Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Mellow classical music filled the air.
My cats had taken to their luxurious new digs with the haughty entitlement only cats could make work.
I knew this because Comet was sitting on a stool at the kitchen bar, just his eyes tall enough to see over it to the food. He was quiet for once, openly content, his fluffy tail sweeping along the side of the seat (which made me wonder if Aleksei had been feeding him scraps).
Nova was curled asleep in an armchair.
And Jupiter was fully visible, enjoying the heat from the fireplace and his spectacular view, lying hunkered down on his belly on the ledge by the window, his attention to the craft traffic and city lights.
And from Aleksei’s oven came the mouthwatering scent of roasting meat.
More mouthwatering, the amazing male standing among all of this, the lights gleaming blue on his jet-black hair, his shoulders strong and wide enough to hold up an entire realm, his eyes, twin nights, aimed at me.
Suddenly and inexplicably, at this reminder I was being courted by the True Heir, who happened to be my fated mate, and just how much effort he was putting into that, I was struck shy.
And moved deep to my soul.
To hide that, I quipped, “Why, your royal highness, I sense you intend to seduce me.”
Standing at the kitchen counter, building a salad, he ordered, “Come here.”
I went right there.
I mean, what would you do?
I set my bag on the kitchen counter.
Aleksei pulled a dishtowel off his shoulder, wiped his hands, tossed it aside, and was at the ready to cup my face in both hands and dip right in for a lip touch when I made it to him.
He didn’t lift his head far nor take his hands from my face, when he asked, his voice straight to rich velvet, “How was your day?”
“Bodi, that’s my director, told me I don’t have to bother with offering another direction for the costumes. He’s all in with where we are. Casting is almost complete. We’ll start fittings in a few weeks. Oh, and he congratulates both of us on our mating.”
“Mm,” he hummed, and he could have been doing that right between my legs, such was that area’s response to the sound.
So, when I continued, it was breathy. “And I figured out how to make troll skin.”
His brows rose with heartwarming interest in my work. “How’s that?”
“I was trying overlapping. When that failed, gathering. But I should have been scoring. It’s perfect.”
“Excellent.”
“How are you?”
“Better, now that you’re home.”
Gods, this male, this amazing male, was my male.
For sure, I could stand there, my face in his hands, his face all I could see, and I suspected I could do that for a long time.
Maybe years.
And definitely, that timidity I felt was still there, low level, partly because I couldn’t believe my luck. Mostly because he was just so magnificent.
But farg this noise.
I threw my arms around his neck, got up to the tips of my toes and kissed him.
My tongue darted inside to taste his heat and musk, but his forced it out to feast on mine. Together, they danced delightfully as his hands slid from my face, one going into my hair, the other trailing a delicious line of fire down my back.
I pressed closer, feeling his heat, his hardness, his strength, his immense energy, and when he nipped my lower lip between deep kisses, I whimpered.
At the sound, his head shot back.
Losing him, I whimpered again and dazedly opened my eyes.
It was then, he growled.
And that was when I learned he’d been keeping it light.
The kiss he came back with was greedy, hungry, devouring.
I’d never been kissed so thoroughly.
I’d never had any lover demand so much of me, while giving the world in return.
I pressed all the closer, practically burrowing into him, and moaned into his mouth.
He hauled me up his chest then smacked my behind, causing a ripple of decadent sensation to tingle over my entire body, and I knew instantly what he was demanding.
I wrapped my legs around his waist.
He turned, and all the while kissing, up the steps we went, into his room.
He lifted a knee, and then we were down on his bed.
Yes, good call.
This was so much better.
I wanted to flip him to get more of him, but there was none of that happening.
Oh no.
Aleksei kept me firmly under him as he plundered my mouth. He pillaged my neck. He invaded the shells of my ears.
All the while his hands moved, dragging, gripping, claiming.
I was able to get mine up his shirt and another whimper escaped at encountering the silken heat and hardness, skin to skin, of his back.
My hands were removed, though, when he arched away, and my shirt was up, so my arms were too, then my shirt was gone, my hair flying all over his bedclothes.