"How does this feel?" Lumi asked in a low, sultry cadence.

  Her confidence was a brittle facade. She had no idea what she was doing. None. She'd never touched a man like this. But, she was curious. She watched Rook's reaction closely, letting his shallow breaths and the tightening of his jaw guide her.

  She shouldn't enjoy this. She knew that much. And yet, the way he responded to her touch stirred something primal inside her.

  "Have you ever been with a man?" His tone was easy-going, almost conversational, as if she wasn't in the middle of touching him intimately. But his eyes—those dark, heavy-lidded eyes—burned with an intensity that betrayed him.

  She continued to stroke him, never breaking rhythm, "Of course, I have."

  "Don't lie to me, Lumi," he murmured, "I can see right through it."

  "I'm a pleasuremaiden," she shrugged one shoulder, "My job is to serve."

  "We've already agreed that is not what you are."

  "You don't know me very well."

  "Harder." Dipping into the water, his hand wrapped around hers, tightening her grip around his cock, his length rigid beneath their combined touch, "This is how I like it."

  Heat bloomed across her cheeks as he guided her. This was how Rook liked it? Hard. Tight. Her toes curled with the knowledge.

  When his hand fell away, she hesitated for only a moment before continuing. Her movements mirrored the pressure he'd shown her, the rhythm. Rook's hand surfaced, dripping water as it tangled in her hair. He tugged just enough to tilt her face towards him.

  "What are you doing to me?" His voice was drenched in sin.

  Lumi wet her lips, "I'm pleasing you."

  His grip tightened, his fingers a vice in her hair. Every tug on her scalp sent a delicious jolt down her spine. The air between them was molten. Tension coiled with each stroke of her fist beneath the water.

  She couldn't look away from him, mesmerized by his reaction to her. With every stroke, his composure slipped further away. His sharp jawline tensed beneath the flicker of candlelight. His lips parted as if he'd forgotten how to breathe. And his eyes—those cold, imperial eyes—held a warmth she had never seen before.

  Lumi was the one drawing this from him. The street rat who had clawed her way through shadow and filth, was making the emperor lose control. Her heart thundered, but it wasn't fear driving it. It was power, raw and intoxicating.

  In that moment, she wasn't the one out of place. No, she was the one who owned him.

  "You shouldn't look at me like that," he warned.

  Her lips curved, "How am I looking at you?"

  "Like you want me."

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  And she did. Gods, she did.

  This was supposed to be transactional. A means to an end. She wasn't meant to savor any moment with the emperor, much less his touch.

  He was the reason she was in this wretched position. Gemless, left with no choice but to obey his every whim. He had taken everything from her—the freedom that had been at her fingertips, the past she was so desperate to remember, the dignity she was barely grasping onto.

  She should loathe him for it. Despise the very thought of his fingers tangled in her hair, the ghost of his breath on her lips.

  But she didn't.

  She liked this.

  And why should she feel shame in that? Why deny herself the scraps of pleasure she could steal along the way?

  Three years in the slums had stripped her of everything—hope, joy, the will to care. A cold, hollow survival was all she'd known. But last night had been different. His touch shattered that void and let a spark in.

  In her world, pleasure was a rare thing. If Rook could provide some, who was she to refuse?

  "Take off your dress," he commanded in a low voice.

  Her movements faltered, her hand stilling halfway up his length, "My dress?"

  "Yes. Take it off."

  She swallowed the unease rising up her throat, "I'd rather make you feel good first."

  Her defiance lasted only a moment. He rose from the tub in one fluid movement. Water cascaded down his body in shimmering rivulets, breaking the surface of the water with splashes. The dim light clung to him, highlighting every ridge, every scar, every inch of power carved into his golden flesh.

  "I wasn't finished," she scolded, but the words came out wrong—soft, pleading, like a child who needed to be soothed. Heat blossomed on her face.

  "Neither am I." His dark eyes flickered with something that made her pulse spike.

  Before she could snap back, he stepped out of the tub. One strong leg, then the other. Lumi scrambled to her feet, far less graceful than him. She stepped back, putting some distance between them.

  She tried not to. She truly did. But her eyes found him again. Captivated, she took him in. All of him. When she gazed upon the place she touched moments before, her belly clenched.

  He was hard. Because of her.

  He didn't reach for a towel, didn't even pretend to care about modesty. Lumi could only stand there as he crouched to twist the ancient valves. The pipes groaned, water hissed, steam furled through the air. Blood and grime spiraled down the drain in dark, swirling ribbons.

  "What are you doing?" she managed.

  "Preparing a bath," he glanced at her over his shoulder, "For us."

  Us. The word sent shivers down her spine. Her toes curled involuntarily.

  Lumi's eyes refused to leave him, stuck on the way his muscles stretched beneath taut skin. The room shrank. The walls pressed in as heat pooled low in her belly. She needed to move, to speak, to do something. But she was rooted in place, caught beneath his spell.

  When he finished his task, he rose, and turned to face her. Water dripped from his hair and trailed down his chest. His gaze locked on hers. For a moment, it lingered, heavy and unreadable. Then it dropped, and a frown pulled at his lips.

  Tipping his chin, he gestured at her corset. "This ridiculous contraption again?"

  He closed the distance between them in one stride and lifted her chin with his thumb and pointer finger. She had no choice but to meet his stare. He blinked at her, and she blinked back at him, and the silence stretched.

  Then slowly, deliberately, he pressed his lips to her scar.

  A shock spiked through her. A current that ignited something raw and unfamiliar. She wanted to pull away. She wanted to lean closer. Gods, she didn't know what she wanted. His arm curled around her, pressing her up against his hard chest. His wet skin against her now-damp dress.

  "I like you like this," he said as he pulled back slightly. The arm around her rose, his hand going to her neck and lingering there. She remembered the night before. How he had applied pressure there in the most wonderful of ways. She swallowed.

  "You like me, how?" she whispered.

  "As you are."

  Her eyes shot up to his, "You like me like this?"

  His lips twitched, "I do."

  "There's something wrong with you."

  He laughed. A low, dark sound that sent a thrill through her. His smile widened, baring his teeth. There was danger in the curve of his lips. A promise of destruction she wasn't certain she wanted to escape.

  "I'm a little twisted," he admitted, fingers tightening slightly on her throat, "But that has nothing to do with the fact that you are..." his gaze raked over her, "Magnificent."

  a/n: ahhh can i just say i am obsessed with these too? idk about you, but they are giving me ALL the feels. if you enjoyed this chapter, let me know by leaving a pumpkin emoji in the comments below. i would love to hear any predictions or thoughts you might have, so don't be shy to share them with me (:

  chapter 38 went up on patreon last night and im internally screaming with where the story is going! im so excited about everything ive written so far, and so thrilled about everything that's about to unfold!! if you're interested in unlocking early access to chapters, check me out on patreon (my username is galthewriter)

  happy reading!