Page 19 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

Kiss me, please.The unbidden thought broke into my mind.Just one kiss, one kiss to state me through the night.My mouth flooded with moisture. I could see the veins in Drake’s neck grow distended as he fought for control. The muscles in his body grew taut with restraint.

Then I heard the sound of claws slicing out from nail beds. My eyes snapped onto the talons that broke from his fingers. My inner wolf flinched as if she’d been struck.

Does he mean to do me harm?

Drake raised his hand, claws flashing in the light of the lamps that lined the walls. My fangs lengthened. The adrenaline pumped through my veins like pistons, my body primed for battle. Before I could react, his hand shot out toward me, his talons slamming a mere inch from my head into the wall. A gasp tore from my throat. My body trembled as I saw just how close those wicked claws were to my neck, to my jugular. Drake panted above me. He dropped his head, his brow resting against mine.

“I don't want you,” he growled. He shook his head slowly, his teeth clenched. “I don’t!”

Before I could draw breath or say anything, he was gone—disappearing in a blur down the corridor, likely to his own room. My chest heaved with labored breaths as my lungs dragged in precious oxygen. I swallowed thickly. So, I had just come within inches of those deadly talons meeting my jugular, yet my body hummed with want. I raked my hands through my hair, tugging at the ends.

What is wrong with me?I growled.

CHAPTER THREE: FLOW OF LOVERS

DRAKE

My breath caught in my lungs again as I watched Ember bend over to sniff a flower. It happened so many times now I’d lost count. A part of myself feared my lungs would explode with a lack of air.

Three months had passed since Ember had come to live alongside my family and me in the shadow palace—three months of slow, unending torture. My mother had the palace florist plant those flowers Ember loved from her home territory once she’d learned they were her favorite. Now the whole garden had swaths of them growing strategically throughout.

Ember hummed in satisfaction, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. My eyes dropped to her ass, wiggling in joy.

Stars damn…

It was a nice ass, round and hot as sin. An image of my hands curving around her bottom, squeezing the soft flesh beneath my fingers—her head thrown back in ecstasy—flashed to mind, sending my cock stiffening and rising to half-mast. Igrowled softly, palming my shaft, willing it to relax. I didn’t need the female to scent my arousal.

Not here, not now.

I thought of bile and rat droppings—-anything disgusting to drag my thoughts out of the lustful gutter they rolled in. Relief blew through me as I felt my cock grow limp once more. Ember straightened, turning around to face me. Her eyes were bright and full of life.

She quirked a brow. “What are you doing all the way over there?” She asked. She beckoned with a hand for me to join her. “Come on! I don’t bite. Much.” She winked before a fit of giggles erupted from her throat.

I swallowed, but the knot in my throat refused to budge.

Three months of getting to know one another had left Ember quite playful. Though from the onset, I had sworn to keep her at a distance, it was as if the she-wolf had become determined to get under my skin. She had sniffed out my location each day in the castle, asking if she could accompany me in whatever I was doing. At first, I had caught sight of the flashes of pain and loneliness in her eyes and had felt sorry for her—thus allowing her to join me as I went about my princely duties.

After about a month of her chasing me down, I soon found myself going to meet her in the mornings…searching for her when she was delayed in finding me. I slowly grew attached to seeing her smiling face each morning, of bidding her goodnight when the evening closed in. Of being near her—the rare moments our skin came in contact with each other were the moments I lived for. Before I knew it, I was too damn late to stop my attachment to her from growing into….love.

I shook my head in wry amusement as I approached Ember. “I don’t know,” I drawled. “Seems like those fangs of yours can do wicked damage.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, darkening to a navy blue. A hint of amber bled through her irises. “Want to find out?” She purred.

There went my damn cock again. Her eyes dropped to my leather pants and the tent that was growing fast. She pressed her fingers to her lips in surprise. Then, she ducked her chin and hurried down the cobblestone path.

I heaved a sigh. Another thing I soon learned was with the subtle flirting we engaged in, from time to time, came the awkwardness when one of us pushed it too far, like now.

I hurried to join Ember, and we strolled silently around the gardens.

We passed by a large tiered fountain with a horse head carved in marble. The glistening waters cascaded from the top tier to pool in the ring below, the bubbling water shimmering like sapphire gemstones. I paused; my thoughts flew back to the night I had first encountered Ember outside of the Great Hall. She had sat on the outer ring of the fountain, her blue dress shimmering like the very waters that cascaded into the pool below. Her hair was gilded a soft auburn in the silver light of the moon, and her eyes…her eyes, as she lifted her gaze to me, had ensured me as thoroughly as any hunter’s trap.

Ember stilled alongside me. I saw her gaze at the fountain, her eyes taking on a far-off look.

Finally, she said, “This is where we met.”

I nodded. “Seems like so long ago…though it's merely been three months.”

She turned her gaze to me. A soft smile graced her lips. “I know what you mean.”

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