Page 73 of Wolf Caged (Bound to the Shadow King #1)

SAPHIRA

I nky night erupted across the door of the cottage I sat outside of on a bench set against the grey stone that formed the lower half of the wall.

I kept my gaze on the forest that stretched below me, watching birds flitting between the trees, breathing deep of the clean air and savouring the silence.

“You are awake,” Kaeleron said.

“You are so observant,” I muttered, not in the mood for him.

He was ruining my peace.

It was hard to enjoy the warm glow of a morning after when the male who had been your bedroom partner the night before had done a disappearing act and once again taken no pleasure for himself. I had just about forgotten that he had rejected me again and here he was, reminding me.

“I have a task for you.” He came to stand beside me.

I kept looking at the forest. “Bother someone else.”

“I could order you to do it.”

I slid him a black look. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Because I refused to fuck you.” He was observant and astute. Bully for him. He huffed. “You are still not ready, little lamb.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “Stop calling me that.”

“Fine. If you are ready, if you can honestly say you will not blame your heat or regret it, then get up on your feet and I shall fuck you right here against this wall.” He slapped his hand against the timber and cream plaster near the door. “Come along then.”

My lips flattened as nerves rose, as I saw in his eyes he was serious and that if I wanted it, he would do it.

But the bastard was right. Every time I had asked him to take me, I had been wild and delirious, lost in the mating frenzy, and I would have regretted it in the morning, even more than I regretted asking him and having him turn me down.

“Come along, little wolf,” he purred, silver eyes growing hooded. “I promised I would fuck you one day, and I mean to keep that promise. Is a wall not good enough for you?”

He petted the damned thing, and the vision of him taking me against it, slamming my back into it and shaking the plaster loose, was wickedly hot, but I managed to school my expression into a deadly glare.

“Some other time then.” He smirked down at me.

I rolled my eyes. “What’s this task you want me to carry out? And if it involves your manhood and some pun about meat, I will bite it off. This cottage is beautiful, but the room service sucks. I’m starving.”

“I should have considered you would be hungry after such energetic activities.” His smirk widened as he held his hand out to me.

I eyed it suspiciously, earning an irritated huff from him.

“I have no nefarious plans, little wolf. I simply intend to return you to the castle. Unless you wish to run the gauntlet of the forest and see whether luck is with you today or not. Hunters have reported the harpy numbers are rising again. Just yesterday one of them was injured during an encounter with them. No deaths so far this year, but it is not even summer yet.”

I slapped my hand down onto his because I had read about the feathered half-female half-bird beings who stalked the woods of Lucia, and their taste for eating humanoid prey, and I didn’t want to test my luck today.

I was fast as a wolf, but I was tired too.

It would be just my shitty luck to run into a group of harpies and get eaten.

He curled his fingers around mine, his grip gentle. Teasing. Warm. He pulled me up onto my feet so quickly I stumbled into him, my body pressing against the hard length of his.

I shoved him back a few inches.

“So feisty. Are you always like this the morning after?” His husky chuckle sent a shiver tumbling down my spine, a trickle of pleasure that had me wanting to lean into him, to feel all his strength pressing against me. “Perhaps we were not energetic enough.”

“Since the only morning afters I’ve experienced have been here and I’ve had my reasons to be in a bad mood, then yes, I’m always grouchy.”

His fingers settled under my jaw and he tilted my head up, forcing my gaze up to his face as he towered over me, so close his breath skated across my lips as he stood there staring down at me.

What was that war in his eyes?

It looked like the one that echoed within me, tearing me between wanting all this male had to offer and wanting to run for the hills.

“Why don’t you take any pleasure for yourself?” My cheeks heated as I let that question fall from my lips, wishing I hadn’t put it out there but needing to know why he chose to always pleasure me, to take care of my needs, and deny himself. “Afterwards… did you… did you go and?—”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Pleasure myself?” he offered.

I forced myself to nod, even as I silently wanted to die of embarrassment.

“Not this time.”

“Why not?” My voice trembled. “Because there was no magic in the air making you horny?”

Oh my gods. I needed to shut up. But the part of me that needed to know why he did the things he did was stronger, louder, demanding I keep going.

“I found pleasure enough in breaking you, Saphira.”

“You’re kidding me.” I pulled back, refusing to believe that.

He shook his head, his handsome face solemn and serious. “I have found there is great pleasure to be had in tending to your needs, in feeling your tight little body trembling from my touch, and in hearing you crying my name when you?—”

I slapped a hand over his mouth, muffling his words. “That’s enough.”

He was grinning when he took hold of my hand and lowered it from his lips, and then pressed a kiss to it, his silver gaze hot and wicked as he said, “If you are so concerned about my pleasure, next time I will give you free rein. Whatever you desire, it will be yours.”

He pulled me against him, the feel of his hard body rousing dangerous heat in my veins as his words rang in my ears, evoking visions of us tangled together, bare limbs entwined as we both sought our pleasure.

Kaeleron lowered his mouth to my ear and teleported with me as he husked, “Might I suggest indulging your love of the taste of meat.”

My cheeks blazed, the vision of us tangled together transforming into one of me on my knees, his fist in my hair, my mouth on his cock as he worked his hips and grunted in pleasure.

“With your breakfast, of course.” He chuckled as the shadows parted to reveal my room and he released me, sweeping his hand out towards the table near the door to the balcony and the plate stacked with bacon and eggs.

“You bastard,” I muttered and shoved him away from me, that image still scorching my mind and heating my blood, flooding me with a need to make him pay for playing me like that.

Unfortunately, the only punishment I could come up with was one involving kneeling and untying his breeches, and that didn’t seem much like punishment.

I should have asked my mother how long a mating heat lasted.

I was sure it was to blame for my overactive mind and my perma-horny state.

It had nothing to do with any kind of attraction to Kaeleron.

“Just tell me what my stupid task is and leave me in peace.” I carried my breakfast tray out onto the balcony and yanked my chair out.

“I need you to scour the books in the library for any mention of An’sidwain. A stone.”

A stone?

What was so important about a stone?

I looked back at him to ask that, but he was already gone.

I devoured my breakfast, trying not to think about what Kaeleron had said about meat, and then bathed and dressed as quickly as I could manage, but I was tired, my head a little foggy and my movements sluggish.

Kaeleron had been surprised to find me awake.

I pondered that as I splashed water on my face and debated the merits of drinking another cup of tea.

Had he done something to me last night to help me sleep?

“I should have asked him to put me to sleep before I threw myself at him.” But I had asked him if magic could help me, and he had denied it, and I knew in my heart being put under by a spell wouldn’t have solved anything.

I would have woken up in a worse condition than I had been in before I had been put to sleep, and I didn’t want to think about how out of control I could possibly get.

I might not regret Kaeleron being with me, helping me through the frenzy, but I certainly would regret sleeping with some random male.

Or worse, with several random males.

Maybe Kaeleron was doing me a favour by keeping me so close whenever the heat struck me, by shutting me away in that cabin so far from anyone else and refusing to bring me a male to scratch my deepest carnal needs.

And maybe he would come good on his offer to give me what I really craved when the heat hit me next time.

I knew there would be a next time.

The pleasure he gave me was intense, satisfying, and broke my heat eventually, but it wasn’t enough to make it go away permanently. Sooner or later, he was going to have to either find me a male or step up to the plate.

Something told me he would step up to the plate and slaughter any male who even looked at me when I was wild with a need for a male.

I had the sneaking suspicion Kaeleron was a possessive kind of male, and that was the reason he had taken me to that cottage, away from any eligible males.

He wanted to keep me to himself.

And by the gods, some part of me liked that.

“Nope. Nope. Not good.” I shut down the warmth that stirred inside me over possessive Kaeleron, denying it before it got out of hand.

I didn’t need someone to fall in love with. Didn’t want to find myself in that position again, vulnerable and in danger of a broken heart. I knew the perils of love now, and I was going to steer well clear of it. Scratching biological itches was fine. The other thing was a huge no go.

“I’ll help him out with this vengeance of his, repay my debt and then it’s back to my pack.” Why did the thought of returning home to Canada fill me with a heavy feeling rather than one of joy?

I didn’t want to contemplate that either. I needed a distraction, and Kaeleron had given me the perfect one. Research!