Sunlight bled through the cracks of the wooden shutters, painting thin, golden stripes across the chaotic disarray of the bedsheets. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light, swirling in the stillness of the morning, but Judas was not watching them.
He was watching her.
Luna stirred in her sleep, a soft, imperceptible sound escaping her lips. Her purple hair was fanned out across the pillow, contrasting sharply with the dark blankets.
In repose, the cold, untouchable aura she usually wore like armor was gone, replaced by a softness that made Judas's chest tighten with a possessive heat.
Her long eyelashes fluttered, casting delicate shadows on her cheekbones, before she finally blinked her eyes open.
The disorientation of sleep lingered in her gaze for a split second before she focused.
Judas was already hovering over her, his face inches from hers. He offered her a bright, predatory smile.
"Good morning, little frost."
A sudden blush bloomed across her pale cheeks, turning them a shade of crimson that Judas found deliciously appealing. In panic, she moved to sit up, but reality caught up to her in a heartbeat.
She froze.
The cool morning air hit her skin, revealing that she was completely naked. But more pressing than the cold was the heat pressing against her thigh.
She hurriedly lay back down.
Judas hadn't moved away. In fact, his body was still entangled with hers, his hard member resting against her crotch, threatening to enter into her secret regions again.
Luna gasped, her eyes darting down to the evidence of his morning vitality.
She looked back up at him, her eyes recalling the activities of last night.
Still? her mind screamed.
Judas chuckled, a low rumble in his chest that she undoubtedly felt against her own skin. "What is it, wife?" he purred, leaning down to lick her lips.
Luna promptly tried to wipe her mouth, but Judas was faster. He caught her hand, bringing her slender fingers to his mouth instead.
He sucked on the tip of her index finger, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Mmgh."
A moan, unintentional and traitorous, escaped her lips. She yanked her hand back, her face burning hotter.
"What are you doing? It's already morning," she whispered furiously, glancing toward the window.
Her gaze flickered down again, eyeing his erection with a mix of wariness and disbelief.
Still this hard after ravaging me the whole night, she complained internally, though Judas could practically hear the thought in her indignant glare.
Judas smirked, shifting his weight so that his hips pressed more firmly against hers.
"Of course I am. I'm just trying to restart what we stopped."
He laughed viciously, the sound devoid of shame, and moved to climb atop her.
"No!" Luna hurriedly placed her hands against his broad chest, pushing with all the strength she could muster, which, in her flustered state, wasn't much. "Not now. Ezra is here."
She pointed a trembling finger toward the door.
Through the gap, the bright morning light of the courtyard spilled in. And there, a shadow moved rhythmically.
Judas tilted his head, looking past Luna's shoulder. He could see the flash of steel and the movement of a body honing its craft.
Ezra was training. The whoosh of her knife cutting the air was faint but audible.
She was disciplined, focused—the complete opposite of the decadent scene happening in the bed.
Judas turned back to face Luna, his expression unbothered. "Why should I care? I am not embarrassed anyway."
"You... hooligan," Luna hissed, her anxiety spiking.
He ignored her insult, lowering his head slowly toward her neck. "Come on," he whispered against her skin.
"Not that, please..." Her eyes were pleading now, shimmering with genuine distress. "If she hears... if she sees..."
"But look," Judas interrupted, guiding her hand back down to the problem at hand. "They are hurting now. It will hurt more if I can't release..."
He let the sentence hang, his voice thick with feigned agony.
He watched Luna's resolve waver. She was soft-hearted beneath that icy exterior, and she took her duties as a wife—however unconventional their arrangement—seriously.
"Nina..." Luna tried to deflect, grasping for a lifeline. "Go to Nina."
Judas sighed, pulling back just enough to look her in the eye. He shook his head solemnly. "Her period started today. So she can't..."
He let out a long, heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping. He channeled every ounce of manipulation he possessed into his expression, letting his face fill with a profound sadness. "If you don't want to... fine. I suppose I will just suffer."
He started to pull away, moving as if to get out of bed.
Luna bit her lip, her internal conflict playing out clearly on her face.
She looked at him, then at the open door where Ezra's shadow danced. Guilt gnawed at her.
He seems to have a high drive. Denying him when Nina is unavailable… that would be wrong.
"But Ezra is there," she whispered, her voice straining. "She will hear us if we..."
She couldn't even finish the sentence, the image of them going another round while Ezra practiced knife play ten feet away was too mortifying.
And too exciting.
Judas paused. He didn't leave the bed. Instead, he turned back to her, a thoughtful expression smoothing out the fake sadness.
He tapped his chin as if an idea had just struck him.
"There is another way," he said softly, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "A way for you to help me without doing that."
Luna's eyes lit up. "What is it?"
She was relieved. If it wasn't full intercourse, surely it would be quieter? Quicker? Less likely to alert the training woman outside? She leaned in, eager for the compromise.
But her happy expression slowly froze.
The thoughtful look on Judas's face dissolved. The sadness vanished like mist under the morning sun.
In its place, a haughty, triumphant smile curled his lips. It was the smile of a hunter who had successfully herded his prey into the trap.
He kneeled in the bed, looming over her face. Then he pointed at his hardened length, then tapped his own lips, raising an eyebrow.
"You have a mouth, don't you, my icy queen?"
Luna's breath hitched. The realization crashed into her. This was his plan. It wasn't about compromise; it was about getting exactly what he wanted in a different flavor.
"Judas, you—"
"Shh," he pressed a finger to her lips, his eyes dancing with amusement.
"Remember, Ezra is right outside. If you argue too loudly, she might come in to check on us. And then she'll see you naked, with me..."
Luna glared at him in indignation, which turned to defeat in seconds.
If she refused now, after he had played the 'sad husband' card, she would feel guilty. If she argued, she risked exposure.
He had checkmated her without moving a single pawn.
Judas sat back on his heels, waiting. The morning light gleamed off his skin, highlighting the definition of his muscles.
He looked every bit the barbarian king he was becoming—dominant, patient, and utterly assured of his victory.
"Well?" he prompted, his voice silky. "Are you going to help your poor, suffering husband? Or do I need to go outside and ask Ezra if she wants to take a break from her knife practice?"
That did it.
Luna's eyes widened in horror at the thought of him marching out there—naked—to proposition Ezra. He would do it. She knew he would. He had absolutely no shame.
With a huff of defeated air, Luna glared at him one last time. "You are the devil," she whispered.
"I am your husband," he corrected cheerfully.
Slowly, Luna moved. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, her hands trembling slightly.
She avoided looking at the door, focusing entirely on him, trying to salvage some shred of her dignity even as she surrendered to his demands.
Judas watched her, his breath hitching slightly as she leaned forward.
The anticipation was almost better than the act itself. Almost.
Outside, the rhythmic swish-swish of Ezra's training continued, a steady metronome to the rising heat in the room.
The contrast was intoxicating to Judas—the discipline of training just beyond the threshold, and the decadence of pleasure right here in his grasp.
He reached out, his hand tangling gently in Luna's purple hair as she lowered her head.
"Good girl," he whispered, his voice rough.
Luna hesitated for a fraction of a second, the hot breath of his desire fanning against her face.
She closed her eyes, blocking out the sunlight, blocking out the open door, and finally, surrendered to the whim of the man who had claimed her.
Her tongue curled around his head as her mouth moved up and down along his length.
Judas arched his head up, staring at the ceiling with a pleasured smile. When he finally released his whole load into her mouth, it was a great sight to see her frosty face covered in his white, viscous nectar.