Page 90 of The Wolf King

He runs a hand over the back of his neck, then he sighs.

“Look, Princess, like I said, the wolf hasn’t quite settled down,” he says. “And you’re in my bed, with the scent of another male all over you. And I don’t like that. I don’t like that one bit. I want you to smell like me. When another wolf is close, I want it to be my scent they smell on your skin. I want to mark you as mine. And I can think of countless ways I would do it. Countless ill-advised, highly pleasurable ways I would do it. It’s all I can think about. And I know I should leave and calm myself down. But I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here, with you.” He shakes his head. “You smell so much likehim... like Blake... It’s driving me out of my mind.”

I should leave before things get out of control. I shouldn’t allow a male so say things like that to me. I definitely shouldn’tlikeit.

I am held captive by his helpless gaze. Something hot is pooling inside me, heating my blood and making my skin hum.

I swallow. “Oh.”

He rubs his face with both hands. “Fuck. I’ve frightened you.”

The heat turns into angry flames. “Stop doing that.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He stares up at the ceiling. “It was inappropriate—”

“No. Not that.This.Stop treating me like I’m some precious doll that needs shielding from the world. Stop treating me as if I can’t handle things. As if I can’t handle you. Youareinappropriate. You shouldn’t say half of the things you say to me. But has it occurred to you that perhaps I like it that you do? That perhaps I like it that you talk to me as if I’m an actual human being? That, perhaps, my entire life, no one else ever really has?”

My skin is burning now, and I’m breathless. It feels good to say it, to unleash it, to let something out that I think has been building up inside me for quite some time.

Callum’s eyes widen. It’s as if he’s not quite sure what to do.

He releases a half-laugh. “No, I suppose it hadn’t occurred to me.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“About what?”

“You said I smelt like Blake. I don’t want to smell like him either. Do you want me to wash?”

He exhales, then goes back to his pacing. “No. I want to wash you.”

He sounds so sullen that it almost makes me laugh. “Callum!”

“What?” His lips are twitching, even though his body is tense. “I thought you liked how inappropriate I am.”

I roll my eyes.

Then I glance at the copper bathtub.

Something has been knocked loose inside me. Telling him off has made me feel daring. I want to feel that way again. I’m fed up of locking up my emotions. I’m fed up of making myself smaller than I am so that others can feel bigger, stronger. I’m fed up of being shielded from the world and all it has to offer.

Curiosity flares inside me.

He protects me because he thinks he holds all the power. But the way he is acting... I wonder ifIam powerful, too.

“Okay,” I say. “Wash me.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Callum stills.

He’s facing away from me, and the muscles in his back harden. I don’t think he’s breathing. I don’t think I am, either.

We are both frozen in time.

Only, my heartbeat is wild in my ears. Did I really just say that?

He turns around.

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