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Chapter Thirteen
VAARIN
T halia is an idealist? She believes in soul mates, or at least she wants to. Is that what she hopes to get from Dylon? A band of guilt wraps around my chest. Dylon is handsome and charismatic, but his heart is fickle, and he flits from female to female. Will he give Thalia what she desires? Will he love her? Why does it matter so much to me?
I glance down at her sleeping form. She’s left her people and her home to forge an alliance with us, and I owe it to her to ensure that she is happy.
But will she be happy with Dylon?
I’ll kill him if he hurts her.
She moans softly in her sleep, and I hold her tighter, something warm and alien unfurling inside me. Exhilarating and yet frightening. I swallow the lump in my throat, my mind whirring. What is this feeling? Could it be….? No. I’m attracted to her, that is all. Her body. Her scent. Nothing more. It will pass.
It must.
* * *
It vexes me how well I sleep with the princess in my arms. I wake refreshed, her scent in my nose, her pliant body pressed to mine. Her face turned up toward me as if she’s offering me her lips for a kiss. I’m tempted to claim them. To taste her just once, and it takes all my will to extricate myself from the cage of her warm limbs and step out into the cold where the icy air can cool my ardor.
I feel her stir behind me before she speaks. “Time to move?”
I glance over my shoulder to see her propped on an elbow, hair cascading over her shoulders, eyes still heavy with sleep, and that mouth…that delectable mouth parted slightly.
I turn away and take a breath of icy air. “Yes, it’s time to go. There’s heavy winter clothing in the basket by the wall. Put it on. This isle is renowned for its blizzards, and one could hit at any time.”
She’s ready fast—boots on, hair up in a knot, a few sips of water and a seed and nut bar, and we’re on our way.
I’m impressed.
She talks for a while, asking about the island that will be gifted to her people, about its soil and its topography. About the town that was built there. I answer as best I can, but truth be told, I’m too captivated by the cadence of her voice. There is a sultry undertone to it that teases the male in me.
She falls silent as the terrain gets rougher, focusing on the path, or lack thereof.
She’s fast and nimble on her feet, and we make good time over the rocky land. The pass narrows and widens at intervals, rising and dipping, but she doesn’t beg to stop and rest, keeping up easily as I forge the path ahead, searching for any hazards.
It irks me that I find myself stealing glances at her. I tell myself that here, surrounded by brush and stone, there isn’t much to look at, and Princess Thalia makes for interesting scenery, and so I ogle where I can. The curve of her cheek, the arch of her brow, the swell of her breasts and her ass. That ass…it had felt good beneath my hand, firm yet pliant, and the sounds she’d made…
My cock stiffens, and I clench my teeth. She is not mine to covet. I must relieve myself of these thoughts.
She slips, and I grab her arm. It’s enough to steady her, but I pull her against me regardless, hungry for the feel of her in my arms. She doesn’t resist, clinging to me and breathing hard. I inhale her sweet scent, and it leaves me dizzy.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.” Her gaze flickers across my face, a caress I want to lean into.
And tides save me, the way she looks at me with her wide green eyes makes me want to push her up against the rock face and plunder her mouth with my tongue, and maybe other places too, like the hot wet place between her thighs. I wonder what she’d taste like.
“Vaarin?”
Frack, my name on her lips…I release her and stride ahead, suddenly irritated with this whole thing. “Hurry. Daylight is wasting. We have a good few hours till we reach out next rest stop.”