Chapter 26

That first flick of his tongue drove out all thought of Rion or the men I wanted to hire. It was the potential of pleasure—slippery, slick, there and gone again—that had me gripping his head. Another lick, then another, teasing things that made me all too aware of a part of my body that was beyond my consciousness most of the time. Then Creed reminded me of exactly what I was—a woman who could experience bittersweet heights of pleasure—when he growled into me, and the vibrations sent my nerve endings into a frenzy, seeking more. Just as I felt a small curl of fear that he wouldn't give me what I needed, he lunged forward.

His claws dug into my thighs, almost to the point of pain, and I was held fast by this predator with his prey. However, an antelope did not cry out in ecstasy when the lion dragged it down, but I did as Creed pinned me in place. I was no deer, no rabbit. My grip on his hair was just as savage as his hold on me; the result being that the two of us were fighting a battle of sorts.

One in which I would be the victor, regardless.

His tongue lapped at my aching entrance, then worked its way inside, filling me in the way I craved, yet it was not enough to soothe the ache. I twisted helplessly on the chair, letting out a little whimper as I pulled tighter on his hair, seeking something, anything, to ease the sensation. He dragged his tongue free and laved it over the sensitive bundle of nerves, making me cry out anew. And then sharp fangs pressed against me as he sucked hard, and I was overcome.

Was it always going to be like this? Would I always tip over the edge of pleasure with such ease with whoever I ended up marrying? And would I think of the beast man of Khean when I did, instead of seeing my husband's face? My eyes snapped open, wide and unfocused, as I jerked and twitched, riding those iridescent waves of pleasure. But the tide didn't go out. It only receded slightly, readying itself to crash down again.

He stared up at me, licking his lips. As I looked down at him, trying to catch my breath, those wolf's eyes pierced mine. Fur swept across his skin, there and gone again. When he lifted his head slightly, I saw another way he was different to a human man. His tongue lengthened, growing thicker, and his eyes gleamed as he went back for more.

I was too sensitive, and I raked my nails across his scalp, scoring his skin. He made no sound of pain. Instead, he moaned his pleasure into me, sharing it with me.

That tongue worked its way back inside me, but now it did more than fill me. Now it stretched me. Muscular, thick, yet soft, it pushed its way into every part of me, invading me, yet causing no pain. The sensation of feeling full was incredible, making me realise that I'd been so empty. With each forceful thrust of his tongue, his nose nudged the nub hidden at the top of my cleft. When I felt the same peak beginning again, I stiffened, clamping down hard. Then right as I felt I was cresting, Creed pulled free. My hands clawed at the air to pull him back, but he just laughed, low and guttural, at my predicament.

"Time to take your throne, Princess," he said, falling back on his heels, spreading that glorious body out across the floor. "Need you riding my face. I want to be smothered by you, your taste in my nose, my mouth, and on my tongue." He patted that gloriously broad chest. "C'mon, lass."

His use of my title was discomfiting, reminding me of what I was supposed to be, none of which was compatible with the woman I was here, with him. I'd already stripped away most of what I'd been taught to be as Princess Jessalyn. And I would leave the rest behind once I climbed down the trellis at the side of the inn and met with Rion and his men. As I rose to my feet, I twitched my skirts back down so that I could prowl steadily toward Creed, lifting the hem up in gradual increments. Creed watched the slow reveal with hunger in his eyes, his hand sliding down and tugging at the lump in his pants as I did so.

"That's it, sweetheart. Give me the thing I need so fucking much."

So, really, this was an act of charity I was engaging in, a deed of noblesse oblige, as my knees dropped to the floor, landing either side of his head. I was merely easing the pain in him by lifting his head slightly, then slowly dropping my hips down. Creed was not one to be awestruck or dumbfounded at my gracious gesture. He was no passive recipient. His hands whipped around my hips, tugging me down, forcing me onto his face so that I covered his nose, his mouth. I'd feel the rash from his beard tomorrow, but I craved the sharp prickles as much as the soft flick of his tongue.

I felt neither like a princess nor a wave, more like a slender reed swaying in tune to the wind currents, moved back and forth by a power far stronger than her. My whole body undulated, my hips rolled in response to his wicked tongue as he separated my folds and then traced a circle around my lack, right as he pierced me through.

And he did it with more than his physical touch. He might have been riding the red dragon, but rather than use it to burn me to a crisp, rather than force me down on the bed and make me submit to the lust I'd inspired, he sought to please me, make me feel as precious as if every part of me was cast in gold. For one perfect moment, there was no future, no past, no expectations or external pressures pushing down upon me. Only pleasure. Pure unselfish pleasure was what Creed gave to me, and my heart swelled so much I felt like it might break. His lips tugged at the bundle of nerves, over and over, until I did break and gushed all over his face.

He lifted me, limp as a doll in his grip, then cradled me in his arms. He stroked my hair with hands that were imbued with my intimate scent and murmured sweet words in my ears as I felt a terrible heaviness settle over me.

"Just like this…" he rasped, kissing my hair and my neck, unable to stop from touching me. "Let's stay just like this."

I didn't want to leave. If Creed could've promised me that we would stay exactly as we were, finding work in the inn below and saving, perhaps to own a little cottage of our own one day, I would've stayed. He was everything I wanted, big and strong enough to protect me but sweet with it. I saw the way his eyes followed me everywhere, the way he flushed when I caught him looking. However, the King of Khean was using his rabid loyalty against him, to force him to escort his fated mate to her death, and I couldn't allow that to happen to him or to me. I reached up, tugging his head down for a kiss.

"My beard…"

He rubbed a hand through it, as it to remove the residue of what we'd done from it, but I kissed him anyway, tasting the sea on his lips, feeling the rainbow burst of pleasure when I did.

It was a kiss of farewell. He didn't know that, but it was. It went on and on, a soft, slow, bittersweet thing because I couldn't bring myself to regret meeting him, being with him. I promised myself I'd hold every moment of this kiss in my heart, a precious thing to be brought out and inspected as the years went by.

But I didn't want to die.

So I pulled away from him, placing a hand on his chest when he went to stop me.

"I just need to freshen up," I said, the lie rolling easily off my tongue.

"I'll help—" he said, a slow grin forming.

"Some things a woman must do on her own."

My eyes stared into his, begging him to understand, and there was something in those yellowish depths that saw me, saw what I was asking. The man just smiled and let me go.

"Hurry back then."

I wanted to. My feet felt like lead as I walked away from him, but my brain was well and truly in control, not my heart. It had me stepping into the adjacent bathroom and closing the door with a click.

Thankfully, once I'd worked out this would be where I'd make my escape from, I'd had the foresight to stash my bags in here. I picked one up slowly, carefully, to not make a noise, but mostly because it was a burden I didn't want to carry. I slung the strap across my body, squaring my shoulders under the load. Then I went over to the open window and looked down.

I could dimly make out the shapes of multiple men on horseback lurking in the shadows of a small laneway across from the inn. Then, as if to make that less terrifying, Rion stepped into the light and waved a hand in welcome. I glanced back at the bathroom door, then picked up the chair I'd brought in earlier and set it under the door handle before going back to the window and slinging my leg over the sill.

"Jessalyn…?" At the sound of his voice, I stifled a sob, almost overwhelmed at being halfway between the future that lay inside the inn and the possibilities of the one outside it. "Jess…?" I'd never be able hear that diminutive again without thinking of Creed. I took a shaky breath in and then shook my head and put my foot on the first rung of the trellis, drawing my other leg over and carefully pulling the extra bag down.

As I negotiated the wooden framework on the side of the inn, I was very much aware that I was just another flower, easily bruised. I carefully made my way down it, step by step. Eventually I got to where hands went to my waist and helped me down.

"You came!" Rion said, eyes gleaming at me in the moonlight. "I've found the men you need. They're just across here in the alleyway."

Meeting strange men in alleyways was everything my mother had warned me about, I thought slightly hysterically, but I couldn't let that stop me now. She was not able to prepare me for this reality because she could no more imagine me doing this than me turning into a bird and flying free from the castle turrets. I nodded sharply and said, "Lead the way, Master Rion."

"This is the girl?"

Sitting in his saddle, reins held loosely as his body shifted with the horse's restive movements, the man talked to Rion, not to me.

"Yes—"

"I am Jessalyn Tennesley," I broke in, holding up my hand for the man to take, but he and his fellows just stared.

"You've got gold, girl?"

"Yes," I said, wresting free the bag that Arik had given me. I felt a momentary flush of guilt, but lifted my chin and jingled the pouch for emphasis. "I've got good Kheanian gold if you can be of assistance—"

He didn't wait for me to explain what I wanted. In fact, it became clear that he didn't want to listen to a thing I had to say, as he nodded as if in instruction to Rion.

Just as my mother had warned me.

I was a perfect little idiot was the last thought I had when I turned around in some confusion to see Rion that had turned from a bath attendant to something else in the dark, as he raised his hand with a small club clenched in his fist. A scream burst from my throat, and at the same time, I saw the curtains in my room twitch aside. Creed's eyes found mine, right as my scream was choked off by the thud of the club hitting my skull.

And that was the last thing I knew before darkness overcame me.