Page 18

RAPUNZEL

I wake up surrounded by warmth. Stretching my arms and legs, I yawn loudly but then go still when I feel something tighten around my waist.

Still a bit foggy, it takes me a moment to realize it’s Ren’s arm. I twist my head back to look at him. His body is pressed along the length of mine and his eyes are still closed in sleep. The warm mint of his breath whispers across the back of my neck.

I don’t remember falling asleep with him last night, but I’m reluctant to move. His masculine scent of fresh pine and earth surrounds me.

Slowly, I turn in his arms to face him. His lashes flutter and his golden, fox-fire eyes meet mine. “Amira,” he says, voice rough with sleep.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s all right.” He gives me a sleepy smile. “You can wake me anytime.”

His short, red hair falls across his eyes.

Tentatively, I reach up and comb it back from his face.

He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.

My gaze travels over the scar that cuts across the strong line of his right brow and down to his cheek.

Without thinking, I brush my fingertips over the faint silver line. “How did you get this?”

A shadow of pain flickers across his features as he wraps his fingers around mine, pulling my hand away.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine.” Ren looks down, swallowing hard. “I’m just… I”—he sighs heavily—“I suppose I’m just sensitive about it.”

“Does it ache?”

“Only when someone looks at it too hard.” Sadness laces his voice. “A scar is a sign of weakness among my people.”

“Why?”

“It’s a primitive thing, I suppose,” he says bitterly. “It means I couldn’t defend myself. And if I cannot do that, then it’s assumed that I would be unable to protect a mate or any kits we may have.”

Indignation flares through me. “That’s ridiculous. You’re beautiful, Ren.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Beautiful, huh?” he smirks playfully, despite the vulnerability lingering in his expression. “Just what every male wants to hear from a female.”

“You’re handsome and you know it,” I tease. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

He arches a brow. “Am I?”

“Yes,” I whisper as I reach up and lightly touch his scar. He goes still beneath my hand. “It doesn’t make you any less in my eyes, Ren.”

Hesitantly, he brushes his fingers along my jaw, staring at me in wonder. “It truly doesn’t bother you?”

My heart squeezes at the raw, earnest hope in his voice. “No.”

Relief floods his expression, melting away the lingering shadows. His smile is soft, hesitant, filled with fragile longing as he brushes his thumb lightly across my cheek.

As his gaze holds mine, something inside me makes me bold, and I lean in.

We’re so close that we share each breath. My heart hammers as I brush my lips lightly against his. He goes still and I lose my nerve. Uncertain if he wants this, I start to pull away, but he cups the back of my head and I stop.

His eyes search mine a moment before they drop to my mouth. “May I kiss you, my beautiful amira?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

He presses his mouth to mine in a tender kiss, gentle and coaxing. His hand slides into my hair, angling my head as he deepens our kiss, stealing the breath from my lungs.

His lips are warm and demanding, reverent and hungry all at once. He slips his tongue into my mouth and finds mine, curling around it. My entire body hums in awareness of his as he pulls me closer.

I gasp as he rolls me beneath him. With one leg between mine, the hard length of his manhood presses insistently against my inner thigh.

I’ve never felt anything like this before.

He groans as I trace my hand down his back, exploring his body, feeling the muscles along the length of his spine.

Our kisses grow hungrier and I arch up against him, loving the weight of his body as he presses me into the soft mattress. He pulls back and drops his forehead to mine, eyes closed as we lie together, breathless and panting.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs. “And I will.”

I nod and then cup the back of his neck, pulling his lips back down to mine.

He captures my mouth in a searing kiss, and I open to him, our mouths meshing repeatedly as he devours me with his lips and his tongue.

Arching against him, I’m lost in sensation. A deep growl vibrates in his chest as he fists the back of my gown and rolls his hips against mine, creating a delicious friction between us.

He groans as I tangle my fingers in his hair, but when I stroke his ears, he jerks back as if burned.

I blink, breathless and flushed as he stares down at me, his amber eyes wide. “We need to stop,” he rasps, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.

His words are like a slap to the face and I freeze.

“Oh.” I blink up at him. “Did I do something wrong?”

Anxiety spirals through me, embarrassment scorching my cheeks. I’ve never done this before and I worry that I’ve messed up somehow… done something I shouldn’t, but I don’t know what.

“Rapunzel, I—”

A knock pounds at the door, cutting him off and startling us both.

Ren’s jaw clenches. “Not now,” he growls under his breath.

Another knock, more insistent this time.

“Ren? Rapunzel?” Aelric’s voice drifts through the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important…”

Ren’s entire body goes tense.

I wrap the blanket tighter around myself like armor. I’m too embarrassed to even look at Ren, still not sure what I did wrong.

Eager to escape this new awkwardness between us, I slide off the bed and rush to the door. When I open it, Aelric’s golden eyes rake over my disheveled state and his nostrils flare.

“I apologize for the interruption,” he says, “but I have found someone I think you may be interested to talk to.”

“Who?”

“Someone who recognized the male in your drawing.”