Page 140 of The Wolf King

James has gone to mingle with his people, so Callum and I are alone at the alpha table. The Great Hall is a blur of dancing and brawling and music.

I poke him in the chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt. I giggle. “You’redrunk.”

He laughs, as if he cannot believe what he’s seeing.

“Aye, I am a bit. Not as much as you.” He shakes his head. “You’re going to be a bloody nightmare tomorrow when the hangover kicks in! Goddess! I’m a wee bit scared!”

“You’re scared of me?”

“Oh aye. Very.”

“You said I was small!”

“You are small. You’re a small and fearsome creature.”

His face swims in and out of focus. I grab both sides of his head, and push my forehead into his. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

He laughs again, and his big hands curl around my waist. “You see? Terrifying.”

I dip my mouth to his ear. “That thing you did last night. I want you to do it again.”

He stills, his fingers tightening, and a soft groan scrapes his throat. His expression is pained. “Let’s see how you feel in the morning, shall we?”

“No. Now.”

He twists me around and pulls me onto his lap. “You see? You’re a small, fearsome, and demanding creature.” His warm breath tickles my ear. “And, believe me when I say, if you torture me tonight, I shall repay the debt tomorrow.”

“I’m not torturing you!”

I try to face him, but he pulls me back again, his thick arm hooked around my waist. His chest rises and falls deeply against my back.

“Oh, but you are. I’m hard just thinking about what we did last night, and about how much I want to do it again right now.” His words turn my insides to molten gold. He nips my ear with his teeth and I gasp. “I’d slide my hand between your legs right now if I could. I’d make you come while they all danced—oblivious to what I was doing to you.”

My pulse hammers in my ears, heat pooling at my core. “Why don’t you do it then?”

The wolf is in his eyes, and he does not try to hide it. “Because you’re drunk. And I’m drunk. And I fear you’d regret it in the morning.”

I stroke the side of his face, my fingers tracing his lips. “I wouldn’t.”

His eyes return to their usual forest-green. “Be that as it may, I won’t take that risk while you’re drunk. I will dance with you, though.”

“I’m not drunk!”

I push my fingers into his mouth. He nips them playfully with his teeth. I giggle.

“You areverydrunk, Princess.” He glances at the writhing mass of people on the dancefloor. “Let’s dance.”

“I don’t know the moves.”

Callum nods at a couples of Wolves, spinning around and causing mayhem as others dodge out of their path. “I don’t think many of them do, either.”

A grin spreads across my face, and I jump up. “Okay. Come on then.”

He takes a deep breath, giving me a sheepish smile. “Aye. Just... just give me a moment.”

He looks away from me, exhaling. I’m about to ask him what the problem is, but he adjusts his kilt, and gets up.

He puts an arm around my waist, smiles, and leads me to the dancefloor.