We spend the night in the thicket, the wolves curled up around me for warmth and protection. Valen, of course, is the one against whom I’m half-reclined, my head resting on the warm fur of his chest.
I wake up curled up against a very naked Valen. He has his arms around me, my head tucked under his chin. My cheek is resting on a bare male chest, nicely padded with muscle, and in my line of vision I see… a very large, hard cock and the bulge of his swollen knot.
Heat climbs up my neck, flooding my cheeks. It’s… kind of funny, to open my eyes to such a morning glory. It’s also hot.
My body agrees, tightening my belly and starting a throb between my legs.
“Morning, Princess,” his voice rumbles in his chest. Of course he knows I woke up. Those wolf senses must record everything, the change in my breathing, the tiny shifts of my body.
I lift my head and smile at him. Gods, it’s a balm to see his face again after I thought I’d lost him. “Morning to you, too.”
“Sleep well, little mouse?” he drawls. “Do I make a good pillow?”
“The best.” Unexpectedly, emotion wells up in me and I look away. “I didn’t think I’d find you. And didn’t expect to find you so soon, so close to Lord Eorl’s lands. Shouldn’t you be in the mountains by now?”
“I came back,” he says softly.
“Why?”
“For you, Princess. I came back for you.”
I bite my lip. “Are you sure you want the woman whose mother killed yours?”
“Yes.” He sighs. “My kind attacked yours. My kind hurt you. Your mother killed mine. And I think… I think I figured out what happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“The girl in the prophecy. The rogue wolves. I think they convinced my mother that they had located the girl, the chosen one, the savior.”
“They thought it was me?” I ask, incredulous. “Why?”
“Who knows? Signs. Omens.”
“But then they somehow realized I wasn’t the one,” I whisper, “and they sent me back.”
“Losing their prophetess probably threw them into disarray.” His arms tighten around me. “I’m so sorry.”
I burrow against him. “I don’t want you to be sorry.”
“Then what do you want? Shall I head over to the manor, find the asshole lord and cut him to pieces?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t care, Valen.”
“He deserves it.”
“So he does. But I don’t want to bother with him anymore. I don’t want…”
“What, my love? Tell me.”
The endearment brings back my smile. “I don’t want to pretend to be someone I’m not. To spend my life unhappy because of a mistake. To stay with a man I loathe. To take revenge, when the best revenge is to find happiness. With you.”
His frown clears. “Does that mean you accept my proposal?”
I shrug, pretending it isn’t the most important thing in the world. “If it still stands.”
“If?” Suddenly, he rolls us so that I’m underneath him and he’s braced on top of me, grinning. That white tuft of hair falls roguishly on his forehead, his teeth are sharp, his grin even sharper. He’s so beautiful, I ache with the need to kiss him.“If?”
I smile. Reach up and cup his cheek. “Ask me again, Valen.”
