Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Fluttering my fingers, I tolerated the sensation, then settled, knowing he had done this because I had mentioned watching lovers hold hands when I had toured the city.
Because he knew it was something that had caught my attention enough to mention.
“I can give you so much more than this, if you would let me.” Tucking away a bit of my hair that had been caught up in the wind, he added, “Tell me other things you desire from your mate, and see the mountains I will move for you.”
There was something inside me that felt unsteady with such words, a part of me that was uncomfortable walking uncharted territory with such a male.
Nervous, I sucked my lower lip into my mouth, glancing away and knowing my face had grown far too warm. “I don’t know what to ask for.”
Charmed, Cyderial let the evil melt right off his face, a soft smile on his lips as he said, “Let’s start small. If you see anything at the market stalls that catches your eye, let me know.”
“To buy?” I didn’t have any money or even access to an account. I literally owned nothing, not even the sword I used for years at the academy. Not to say I was not a bit of a magpie; sparkly things were something I very much enjoyed.
If he was going to let me buy something, I was not going to refuse.
With an innocuous smirk, he gave me a nod. “Anything you want.”
This was going to be so much more fun!
Grinning at all the possibilities before me, I warned, “Don’t give your enemy a weapon of that caliber. I might tell you to buy me everything out of spite.”
Raising our joined hands to his lips, he laid a kiss on my glittering skin. “You are not my enemy; you are my beloved mate. And I trust you will not abuse the privilege of my driving need to give you things—unless, of course, you’re looking forward to a lesson on self-discipline. I could think of some creative ways to leave you far more frustrated than you were in the shower this morning.”
Suddenly scarlet to my roots, I hissed lowly, “People can hear you.”
Bending down to nip my ear, he whispered, “Imagine what they would think if you had begged for my knot. You’d be round and full of me for all of them to see.”
Shivering off the sensation of another bite, I pulled away from his teasing to glare. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“It’s adorable.” The austere general had softened somewhat, his thoughts clearly carnal. “And I promise you this. Next time I escort you into the city, you will have a belly so huge every single person will know just how hard I fucked you.”
His words inspired a fast-spreading warmth under my skin that made me instantly panicked that he taunted me right into heat. That I had ruined my chance for fun by not begging in the shower.
That he was going to cart me off before I might know a taste of freedom, or do something horrible, like use me right there so everyone watching would know I was his.
“Lorieyn, whatever wicked thing you are thinking”—he dared to pull me close and put those wicked lips right back to my ear—“I can do so much worse. Remember that.”
“Stop. You win, okay?” I did not have the stamina or the experience to think clearly when he could outmaneuver me so easily. “Please don’t make my body do something that will ruin my chance to see my mother.”
“My dear, that’s not—”
The heat, the blush, the nerve of the man. Arousal turned to anger, my overloaded nervous system leaving me to grind my teeth together. “Let it be known, I was going to ask for a knot after we returned to your home, but now I think I might hold out on principle. I’d rather suffer than be bullied in front of a bunch of strangers. I bet I can outlast the heat to the point it drives you slowly insane. I can make you watch me suffer.”
Dumbfounded.
The general was actually dumbfounded.
“You were intending to submit, hmm?” Leaning back to measure my expression, he narrowed his eyes. “I do not believe you.”
“I’ve never been a fan of pointless masochism.” Hissing, I gladly countered his attack and delivered the death blow with a sardonic smirk. “And maybe I enjoyed the way you touched me last night. But you should know better than to make me beg.”
Preening from so simple a compliment, he began to purr, right there, out in the open. Pointedly ignoring the rest of what I snarled, he put his free arm around me. “I’ve only just begun exploring how I might pleasure you. But I will respect your modesty and save that conversation for later.”
Cyderial acknowledged his surrender with another kiss to the back of my hand.