“Tauren, please.” My voice breaks. “Please stop this. You’re scaring me.”
He tenses behind me, but doesn’t stop. Keeping my head pulled back, he growls at the messenger, “Tell Lord Elheart he has until the wedding to give me what I want.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” He drops into a bow, yanking Urma down with him. “I will return to his palace immediately.”
“Take your whore with you.” Tauren’s lips find my neck and he sucks hard.
Arching my back, I whimper. My neck throbs with pain, but the feeling of everyone’s eyes on me hurts more. The embarrassment could burn me alive.
When he finally pulls away, I don’t need a mirror to know he’s left an angry, possessive mark on my skin. The horror on the messenger’s face is enough to tell me that.
“Leave us,” Tauren snarls at them. I hold back tears as the pair hurry out of the throne room.
The second the huge doors swing shut, he releases my hair.
I bolt off his lap.
“Dahlia,” he shouts, but I’m already sprinting through the small exit archway. Embarrassment scorches my cheeks and neck.
I’m such an idiot. How could I have let him do what he did in the wedding gown shop? How could I have wanted him to?
My frantic breaths echo through the stone corridors. Servants watch me with confused eyes.
I don’t even care about my revealing gown anymore. I just want to get out of here. I need to find Claren, make him take this stupid collar off, grab Pumpkin, and?—
“Dahlia, stop.” Tauren’s deep voice makes me stumble. It takes him seconds to sprint up behind me, catch me by my waist and tug me into a private alcove.
My chest heaves as my back hits stone. Two strong arms trap me against the wall, his palms either side of my shoulders. Moonlight streams in from a window beside us, illuminating the sharpness of his features, the softness of his full lips.
“You will not run from me.” He draws closer, the warmth of his body seeping into mine. “While you are in my castle, you belong to me, and I am ordering you not to run.”
“You humiliated me in there. How can you expect me not to want to run from you?” I spit. “I told you to stop and you didn’t listen.”
“I know.” His jaw hardens as his gaze falls over me.
“Why did you do it?” I shudder at the memory of everyone’s eyes on me. The way he’d had my legs spread over his thighs. Shame feels like fire under my skin.
“I didn’t have a choice. Lord Elheart has Maeve, and he won’t give her back unless?—”
“But who is Maeve?” I snap. “And if you miss her so much, why didn’t you just send that stupid magic horse over to his palace and capture her instead of me?” I hate the sadness that pools in his eyes. Whoever Maeve is, she must be very important to him. “Were you two lovers?” I ask, my voice tight.
He shakes his head. “We’re not lovers, and Elheart has built a salt barrier around his palace. It’s impossible for our magic to get through. I can’t rescue her myself.”
“So you’re using me as leverage to get her back…” I think out loud, scowling. “I hope she’s worth all this trouble.”
“She is.”
My scowl deepens. “Take me back to your tower. I want to go to bed.” I’m not tired at all, but if I can wait until he falls asleep, I can sneak out and find Claren.
A muscle flexes in Tauren’s jaw. “I’m sorry, Dahlia.” He lifts his fingers to my cheek. “I shouldn’t have been so cruel to you in there. I was upset about Maeve, but that’s no excuse. I should’ve done this differently.”
“But you didn’t.” I challenge his stare. “Now leave me alone or take me to your tower. I’m tired.”
Tauren swallows, but thankfully doesn’t argue. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he leads me out of the alcove.
17
TAUREN
