Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 20

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy! Shoutout to JJEPrentiss and tango_megatop for always voting on this story. <3

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Percy had just exited from the bath wearing his robe when Annabeth stormed in through the doors adjourning their bedrooms.

"What the hell is this?" Annabeth pointed to the pink mark on her neck.

Percy lazily glanced at the pink mark he had made on her neck earlier that afternoon. Truthfully, he hadn't meant to make such a mark, but when his lips encountered such soft skin, they couldn't help himself.

"How pretty," Percy answered, moving to stroke her slender neck.

"Pretty, my ass!" Annabeth batted his hand away. "Do you know how embarrassing it is for everyone to see this on my neck?"

"I apologize," Percy said sincerely. "Next time I'll make sure to mark you where it isn't easy to be seen."

He glanced meaningfully down past her neck. The woman was brave for charging into his room wearing just a flimsy robe. Brave, or naive.

"You-" Annabeth sputtered.

Percy couldn't help but chuckle at Annabeth's flustered appearance. She was usually one who was collected and analyzed everything according to plan. He had long figured out that if he was unpredictable, Annabeth's usual composure would become flustered. How adorable, he thought. In the end, Percy decided to tease her some more.

"Fine," Annabeth announced. "Then you shall pay the same."

Of course when Annabeth pounced, Percy could easily sidestep due to his knight training. But he deliberately opened his arms and caught her as she jumped, causing both to fall onto his bed. Annabeth's hair was still loose from her bath, so Percy gathered the hair at the nape of her neck, letting the slightly wet strands slip in his fingers. With the enticing image of her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, she really looked like a siren who had just walked out of the sea. Percy's musings then faded away as Annabeth nuzzled his neck. He inhaled as her tongue soothed the little area where she had bitten him.

"I sincerely hope you're saving some of this energy for our wedding night," Percy said breathlessly.

He drifted his fingers against the curve of her shoulder. In the scuffle, Annabeth's robe had fallen open, exposing just the top of her bosom. His right hand was placed at her back, but it was ambiguous as to whether he was helping to keep the robe up or he was pulling the robe down. Thanks to that and her squirming on his bare chest, a certain part of his anatomy had woken up.

Before they could get to do any more shenanigans, Annabeth's answer was to hit him in the face with his pillow. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait longer to see then." She said, before fleeing the room.

It was a pity that the next day at the morning training, the Black Knights could not meet the Duke's eyes once they glanced at the pink marks on his neck and collarbone. Percy, however, hid his smile.

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When Kelli moved into the palace with her own personal maid, Princess Medea was not there to personally receive her and had sent only a maid. Quietly, Kelli shoved her displeasure down. She was a lady-in-waiting for Medea, so why couldn't Medea show a bit more courtesy to her? She stopped in her tracks when a procession walked across her.

"Who is that?" Kelli asked the maid.

The maid didn't like how Kelli had roughly grabbed her arm, but Kelli was a lady-in-waiting while she was a mere maid. "To answer the lady's question, that is Princess Piper McLean of the Cythera nation. She is one of the bridal candidates of Prince Jason."