My body shudders with pleasure. I can’t deny that I don’t like the idea of it.
The heat carries over into my words. “Perhaps, later on, I’ll let you force something else down my throat.”
The Dark Fae blinks in surprise. I’m not usually so bold with him, having gone for my brutal words than teases, but at this point, I realize he’s not going anywhere. He isn’t letting me leave ,and bond or not, I don’t want to leave.
I’m meant to be here with him. If not for the soul-bond or the divine, I’m here because I’m falling back in love with him. With the Fae he truly is. Monster and all.
Standing close, he wraps my hair around his fist, tugging it back. “I would make you beg me for it, again, kitten.”
“Maybe I like begging?”
He groans, grabbing my throat to steal a soul-shattering kiss. “Don’t say things like that to me.”
“Why? Too much?”
He laughs, but it’s pained. “No, because right now, I want to throw you on this bed and show you all the ways I would worship your body. And unfortunately, we can’t be late.”
Patting his chest, I wink, feeling comfortable for the first time in my skin, in my place with him. This is what I always wanted, with him, the familiarity. The ease. Thelove. “And after?”
He pulls me close, inhaling as I exhale. He smells of desire and home. “And after, I plan on making love to you until you beg the Gods for mercy.”
My cheeks blush, but I smile wide. “Promises,promises.”
“More like a threat, Max. Now get ready before I rip this dress from your body and we both blow this entire plan to ruin.”
Chapter
Twenty-Five
KADEN
“Relax,” I comment, brushing my lips to my mate’s exposed shoulder.
The revealing burgundy dress trails low on the floor, her back completely open. In addition to the deep scar along her throat, Max’s back hold various small, glassy burn marks from her time in the village. My eyes drink in the scars and one finger trails along a thin one against her shoulder blade.
It’s a damn miracle she’s allowed me this much. Once she understood my goal, what I’ve had to do for this world, she seemed to open up to me. Like in the forest, except without the fear, the constant threat of something attacking, she’s begunchoosingme.
Make no mistake, we are not safe here. In this court the enemies are just more cunning, slicker in their assaults with vile words and hidden daggers.
She relishes this life, as much as she’d like to tell me she was never met to be a queen. My mother’s necklace—her crown—sits around her neck, the fabric draped over her slender curves. Her red lips match the blood color and her pale cheeks flush withbarely controlled anxiety.
I wrap a hand around her hip, my beast completely silent in my mind. He’s been at ease since the hall with her, since we broke down walls and began to mend our forces together. It’s strange and exhilarating not hearing him in my head. Almostpeaceful.
“If they smell fear, they will not leave you alone,” I remind her. Those devastating eyes look up at me, then the room, nodding once. “You may see things you’re not used to.”
She snorts. “I held high holidays with the Witch Covens. Nothing beats seeing an elderly Matron runningnakedover burning fires. Trust me.”
Tugging her toward the feast, I glance back with a smirk. “Did you participate in those holidays?” The idea of seeing her naked, surrounded by flames, conjures unholy visions in my head.
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t play with fire, heir.”
“Pity. I would’ve chased you.”
My words take effect and her body shivers as she remembers our time in Crow’s Feet Forest. Something I’d like to do again.
I want her feral and wanton. I want her begging, sobbing for me, clawing for some kind of mercy. I want her soft and yielding, blazing and angry. I want everything she’ll give me because I realize—this is a gift. She could have easily left, not stopped to wait and play my game. She wanted to stay, shechoseme.
No one has chosen me in quite some time. It makes Max that much more precious to me.
