Page 42 of The Dragon King's Curse
“Must you talk like that?” She cast a scathing glare my way. “You sure know how to kill the mood.”
“Me? I’m not the one who rolled away the moment it ended. Get your beautiful ass back here.” I made as if to reach for her, laughing when she slapped my hand away. “Damn, you’re uptight, woman. Probably because that’s the first and only good fucking you’ve ever had. I’m ready for round two. Let’s get you on your hands and knees this time.”
Feryn’s jaw dropped. She clutched the blanket tighter, covering herself completely. “You are absolutely vile. How can you be so vulgar?”
I shrugged, rolling onto my side to face her. Propping my head in my hand, I stretched out, enjoying the panic in her eyes. “Having regrets already, are you? There’s no going back, Feryn.There’s no taking back what we’ve done. Why would you want to? It was fucking spectacular.”
“For you maybe,” she hissed. “Don’t act like you’re the gods’ gift to all women.”
“Not to all women. Just you.” I winked, enjoying her discomfort.
One thing I didn’t enjoy was how quickly she’d gone from spreading her legs for me to acting like I’d done something sinful. We were in this together. We had been since that first night in the Shadow Realm when we were on the run from the king’s hunt.
“How does one become such an arrogant brute? Is it because you’re the king? You’re used to everyone falling all over themselves to please you. Doing anything to get in your good graces.” The panic in Feryn’s eyes turned to fire. The elf princess was nothing if not fierce and always ready for a fight.
“Not even close. I rule over a realm of dragons. Do you know much about dragons? They aren’t the type to fall in line. There are a rebellious, wild bunch. I can assure you that nobody in my kingdom is falling all over themselves to please me.” Despite what she may think, dragons were a loyal lot. We were a family. Yet we were also incredibly individualistic. Always looking out for oneself first and foremost.
There was a tick in Feryn’s jaw when she said, “I imagine the many women you’ve had were happy to worship you like a god. Don’t expect such behavior from me.”
I burst into laughter. Nobody had made me laugh like this in so long. “I’ve never kept any woman around long enough for her to worship me.”
“Does that mean you’ve never been married?” Her eyebrows shot up. “Don’t tell me you’re currently married. I will be no man’s mistress.”
I scoffed. “I’ve never been married, princess. Not that I haven’t had opportunities. There’s never been a reason for me to tie myself to one woman. Dragons mate for life. That kind of thing can’t be taken lightly. I’ve never met a woman worthy of being a lifelong partner.”
Until now. I knew better than to speak that aloud. There had been no women in my life like Feryn Raegel. No one so quick to speak her mind. Always ready to wield the sword. All too willing to put me in my place.
Rather than allow my thoughts to stray down a dangerous path, I turned the conversation around on her. “What about you? Why aren’t you married? Isn’t it common practice for young, beautiful princesses to wed powerful men? Unite kingdoms and form alliances. Or maybe you’d rather marry for love. Have you ever been in love?”
Inwardly, I cringed as the words spilled out of my mouth. I hadn’t meant to ask.
She stared at me for a lengthy stretch, one brow arched, her expression perplexed. “My parents have encouraged me to marry. My mother wants it to be my choice. She wants me to marry for love like she did.”
“And?” I nodded for her to continue. “Does that mean you have no love waiting for you back home?”
“No. I have many dear friends back home. Nobody that I love in a romantic sense.” Feryn fidgeted with a lock of her tangled hair. She seemed reluctant to admit to me that she had no one waiting for her. Although I wouldn’t say as much, I was happy to hear it.
“And the one man? The one time? What about him?” I needed to know. Simple enough.
Hearing that she’d only had one man and one encounter before me had lit up my insides. Knowing that she was so inexperienced, so untouched, it made me wild for her. I had noissues with women having sexual experience. I wasn’t so old-fashioned as to believe every woman I took to my bed needed to be a virgin. Yet I’d wanted to claim Feryn. To make her mine and erase every man’s touch from her body and mind.
Her tongue darted out to touch the wound on her lip from my fang. Propping herself up against the wall, she held my gaze. “He’s my closest friend. Our parents raised us together since we were children. We do everything together. One night we had too much to drink. One thing led to another. It was nothing more than drunken shenanigans. We both agreed we wanted nothing more than friendship from one another, and it’s never happened again since.”
Interesting. I hadn’t expected him to be a constant figure in her life. Not that it should matter to me either way. I would likely never lay eyes on the man. Still, my ego took a stroking. She hadn’t needed a single drop of alcohol to give herself to me.
She saw it in my eyes, the satisfaction. Cute little nose wrinkling, she picked up a pillow and flung it at me. “Go on then. Give yourself a pat on the back. I know you want to.”
Instead of catching the pillow, I allowed it to smack me in the face. She deserved that much. “All we may ever have is tonight. Don’t you think it would be a shame to waste it on opposite sides of the bed? Get over here before I drag you over here.”
I patted the bed next to me. Feryn sat stiff, like she wanted to resist out of sheer spite. Finally, she gave in to what she really wanted and slid over next to me.
“Happy now?” She settled in beside me, snuggling close as I wrapped her in my arms.
“As close to happy as I’ll ever be.” Resting my head on the pillow beside hers, I breathed her in. That airy, flowery scent. I could drown myself in her and it still wouldn’t be enough.
With only the glow of the lantern on the bedside table to light the room, I fell asleep with the elf princess in my arms. A deep peaceful slumber took me. A much needed rest after several days of hardship. Never had I slept so well.
Together we slept throughout the coming day. After being locked in the fae prison and our journey through the forest, we both found the rest we desperately needed. The sun had recently set when the door to our room burst open.
