Cue the mushroom cloud over her head.
“I can’t believe you!” she yelled. “Fighting isthatimportant? You’re not only willing to sacrifice our mating, but the entire species?”
Wrath recoiled like she’d slapped him. Then he seemed totally confused. “It’s not about going out into the field—you think that’s why? Fuck, that’s not it at all.”
“Why the hell else would you do such a thing? If you’re not on the throne anymore, you’re free to do what you want now. Which is be out in the field.”
Wrath stepped toward her, and when he went to take her hands, she let him. Why? Who the hell knew. Probably because in spite of her anger, she was stupid and heartbroken. And fucking exhausted.
“I’m not living a life where you won’t answer my phone calls.”
Beth shook herself to attention. “What…?”
He drew her over to the little table and sat them both down. After that, he just rubbed his thumb over the life line on her right palm.
“You are the most important thing in my life.” His voice was quiet, but intense. “I have nothing if I don’t have you. You’re right, I wasn’t going to say anything to you about going to Whestmorel’s. It’s because I didn’t want you to worry, and I was confident based on V’s monitoring of the place that it had been abandoned. I also knew that the Brotherhood was with me—all of them. The Band of Bastards was on the periphery, too. I was totally protected, and something was telling me, I just had to go there.”
He took his wraparounds off, and his pale green eyes with their tiny, pinpoint pupils stared forward in her general direction. “Honest to God, I lied because I wanted to spare you. After all the time you’ve spent alone, and everything you’ve handled so well, and with such strength—the throne, our son, the brothers—I really…I didn’t want to add shit. Not when I’d only just come back. And I realized tonight that as long as I’m King, I’m not free, not really, to be everything you need and deserve from a mate—and nothing and no one isevergoing to come between us. So fuck the throne.”
Things got wavy as her eyes flooded with tears. “You can’t be serious.”
“I just hope it’s not too late.”
“Wrath, I can’t let you do this—”
“The throne is nothing compared to you.” His hand shifted, traveling up her arm to her shoulder…and then continuing higher to stroke her hair. “You are everything to me. You’re my life, my love, my bedrock, my true north. And I willnotlive without you for as long as you’ll have me.”
As he fell silent, she wanted to say something coherent, but her heart was skipping beats, and her thoughts were spinning out of control.
“How can you leave your legacy?” she ended up sputtering.
He took her hand and brought it to the center of his chest. “Bonded male, remember?”
His eyes were so steady, and not just because he didn’t use them to see. If ninety percent of communication was non-verbal, then everything about him was projecting commitment and love. No asterisks. No qualifiers. No hesitation or wobble.
Beth touched his face, tracing the high cheekbones, the rigid jaw, the cut of his chin, the arch of his arrogant brows.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.” He tilted his head and smiled a little. “Am I back for you now? Because if I am, this is where I’m staying.”
With a choking noise, she leaned in and put her lips to his. “I love you,” she croaked. “I love you so much.”
Wrath’s massive arms wrapped around her and pulled her in, angling her so he could properly fuse their mouths. His kiss was slow and sensual, a vow and a promise, and when he pulled back, she stared up into his eyes—and it really was as if he could see.
“Sorry isn’t enough,” he said. “Not for a female like you. But I’m going to make it up to you. If you’ll let me.”
“Oh, God, of course. Yes…”
He started kissing her again, and she knew there was a whole lot more to talk about. This was a very bad idea for the species, and BTW, their son was seriously spiraling. But she needed strength right now…and their love gave that to her.
Herhellrenwas also one helluva kisser.
Wrath gathered hisshellanup in his arms and carried her out of the kitchen. Before he hit the hall, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of his dog.
“You stay-stay, George. We’ll be right back.”
There was a snuffling and then a long sigh, which was how the golden stretched out and committed to a big nap.
