Page 25

LILY

It started to rain.

I pulled back the curtain in the living room and watched the droplets strike the window then streak down. The branches of the olive trees were still because there was no wind. Just calm rain.

I kneeled before the fireplace and tossed on a few more logs in preparation for the cold that would seep through the cracks in greater volume.

“What does Zunieth mean?”

It was the first time I didn’t jump at his stealthy arrival.

I used the fire poker to put the logs into position, the ashes scattering as the older pieces of wood crumbled apart.

I returned the bronze poker to the stand and stood upright.

“You were there.” I turned to face him, seeing him standing in nothing but his trousers like he lived there with me.

A man strong like a tree, who could yank a mighty oak straight out of the ground and rip the roots.

When I’d spoken to my father in the courtyard, he was there.

I knew he could be in my presence even when I couldn’t see him.

That meant he could be there at any time… or all the time.

He moved to the couch and sat down, his stomach still flat even when seated. His skin glowed in the light of the fire, the muscles distinct under his tightness. Why did a man so beautiful have to be so bad? “What does it mean?”

“Dragons have their own language. It means hatchling.”

His eyes didn’t blink as he took me in.

My father and Khazmuda both called me that. Khazmuda always treated me like one of his own, even though I wasn’t covered in scales and couldn’t breathe fire. He would rub his snout against me and tuck me close like I’d just hatched out of the egg.

I went to Wrath on the couch, and instead of taking the seat beside him, I moved into his warm lap.

His arms immediately enveloped me like he wanted it or expected it. His warm palm slipped underneath my long shirt and gently touched my thigh. His other hand went straight into my hair, pushing it from my face like he didn’t want anything to obstruct his view.

I hadn’t expected him to join me all the other nights. His presence caught me off guard. But this time, I’d waited for his arrival. Waited for him to join me in bed. Waited for his narrow hips to squeeze between my thighs.

He stared at me for minutes, his look confident, his energy intense.

He could hold a stare like no one else. There was a calmness to him that was deeper than the slowest river.

For a man who ruled the dead, peace throbbed underneath his skin.

“Not everyone has the strength to embrace their destiny, but you do. You will bleed for your people and give your life if need be. You will rule for the people, not of the people.” His focused stare continued to drink me in. “You will be a mighty queen.”

He believed in me the way my parents believed in me. But they’d raised me, and he’d just met me. “You hardly know me.”

“I know you better than anyone.” He said it with complete confidence, with the calmness of that slow river.

“I’ve seen regimes rise and fall. I’ve watched greater men succumb to petty rewards.

You’re different, Lily Rothschild.” His fingers continued to graze me, to feel the softness of my thigh until he felt the hem of my underwear.

“I hardly know you.”

It was the first time his eyes flicked away.

“I would like to know you.” I had the power to end this at any time, but I continued to hold on. What was worse, I gripped tighter and tighter. Like a slick rope about to slip out of my grasp, I held on with both hands and heaved.

His eyes were on the fire now, his shadowed jawline distinct and sharp.

“Will you share with me?” I whispered.

“What do you wish to know?”

“Anything you’re willing to tell me.”

His fingers continued to touch me, squeezing hard to feel the definition of my muscle under my skin. It felt nice, his big hands so strong. “I lived in a very different time from yours. It’s been three hundred and seventy-seven years since I was mortal.”

“Wow.”

“Nearly four hundred years in your time, but it’s much longer in mine.”

“Why does time move differently for you?”

He never answered.

“Where did you live?”

“Outside a village called Dambridge. In a land far, far away from here. It’s been claimed by many different kings. Changed so much I wouldn’t recognize it if I ever returned. There’s no proof that I was ever there.”

“Did you have a family?”

“I did.”

“What kind of family?” Did he mean a wife and children? Or did he mean parents and siblings?

“I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where?” I asked. “How?”

“You said you liked white beaches. I know just the place.” He turned his head and looked at me again. “Can you spare a day or two?”

“I don’t have any plans tomorrow.”

“And if someone looks for you?”

“I doubt they will. But if they do, that could be a problem. Zehemoth won’t be able to feel my mind.”

He waited for me to make the decision.

“How does this work? Should I pack?”

“You don’t need anything.”

“And you will bring me back…right?”

His eyes hardened slightly in a hint of offense. “I’ve proven my dedication and loyalty to you. I’ve vowed never to take your life or your soul. I won’t justify your doubts with further reassurance.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“But you did, nonetheless.”

“Look, I’m not the kind of woman to blindly trust someone?—”

“It’s not blind. I warned you about the Barbarians, but you didn’t take my advice.

Then I killed an entire ship of men to keep you alive.

I’ve reminded you of all the qualities you possess but choose to ignore.

” His dark eyes hardened to the steel of a blade, and he faced off with me like an opponent. “Do you trust me or not?”

“Trust is a strong word.”

He continued to stare me down.

“Why can’t we stay here?”

“We can. I just wanted to show you more. Forget I asked.” He rose off the couch, making me slip into the corner like snow falling off a mountain.

“Don’t go.”

“I’m not in the mood to stay.” His back was to me, and he walked toward the fire, the details of his spine and the muscles around it reminding me of a thick tree with its roots.

I left the couch and moved behind him. “Please.” My hand moved to this thick arm, an arm so big I couldn’t grip it with both hands. “I’ve been waiting for you all day.”

He inhaled a slow breath but didn’t turn to face me.

I pressed my forehead underneath his shoulder, feeling the searing heat right against my skin. My arms circled his and hugged it close, like that would have any power to keep him here with me.

But he didn’t disappear.

“Take me to these white shores.”

After a long stare at the fire, he turned around to face me. His eyes remained restrained in anger, but he reached down and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly in his. And within the blink of an eye, we were somewhere else.

The hardwood floor was suddenly replaced by sand. I felt my feet dig in slightly once we were somewhere else. His grip steadied me so I wouldn’t slip farther.

The first thing I noticed was the sound of the waves, the warmth of the air the moment it touched my skin.

I turned to look at the water. It was dark except for the moonlight that reflected off it.

I watched the waves rise then crash onto the beach.

Some were higher than others, nearly reaching our feet.

I looked down the beach, expecting to see galleons or sloops, signs of people or a port, but there was no one around. No masts from ships in the distance. No torches from a city. It was just the two of us. “Where are we?”

“An island that’s never been found by humankind.”

I looked farther up the shore at the palm trees and the lush greenery. There was a mountain that stretched high into the darkness. Then I noticed a cabin there, a small little hut built farther inland but still close to the water. “Then how did that get here?”

“I built it.”

“You did?”

“I used to be a carpenter…in my old life.” He released my hand and walked up the shore until he reached the cabin.

It didn’t have windows and appeared to be made out of palms with a thatched roof.

It had two doors, and he pulled them apart, sliding them open to reveal a large opening that gave a premium view of the water.

It was modest, just a bed, a fireplace, and a couple chairs.

He took a seat in the armchair and looked at me, taking in my reaction to the cabin he had built with his big hands.

“I love it.” I crawled into his lap again, just the way I had earlier before I’d nearly driven him away.

But this time, I straddled his hips, my shirt rising over my own hips, and circled my arms around his neck.

With the light that reflected off the surface of the water, I looked into his hard eyes, watched them slowly soften as he stared.

His hands made their way to my ass, and he gave me a gentle squeeze, his dick springing to life through his trousers.

My hands moved over his thick shoulders and down his chest, feeling a man more powerful than any other I’d touched. I kissed his shoulder then his chest, my hands planting against his hard abs, worshipping a man who felt more like a statue than a person.

“You’re the only woman I’ve brought here.”

My hands paused over his warm body. “It’s awfully romantic to come here alone.” I didn’t think he was lying, not when his eyes were so steely in their confidence. I shouldn’t trust a word that came out of his mouth, not when he took people to their doom, but for some stupid reason…I did.

“I built this shortly after we met.”

Even though I was seated in his lap, we were at eye level to each other because of his large size. I hesitated at his words and then quickly pieced it together. “Because you knew I would love it.”

He rose to his feet and carried me with him with effortless ease. He took me the short distance to the bed and gently laid me down before he righted himself and dropped his trousers, revealing the big dick that was ready for me.