillow.
I'm unable to move fast enough and it hits me square in the chest, causing me to fall backward. The movement causes the wine glass to fall out of my hand, spilling all over myself and the couch.
"Oh shoot, I'm so sorry!" I apologize, fumbling to grab the cup and set it on the table. "Let me get something to clean this up."
The King waves his hand in indifference. "Leave it. It'll be cleaned up tomorrow."
I frown. Is he serious?
"Yeah, cleaned up by me. And it'll be much easier if I set some stain remover on it now." I say, tripping over my feet as I stand and stumbling my way over to the cleaning closet.
"Well, fine. While you do that I'll grab you some dry clothes to put on."
-
3 hours later:
"Your cut is healing nicely." Heloix remarks, eyeing my face and neck.
I huff, bringing my hand up to touch the bandage. My fingers are clumsy and uncoordinated as I prod my neck, and I briefly wonder if the touch would hurt if my mind wasn't so fuzzy.
"I worry it's going to scar." I admit.
Heloix frowns at my statement before moving to sit next to me. His torso is turned to face me, bringing his face only inches away from mine. My fingers stop their prodding as I take in our proximity.
His eyes are glassy and unfocused, making me wonder how much he is feeling the effects of the alcohol. He mentioned earlier that his drink was quite a bit stronger than mine, and he's probably had about six or seven of them.
He licks his lips as he looks at me, the pink muscle running along his skin, capturing my attention. I wonder what it would feel like if he kissed me.
Slowly, he lifts his hand to my neck and pushes mine away. Grabbing the corner of the bandage, he peels it down to see the wound.
His mouth grimaces as he takes it in, and I already know his answer before he speaks.
"Yeah, it'll probably scar."
"Sad." I murmur, finding that just saying my emotion is easier than describing it.
Heloix sighs. "I can heal it for you, but you have to promise not to tell anybody about it- especially Axis."
"Who's Axis?" I ask, trying to rack my brain of who that could be.
"My Second!" Heloix laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.
Under normal circumstances I would say no- that there's no way I'm signing up to let him do some secretive thing that I can't tell anybody about. All the wine has me fuzzy though, and curiosity has me nodding my head yes.
"Close your eyes."
"Is it going to hurt?" I ask, remembering the sting of the disinfectant he used the other day.
"Uh-," He stops to clear his throat, and I watch through squinted eyes as his face turns red. Is he embarrassed? "No, it won't hurt. Now close your eyes."
I do as I'm told and tightly squeeze them shut. The room is silent, and with my eyes closed I feel like it's spinning. A finger is put under my chin in an attempt to tilt my head backward, and I instinctively resist. My action causes Heloix to push up harder, and when I don't give in he sighs.
"If you want me to heal you you've got to stop fighting." He grumbles, annoyance clear in his tone.
Huffing, I give in and allow him to tilt my head back. I feel the bandage be completely removed, the cool air hitting it for only a second before Heloix's warm breath on me.
I can't help but to tense up in impatience, weary of what's about to happen. I can feel him breathing on my neck as he looks at my wound, his face so close to mine that his hair is tickling my lips and chin.
"Oh!" I exclaim, jerking back as something wet and warm touches the sensitive skin of my neck.
Heloix's hand sneaks around to the nape of my neck to hold me firmly in place. The feeling returns, and I quickly realize that the soft, wet thing running over my neck is a tongue. What the hell?
He runs his tongue along the cut, all the way from my jawbone to my collarbone, meanwhile I try not to think about the intimacy of the action.
My inebriated mind has other ideas though, my thighs clenching together as desire immediately pools in my lower belly. His grip on my neck tightens as his tongue flattens against my skin, pressing firmly against the deeper parts of my cut.
The sensation puts my nerve endings on high alert, sending shockwaves to my core. I audibly gasp in response, hand reaching up to grab onto his elbow.
Heloix's breathing quickens, his tongue swiftly being replaced by lips and teeth. His lips gently glide over my skin before settling in the crook of my neck and lightly biting the skin. It's not hard enough to leave a mark, but just enough to have me panting in his arms.
"Told you it wouldn't hurt." Heloix mumbles, pulling away slightly from my neck.
"I-uh"
"Fuck it." Heloix quietly curses, his hands suddenly flying to my waist.
He grips me tightly before pushing me onto my back. His body quickly follows, never straying more than an inch from mine. As he settles himself between my legs my hips instinctively jerk up to meet his.
A loud groan escapes his mouth as our hips meet, and his hand lowers to grip my upper thigh.
My mind melts as his mouth finally meets mine, his liquor-coated tongue slipping between my lips. I let him take the lead, not having a lot of experience here, and sigh in pleasure as his tongue strokes mine.
Heloix grips my thigh tightly and pushes the appendage to the side, opening my legs up wider for him. He quickly takes advantage of the additional space and grinds his hips roughly against mine. The motion causes the seam of my shorts to rub against me, sending a sharp wave of pleasure up my body.
I bring my hands up to his arms, taking the opportunity to touch his body. His muscles are hard in my hands, and all I can think of in the moment is needing to feel his bare skin underneath my fingertips.
I hesitate on it for a second, before throwing caution to the wind and bringing my right hand down to his waist, fingers gently scraping against his exposed skin.
Heloix draws his mouth from mine, disconnecting from me for only a second before reconnecting his lips to my neck. Unlike before, he sucks on the skin harshly, teeth scraping over the skin afterwards. Gaining confidence, I press my hand firmly against his body, dragging it upwards to his abdomen. My fingers rub over the ridges of his muscle before flying upwards to the nape of his neck as he thrusts his pelvis into me once more.
"Ungh" I groan, pleasure suddenly being overridden by a bout of queasiness.
I push on Heloix's chest, trying to get him off me, and he immediately retracts, looking down at me in concern.
"Are you okay? We can stop." He assures me, not realizing that my discomfort is not due to him.
"Move!" I croak, bile rising quickly in my throat.
Heloix's eyes widen in understanding as he quickly scurries up, tripping over my leg in the process. He tumbles over the edge of the couch, the movement jerking my body to the side.
My hands fly to my mouth, trying to hold back the liquid quickly coming up my throat, but I'm not fast enough. Vomit erupts out of me all over Heloix's legs and carpet, and even in my drunk state I'm absolutely mortified.
Heloix jumps up and runs to the kitchen, shouting something about grabbing a bowl, but the words sound jumbled, voice going in and out my vision fades.
I try to get up, but my consciousness has other ideas as I slump to the side, blacking out on the floor.