Chapter 30

I f my life depended on it, I would never have admitted to Frima how long it took me to get out of the dress.

Every swear word I had ever learned left my lips as I fought with the heavy velvet fabric and the intricate gold lace. The tiny hooks in the collar were enough to put me into a rage, and when I realized I then had to remove the dozens of pins from my hair, I had had enough.

I picked up the glass of fae wine, and downed it.

I had precious few hours left to sleep and my head, heart and body were burning with too much energy to have any chance of rest.

I believed that Prince would not take advantage of me while I slept. And I believed that Frima had been right about my room being safe. I was under the Prince’s protection, and the door was locked with magic I assumed only his warriors knew how to get through.

If I had a shot at uninterrupted sleep, I was going to take it.

It didn’t take long for a pleasant fuzziness to wash over my senses, and within ten minutes, I found myself enjoying the meditative act of combing my fingers through my hair, looking for pins.

When I was sure I had them all, I put on the long shift and clambered into the unnecessarily large bed.

My mind blessedly slow, I fell asleep in seconds.

I was laying on a stone table, the surface cool and smooth beneath my bare skin. Completely bare skin, I realized. I was wearing nothing at all.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows and blinked around, frowning when I realized where I was.

I was inside the trunk of Yggdrasil .

The soft trickling sound of the water and the bright, warm glow of light was glorious after days in the gloom of the Shadow Court, and a smile played around my lips.

"You should smile more, gildi ."

My eyes snapped to the end of the table. Prince Mazrith was standing there, and I sucked in a breath.

He was wearing no shirt, and he was magnificent.

His body was a thing of glory, hard and muscular, and dusted with dark hair. His sculpted abs and wide, powerful shoulders covered in tattoos of runes. Huge arms, corded with muscle, hung at his sides, his hands clenched into fists. His hair was loose, falling around his shoulders, and his bright eyes glittered as he stared down at me.

All of me.

I squeezed my thighs together, feeling my whole body grow hot.

He made a growling noise deep in his chest.

"Do you know what gildi means?"

I shook my head.

"It means feast. You, my betrothed, are my feast."

And he truly looked like he wanted to devour me, eyes roving over every inch of skin.

I scooted back on the stone table.

"This is a dream." The words left my own lips, and I paused, considering them.

This was a dream. A surreal awareness descended over me as I blinked around, first at my revered surroundings, then at the half-naked fae prince before me.

"This is a dream." I said it louder, accepting it.

Mazrith's smile turned wicked. "Then there's no harm in letting me do as I like with you."

I shook my head. "I won't let you touch me."

His eyes raked over my naked body and he made that growling noise deep in his throat again. "You will."

"No."

His eyes left my breasts, and found mine. “If I swear not to touch you will you let yourself enjoy this dream of yours?"

I narrowed my eyes.

Fae couldn't get into dreams.

Could they?

No, I told myself. I had been warned that fae wine would make me dream about sex, and here I was, dreaming about sex.

This was only in my head.

Curiosity crept over me as I relaxed. "What could you do without touching me?"

He raised one hand slowly, and his staff appeared in it.

Definitely a dream. Fae couldn't make staffs appear out of nowhere.

A sliver of shadow flowed from the tip of the staff, and Mazrith ran a tongue over his full lips, eyes darkening.

"What… what are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to lay a finger on you," he replied. The shadow flowed toward me, whispering over my clenched together knees. "But I'm going to make you beg me to."

"I won't beg.”

"You will."

The shadow pressed against my knees, and I gasped as it touched my skin. It was so cold. It flowed over my bare legs and hips, sending goosebumps prickling over my skin, and I shivered.

"I won't."

"You won't just beg for my touch," he growled. A moan escaped my lips as the shadow crept up my stomach, its coldness making my nipples stand up hard. It flowed around them, sending shivers straight to my center.

"I won't beg you for anything," I hissed, locking my eyes on his. They were alive with desire. With need.

"You will beg me for this." At his words, his trousers disappeared.

Freya help me, everything else around me disappeared. I couldn't take my eyes from what was between his legs.

He was so big. Huge and hard, and standing up his stomach, glistening and thick.

“No, I won't." My voice was breathy and weak. The shadow circled around my nipples, sending tingles of pleasure through my body. Mazrith groaned, and grasped his cock with his hand, moving it up and down slowly.

Heat flooded my core and I bit down hard on my lip.

It's a dream. It's a dream.

The shadow flowed down my stomach, reaching my knees. Slowly, it eased them apart.

It's a dream.

I relented, letting my knees fall and exposing myself to the Prince.

His grip tightened as his eyes fell on me.

"You're beautiful," he growled. "And you want me."

My wetness must have shown, and I whimpered as the shadow crept closer and closer to my core, swirling trails of icy pleasure up my inner thighs.

"I will not beg," I ground out, still unable to take my eyes from his hand, slowly and deliberately stroking his huge cock.

The shadow pressed to my wetness, and I cried out, my hips jerking.

It was so cold, and I was so hot.

It moved again, flowing around my most sensitive areas, exploring. My eyes closed as pleasure rushed through me. I groaned as the shadow danced over my clit, sending sparks of searing sensation rippling through me.

"You will beg me to fill you."

My breathing deepened and the cold grew more intense, so cool against my burning core.

I rocked my hips, aching for the touch to be firmer.

"You will beg me to make you scream."

My body was on fire. I was so hot, so wet. The cold of the shadow was the only thing that could quench the heat flooding my body.

"One day," Mazrith growled. "One day you will plead for my cock. You will beg for me to fuck you. And I will take you, and you will be mine."

Every word he spoke seemed to fuel the pleasure the shadow was wrapping me in, the pressure in my core growing. I moaned and pressed my hips forward, pressing myself into the shadow.

"Look at me," Mazrith growled. I opened my eyes, seeing his hand moving hard and fast around his massive cock, and the burning desire in his face.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. The shadow danced over my clit, the pleasure building to a crescendo inside of me. I couldn't speak, barely able to breathe.

It was too much. The heat, the pleasure, the sight of him. It was all too much.

With a cry, I exploded.

Every muscle in my body tensed and froze, my hips jerking forward again and again. I felt as if I were floating, my vision white and my body tingling. Sensation flowed through me, from my toes to my fingertips, everything alight with intense pleasure. Mazrith groaned, his hand pumping hard around his cock, then he leaned back, eyes closing. His cock jerked, a thick pearl of his seed spilling over his hand, and then another and another.

I swallowed, my body aching and my core still throbbing with pleasure, and my eyes glued to the sight before me.

A loud banging crashed through my hazy pleasure.

“What the…”

Mazrith’s eyes found mine. “Time to wake up, gildi .”