Page 83 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)

Alezya was confused.

She lay in bed, in Kassein’s arms, utterly perplexed about what had happened. It had been a very long day, and a lot had happened; not all of which she had understood.

Lorey and Kiera had taken her to a very strange mountain, the darkest mountain she’d ever seen, and that place had turned out to be Kassein’s home.

His childhood home, but for some reason, he didn’t seem happy to be there at all.

He had taken her around, showed her the rooms where he and his siblings had grown up, and then, one of his sister’s beds had made him talk a lot with that pained expression of his.

Alezya hadn’t understood it all, but beyond that, she had hated to see how deeply hurt he seemed to be. Kassein wasn’t a man who smiled often, but there was something that had seemed far more painful than usual in his green eyes when he’d talked.

She wished she could have understood everything so she could have helped him more.

She wasn’t learning fast enough, although Lorey was doing her best to teach her.

When they spoke to her with intention, she could decipher their meaning, but she was lost as soon as they began to discuss something a bit more complex.

Like when Kassein had argued with his sister.

.. He had seemed angry at her, and she couldn’t understand why.

Maybe because Kiera had taken her to that place?

But Kassein didn’t have to show up; the three of them would have returned by the evening either way...

She let out a faint sigh and felt Kassein’s arm tighten around her. His strong, warm torso sent a new heat wave down her spine.

Alezya frowned. He was breathing slowly in her neck, but she was wide awake and feeling slightly annoyed, if not upset, at him.

Why had he gone straight to sleep? How could he go to sleep after what had happened between them earlier?

She was so sure something more would happen that night that now, she just felt disappointed. It was torture and humiliating too.

The things he had done in Lorey’s space earlier.

.. Her entire body heated up at the mere memory of it.

She had never experienced such a thing. A man pleasing her solely to please her.

Her previous husband had always taken. Roughly, painfully, regardless of her will.

She had always thought lying with a man was her duty as a woman.

When she had been with him, she had no one to talk to about it, and when she’d been sent back to her clan in disgrace, there was no one the pariah she’d become could have confided in.

But she had heard her sisters and cousins recount different experiences.

She had been too young at the time to understand, and when she had been old enough to, she couldn’t associate the tales of pleasure they had told with the violence she’d experienced.

For years, she had wondered if something was wrong with her, why she couldn’t experience the things they talked about... and, in one afternoon, a mere moment, Kassein had blown her mind in more ways than one.

She felt the heat rise again in her chest as her thoughts drifted back to the memory of his fingers and the ways he’d touched her, made her cry and writhe.

Her husband had never touched her like that.

He had never cared about her at all, and yet, as it turned out, it could be a two-way thing.

.. and Kassein had caught her off guard some more by pleasuring her without expecting anything in return.

She was still stunned, and every day, this man baffled her more and more.

She couldn’t tell if he was a strange man, or if this whole world of his was the strange one.

She had been harassed by some of his warriors before, but on the other hand, some of them, like Dajan, showed her respect a warrior would have never owed a woman.

Kassein, who was the mightiest warrior of all, commanding every space he stood in, had the highest status and should have the most rights over her, a mere woman, and a prisoner at that.

But by now, it had become abundantly clear that she was no prisoner, and he obeyed no rule she knew.

He was kind, protective, and considerate at all times.

He never forced her to do anything, while her ex-husband wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

He gave her comfort over his own, fed her, healed her, cared for her in ways she never thought someone would ever again.

Every single time, it felt like Kassein was wrecking her world and proving all her expectations wrong.

Alezya let out a faint sigh and carefully rolled around to face his chest. He was a strong man, and she loved how his skin was always warm.

There was no pretending anymore; she knew she was falling fast and hard.

How could she not? A man showing her kindness when she was at her most vulnerable was bound to break all the defenses she’d built around her heart.

She laid her cheek on his arm, and sure enough, she felt his arm tighten around her again.

She was still a bit bitter about him not touching her, but maybe she was missing something.

She hadn’t seen him all afternoon, so maybe he was tired.

Not that she’d ever think a man like Kassein could get very tired. ..

Moreover, did she want him that badly? He had given her pleasure, but the more traditional way for a man to be with a woman was bound to be painful, so why was she expecting it? Why did she even want it?

It had nothing to do with her father’s horrible plan; she didn’t want to get pregnant and risk her father using that baby, and either way, she was sleeping in Kassein’s home every night. Her father’s spies couldn’t tell what was actually happening inside.

If her plan worked, she would fool them regardless, hopefully long enough to get Lumie out of their clutches. She didn’t need to sleep with him, but she wanted to.

Perhaps she was curious. Curious to see what it felt like to be with a man who actually cared for her.

Perhaps she wanted to experience that thing her sisters and cousins had talked about, the senseless thing about sex between a man and a woman feeling good.

.. because Kassein had already made her experience a glimpse of that.

The first orgasm of her life... and she would never be able to forget how good that was.

Worse, she was dying to feel that sensation again, like an addiction threatening to take root in her body.

The mere nearness of him, of those hands, was enough to make her blush and heat up.

Alezya couldn’t fall asleep, although she’d had quite a busy day with all that training with his sister.

Instead, she found herself dreaming of a life she would have never thought possible, down here, with the Dragon Clan, with him, and with Lumie.

Her baby girl... Would he accept her? Alezya wanted to think yes, but she was terrified it might be her own delusions and that perhaps Kassein’s attitude would change if he came to find out she had a child, an unusual child, with a different man.

She could tell he already had his suspicions. Every single time the word baby came from either of their mouths, something tensed ever so subtly. When she had seen that beautiful crib earlier... she hadn’t been able to stop herself from imagining Lumie in it.

Would Kassein watch over her baby like he watched over Alezya?

She fell asleep with her doubts taking root in her heart, right next to the hope that had dared to blossom already.

The next morning, she woke up to the sounds of wind battering the sides of the habitation.

She could tell precisely where Kein had decided to lie because only one portion of the thick leather panels surrounding them wasn’t shaking, the wind most likely blocked by the dragon’s humongous body.

Alezya turned her head; they had moved in their sleep, and while she was now on her back, Kassein’s arm was under the pillow under her head, his other arm around her waist, and his breathing was tickling her bare shoulder, his face buried against her neck. She smiled and turned to face him again.

She’d shaved him the previous day, but spiky little hairs were already sprouting back on his chin.

Alezya bit her lower lip and brought her fingers up to caress the tip of the little spikes on his chin, right below those thick lips of his.

.. Kassein’s hand suddenly captured her fingers, taking her by surprise, and he smiled with his eyes still closed.

While Alezya blushed, he pulled her fingertips to his lips instead, pressing a kiss against them before weaving their fingers together and drawing her hand against his chest.

“Kassein,” she whispered.

He answered with a deep rumble of his voice, clearly unwilling to wake up just yet. She smiled. He acted surprisingly childish at times...

So, she decided to act playful too, and lifted her body to put a kiss on his lips. This finally made him open his eyes, a dreamy green staring back at her.

She loved his eyes. They looked like the green of a pine tree in the spring: deep, dark, and vivid irises with hints of gold in them.

His sister’s eyes were a lighter green, and she wondered if all their siblings had green eyes.

Her people all had brown or black eyes, and Lumie had been the first child she’d ever seen with such pale eyes.

Would he mind her baby’s strange appearance? Was there anyone like her in their clan?

Kassein kept her thoughts from spiraling any further by pressing another kiss on her forehead, on her nose, and then on her lips.

A tender, slow kiss that ignited something in her again.

She could tell he only intended to give her a deep morning kiss, but the woman in her had been awoken by his attentiveness yesterday, and now, she craved more at every chance she got.