Page 141 of Plug and Tame

And she knew he was having a hard time too. No matter how she tried to reassure him, the guilt had been eating him alive. She could taste the tang of it in those rare moments when she brushed his thoughts with her magic.

But it wasn’t enough.

She wanted more.

She wanted to be the person she’d been before his father had touched her.

She wanted…

“I don’t know what I want,” she whispered, her head bowing. She’d been numb for far too long, entrenched in her new role and never stopping to take a breath.

Nathaniel tilted her chin up. His icy irises had melted into pools of midnight blue that danced with the reflection of the hearth’s orange flames. “It’s up to you, pet. Whatever you need, I am at your service.”

She licked her lips. Swallowed nervously. Exhaled again, slowly. Meanwhile, her pulse thrummed with excitement.

Suddenly, it was clear.

She knew what she wanted.

“I want to be at your service,” she said, slipping off his lap and lowering herself to kneel on the floor at his feet.

Nathaniel’s pupils dilated in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Kira gazed up at him, touching his mind with her magic in a way she hadn’t done in a very long time. Nathaniel shivered beneath her mental touch, his lips parting as he felt her thoughts.

She was scared of so many things, but not of him.

A look of understanding passed between them, and a new certainty blossomed. The dark desires residing deep within them were as special and right as they were forbidden; a secret place that they—and only they—could visit together. No one could come between them, and while they were forever changed, they would heal together, just as they would feel pain and pleasure together in the castle they called home.

Despite what she’d been through—or maybe because of it—the things she now wanted were wilder and more shocking than anything she’d ever imagined. And yet, this was a return to normal for both of them. Nathaniel’s mind was a beautiful thing, a polarising mix of hot passion that washed over her, and cold steely authority that sought to control her, both of which were a comfort to her.

But he needed comforting too. Kira interlaced her hand with his and lifted it to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

“I’ve been dreaming of this,” Nathaniel murmured. “But I wasn’t sure if we would ever—”

“Yes,” she answered. It was the only word that mattered, the one that led to a world of possibilities they’d shut themselves off from. “Yes to everything with you.”

She needed not just the warm side of him. There was more to them than dreams and soft words.

She needed his nightmares as well.

Nathaniel bit his lip as he studied her, searching her face. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Are you?” she whispered.

His eyelids drifted low as simmering passion appeared in his eyes. “Am I ready for this beautiful, strong, hot-tempered wolf who once tried to stab me—?”

“I did stab you,” she corrected with a smile.

“True. Well, all I know is this…” He cupped her face, and she leant into his touch. “You have every piece of my heart. I, too, want everything with you. Not just Kira the Empress, but the parts you keep hidden as well. But…after what you went through…” His voice broke, and tears sprang to her eyes. “After what my father—”

“Shh.” It was her turn to shush him, pressing her finger to his lips. “I am not the broken creature you think I am.”

“Oh, Kira. I would never think that of you.”

“Then don’t treat me like I’m wounded. Yes, it traumatised us both. But this is not how I want to overcome it—by pretending it never happened. By never talking about it. I’m so tired of us tiptoeing around each other. Please, Nathaniel.”

It wasn’t about escaping the darkness inhabiting them, nor about finding the light in the darkness. It was simply about them being honest enough to embrace the dark desires within them, and the joyous bliss that came with its sweet surrender.