Page 68 of Happily Ever Witch
“Not if we incinerateenougheverybodies. They’ll be no one left to complain.” Trevelyan glanced towards the window. “Or you could enspelled the dissidents into pigs. That would work, too.”
“Hogs,you deranged maniac. And I’m not making you anymore pets.”
“They’re not pets. Just uncooked banquets.”
“I saw you give that flying one an apple.” She crossed to the oven and checked her timer. “Don’t deny it.”
He made an “ummm” sound, because she’d caught him. “I’m fattening him up for the slaughter.”
Esmeralda’s mouth curved, her lovely crimson eyes finding his, and lust hit Trevelyan like a hammer. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted his mouth slanting over hers. He wanted to swallow the soft sounds she made. He wanted their breath mingling.
Kissing had never been important to him before. Dragons liked to fuck their bed partners into submission, so kissing seemed very tame. And pointless. …And oddly intimate. Trevelyan had always avoided intimacy. Having someone too close made him uncomfortable.
Now, things seemed different. Now, he wanted everything that was rightfully his.
There were many logical reasons for his change of heart. Obviously. Kissing was a territorial marking, for one thing. It warned other males away. If he kissed her often enough, rivals were sure to get the message.ThatTrevelyan understood and it was more than enough reason to justify kissing his Good little wicked witch in every single way she’d allow.
Esmeralda said shewouldn’tallow it until she “believed” in him, though.
Why? It was all incredibly irritating. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. Why shouldn’t he be allowed to kiss his True Love? Sappy cowboys wrote country songs about kissing your True Love! It was part of the natural order.
“Come here, darling.” He caught hold of her as she walked by him. “The time has come to talk ofmanythings.”
“It has?” She asked suspiciously, but she didn’t resist as he maneuvered her closer. “What ‘many things’ do you want to talk about?”
He shifted his stance on the counter, so she was standing between his legs. A dragon’s primary instinct was to capture its mate, so the monster inside of him rumbled in pleasure. God, it was like a whole different beast now that Esmeralda was there. The raging fury was replaced with satisfaction. Contentment. “Let’s begin with an obvious one: When are you going to believe in your successful, brilliant king?”
She leaned closer to him, like she was relaying a secret. “If you’ll believe inme, I’ll believe inyou.”
He frowned at that confounding answer. “I think you’re just playing hard to get, with your stubborn resistance to the inevitable.” His fingers slipped down to untie the apron at her waist, for the sheer fun of removing some of her clothes. “I mean, surely you believe in me enough bynow. How long could it take to see how spectacular I am?”
“About the length of time it takes to get a lobotomy, I’d guess.”
“Is this because you don’t have sex with people you don’t like? Does that rule apply to kissing, too?” His mind kept going back to her twisted predilection for kindness, because it was worrisome.
She didn’t move away as he tugged her apron free and it hit the floor. “How come you’ve never suggested dissolving our True Love match?” She inquired out of the blue.
Trevelyan’s attention snapped to her face.
She raised her eyebrows at him, questioningly.
He didn’t trust this tangent. He didn’t like the suggestion that he could lose his mate. He didn’t want it to even be apossibilitythat Esmeralda could get rid of him. “Why would I mention something that will never happen?”
“Itcouldhappen if we both signed a scroll and a wizard abolished the bond.”
“No wizard has the authority to take you from me.” He said in a serious tone. “I don’t care about lawful magic. I don’t recognizeanyone’sauthority to steal what’s mine.”
Esmeralda didn’t seem upset by that news. If anything, she seemed to relax beneath his hands. Like his unyielding words had reassured her somehow.
Still, Trevelyan was uneasy that she’d considered the idea of ending their match, at all. “Why haven’tyousuggested dissolving the True Love bond?” He asked warily.
“I still have hopes you can learn to play guitar.”
That almost made him smile. “I should warn you, I’m not musically inclined. …But I am difficult to get rid of.” She needed to understand there was no escaping him. It would save lives. “If it came down to the line, I would kill every single wizard, in every single kingdom to keep you.”
She blinked.
“I willnevergive you up.” He couldn’t be clearer than that. “This is the truest thing I’ve ever told you. Do you believe me, Ez?”
