Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
When we parted, I felt a strange sense of loss. Like one might feel after losing a limb. Like a part of me was gone.
It can’t be real though, can it? It must be an illusion. The crown, the castle, the servants, and the fine cloth. It must be tricking my mind. A mysterious means of seduction.
But when I watch him gazing out at his kingdom, and see the heavy weight of responsibility in his eyes at being in charge of it all, my heart aches for him. I want to help ease that burden in any way I can.
I can’t order around wolf armies or hold a royal court, but I can help him in other ways… I can massage those stiff shoulders and make him feel at ease with my soft, womanly ways. I can whisper encouraging words to him and be an ear for his deepest worries and fears that he is unwilling to tell anyone else. There is much I can do.
“This land has been in my family as far back as the written histories,” he says in that deep growly voice that I’m quickly becoming addicted to. “Nine generations at least. Nine kings and queens, each royal pair faithful stewards of the Wolf Kingdom during their rule. I am the tenth king. And you, Morwen, my mate, will be the tenth queen.”
He turns and looks at me with so much love and adoration it makes me weak. Warmth blooms in my chest as he steps forward, towering over me, imposing, gorgeous, mine.
“I don’t know if I’m capable of all that,” I say, feeling a little queasy as I look out at the vast land stretching into the horizon. “That’s a lot to live up to.”
“Fate would not place the responsibility on your shoulders if you could not bear the weight,” he says. “You are capable of so much more than you know. I can see it in your eyes.”
I want to be good enough for him. I want to be the best queen this kingdom has ever seen. For him.
Those big hands slide onto my hips and he gazes into my eyes as he lowers his head. I step on my toes, my mouth searching for his.
“My queen,” he whispers, his sexy lips curling into a smile. “I do enjoy the sound of that.”
“So do I,” I whisper, realizing for the first time that it’s true. I do like the sound of it. I do want to be this Wolf King’s queen. I want to be his mate. I want to be his everything.
His hands tighten on my hips, anchoring me to him as our lips come together. I moan as I wrap my arms around his neck and taste his soft, warm mouth.
The gentleness only lasts for a moment. The next, his hand is sliding up my back and sinking into my hair, pulling me forward. I whimper and moan as his ravenous mouth claims mine. Hard. Unyielding. So fucking delicious.
He steals the breath straight from my lungs.
The kiss is nothing like I imagined.
There is no hesitation, no tentative testing. He takes my mouth like he takes everything else—decisively, hungrily, as if he’s been starving for this exact moment and can’t afford to waste a second. As if my mouth belongs to him by birthright like everything else in this kingdom.
I open my lips wider as he tilts my head back, gasping as he explores my mouth with his hot tongue. He groans like he can’t get enough of me.
The sexy growling sound sends a jolt of heat straight through me, right to my aching pussy, and I cling to him, fingers curling into the front of his tunic as he deepens the kiss. His tongue slides against mine, demanding and thorough, and I melt into him with a soft, helpless sound I don’t even recognize as my own.
Gods.
This man…
I’m ready to drop to my knees in front of him. But not to kneel like everyone else. I’m ready to do other things.
His big, greedy arm wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against him, and I feel just how much he wants this—how hard and unyielding he is where our bodies meet. My knees go weak, my entire body lights up with a desperate, aching need that makes my head spin.
I can’t live without him anymore. I know it now. I’m his. He’s mine. That’s all there is to it.
I’ll stay in this castle. I’ll be his queen. As long as we get to kiss like this, I’m good with the deal.
I kiss him back just as fiercely, rising onto my toes and pressing my mouth to his with everything I have. Our tongues tangle, breaths mingling, the world narrowing to heat and hunger and the soft scrape of his beard against my skin.