“Yes,” Asta replied breathlessly.
She realized that was the answer he had wanted when Kaid’s lazy circles quickly turned to a grip on her abdomen.
“Tell me why,” he growled.
What was the reason? Because of his reputation? Because of his uncanny ability to show up everywhere she was? Because he matched her challenges and pushed back?
There was only one real answer which summed everything up.
“Because, Kaid, you are… insufferable. You drive me absolutely mad. And Ihatethat I enjoy it.”
Asta concluded that the sentiment was reciprocated when Kaid slipped his hand under her shirt and began palming her chest. She rolled onto her back and captured his mouth with hers, their kissing feverish and determined, much different than the kissing they had done in her bed.
Gods, she had wanted this for so long and refused to admit it. She might be able to tolerate him if he never spoke again and they lived in this moment for eternity.
One of Kaid’s fingers lightly brushed under Asta’s waistband and he pulled his mouth away from her, looking into her eyes with his turquoise gaze glistening in the moonlight, glowing like the bioluminescence of the sea.
“Will you hate me more if I keep going?” His finger continued tracing a line across her abdomen, back and forth.
“Yes,” Asta replied.
Kaid’s too-perfect-for-this-world smile slid across his lips and Asta nearly passed out from the sight of it.
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth before asking, “May I proceed anyway?”
Asta didn’t need a moment to think about her answer. She knew what she wanted. Damn the consequences—she would deal with them in the morning.
Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Yes.”
Kaid kissed her ferociously, his chest rumbling. He removed her trousers and tossed them aside.
“You wickedly cruel, beautiful thing. Please, hate me forever,” Kaid whispered.
She could hate him forever if this was what it meant. If this was what it led to.
Kaid dove between her legs, remaining there until waves of pleasure came over her.
She could do this every day. That was, if her sister wasn’t set to marry this man in less than a week.
Now that the lust was leaving her body, her mind cleared and reminded her of that. But in that moment, she didn’t care. Kaid helped her get dressed, knowing her arm was still sore from its injuries, and then nestled in next to her.
Tomorrow, she would be the pretty princess in the seaside castle who was happy for her sister for finding a husband.
Tonight, she was the warrior, fighting for what she wanted and seizing it.
Alternate Chapter 36
Linnea took a long, searing bath and her muscles unknotted instantly. Heat used to bother her because of her last encounter with her mother, but after years of practice, she could take hot baths again. The sting of warmth on her skin still bothered her sometimes, but that’s what permanent scarring from hot coals being shoved down the back of your dress will do to you. They never fully heal.
Sometimes she could still hear her mother’s cold laughter, matching the frigid weather of the day she gained her largest scars. Linnea had made the mistake of mentioning it was a tad chilly in the house that morning, which was when her motherformulated the plan to help her “appreciate” the heat that was provided.
What’s wrong, dear? I thought you were cold.
Linnea clawed her way out of her downward spiral—working to focus on how wonderful the warmth felt on her aching muscles and not the terrible memories that heat held—and finished her bath.
Halsten was right—as long as she stretched when she got out, she would feel much better. She stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel, digging through her saddlebag for something comfortable to wear. She had been stuck in riding pants and cotton puffy shirts for days now.
Linnea pulled out a multi-layered gossamer nightgown in her favorite color, slate blue. She was not a confident woman, but she always loved how the color accentuated her gray eyes and auburn hair. She stood in the mirror and tied up the decorative strings that sat below her collarbones, leaving a keyhole effect on her chest, and her shoulders exposed.
