Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"Come for me, angel." His fingers dig into my thighs with possessive command.
I shudder around him, my release tearing through me like a tempest. My cries fill the cabin, echoing in the corners.
"Thalia… yes…" His own climax crashes over him, his hips bucking as he spills across my lips and tongue, hot and unrestrained.
I collapse on top of him, moaning, shaking.
We're a tangle of limbs and labored breaths, our sweaty bodies sticking together. He flips me around so I'm facing him, his chest heaving against mine. The heat of his skin brands me.
His lips find my forehead in a tender kiss that makes my heart flutter.
"Been waiting for you forever," he murmurs, wrapping his arms around me almost protectively.His breathing evens out as sleep claims him, but I lie awake for a long time, worried that this man who values control above everything else—who says he's been waiting for me forever—might change his mind about me when he knows the truth.Can he learn to love me with destiny guiding him? I don't know.But as his strong heartbeat lulls me to the edge of sleep, for the first time in years, my curse doesn't reign. Hope does.
Chapter Five
Troy
Iwake with a start, reaching for Thalia as my cock throbs, need churning through me.
I find only cold sheets and an empty bed.
A sharp lance of panic pierces through me, the sickening churn in my stomach telling me the worst has happened. While I slept like the dead, at peace for once in my life, my sweet little Thalia ran from me. I pushed her too far, asked for too much, too soon.
No. Fuck no.
My feet hit the floor, my heart thundering like a ferocious storm as I charge across the room, a growl rumbling in my throat. I'll find her and bring her back. She's mine. She can't leave. She promised.
I stumble into the main room, my mind reeling with devastation, only to come to a dead stop at the sight before me.
Thalia.
"Good morning." She peeks up at me through her lashes, a sweet smile dancing on her lips as she stands in the kitchen. Sunlight streams through the window, crowning her in a halo.
My cock jerks at the sight of her in nothing but my shirt. It swallows her, hitting her at the knees, hinting at the lush curves and ripe softness beneath. Her hair is wild around her face, her lips still bruised from my kisses.
Seeing her like this is an intimacy that grips me tighter than any shackle. I fucking love it. Christ. I'm not supposed to feel this way. She's supposed to be mine, not the other way around.
So why does it feel more and more like I'm becoming hers? Every fucking second since I discovered her in my bed, I feel like I'm falling under her spell, like she's bewitching me.
There's something about her that calls to some primal, primordial part of me. I felt it before I ever told her she was mine last night. Whatever is happening between us—it's not natural, I know that much. This is magic, potent and raw. Powerful.
I should hate it. I should resent the hell out of it. I'm supposed to be the master of my fate, the one who controls my destiny. But I don't.
And for the first time in my life, I don't care.
If she's my destiny, I'll gladly bow to fate.
Already, she's become something vital. Something precious. That matters more than control. I think it might matter more than anything.
"I hope you don't mind," she continues sweetly, gesturing to the assortment of food spread across the table. There isn't much—only what she was able to find in the cabinets. Deer jerky, canned fruit, trail mix, a few crackers, and cheese spread. "I used what I could find to make us something to eat."
"Mind?" I stride over, claiming her lips with a hunger that borders on desperation. The kiss is hard, demanding, a silent declaration of everything she's stirring within me. It's a complicated tangle of light and dark, of want and need. I want to worship and devour her in turns. "Never."
Her soft gasp is my undoing.
I pull her down onto my lap at the table, slipping my hands beneath the thin t-shirt. She trembles in my arms as I explore her body, groaning. She's so fucking soft, so sweet.
I reach for a bite of peach, holding it out to her.
My cock twitches as her lips close around them, her eyes locked on mine. She draws back, pulling the fruit into her mouth. The mischief in her eyes tells me she knows precisely what she's doing.
"Thalia," I warn, my voice strained. "You're playing with fire."
"Maybe I need to be warmed up, Troy," she counters, her sapphire eyes filled with challenge.
I can't help but chuckle, despite the battle raging within me. "You have no idea what you're getting into, sweet Thalia."