Page 105 of The Demon Prince

“No one enjoys that.”

“I like the pain.” She shifted a bit in his lap, clearly uncomfortable admitting such a thing, and just that tiny movement gave him hope. “And I like knowing that you’re enjoying yourself to the fullest. I don’t want you to hide who you are just because you think I’m uncomfortable with what you need. I’m not.”

Something warm bloomed in his chest. Somehow soft and heated at the same time, and it burned him from the inside out. Quietly he asked, “You enjoy it?”

“I do.” Katherine smiled at him and his entire soul lit up. Taking flight as he realized that she accepted him. Even as monstrous as he was. “I enjoy it quite a bit, actually. I thought that was rather obvious.”

But then she winced as she shifted, and reality came slamming back into his mind. He was still kneeling on the ground, half hard inside her, and her hips were stretched so wide over his that he was certain she was in pain. Again. Because of him.

“Shit,” he muttered, drawing her dress all the way up and covering the mounds of tantalizing flesh that now wore the marks of his teeth. “You must be sore. I’m sorry, love. Let’s get you up.”

It was one of the worst sensations to withdraw from her comforting heat, but he did. He tucked himself haphazardly back into his pants as he stood with her in his arms, making sure that she could stand on her own two feet before he yanked his shirt back over his head.

He needed to get her back to the castle and into a warm bath. Somewhere comfortable. What had that book said about people who had these kinds of injuries? Heat was better for old wounds, ones that won’t get fixed easily. And then he was supposed to add something to her food that would help with inflammation, of which he must have just given her plenty.

Her tiny hand pressed against his chest, still bearing the marks of her ordeal. Apparently, the rusalki hadn’t healed every part of her body.

He followed the long, delicate line of her wrist all the way up to her face. She was still smiling. Even though he was panicking, she was a steady rock of patience.

“Gluttony,” she said. “Come here.”

“I’m—” He flapped his arms up and down. “I can’t get any closer, Kat.”

“Yes, you can.” She stepped into him and wrapped an arm around the back of his neck, drawing him closer down to her. “Kiss me, you stubborn man. I can see you turning back into that sad boy, and before that happens, I’d like to taste you one last time.”

He melted.

Gluttony swept her up into his arms with a groan before devouring her lips. He nipped and bit, kissing her like she was the last person in the world, and he was desperate for her touch. Because to him, she was. And he was. He wanted her more than anything in this world and to know that she was his? It gathered up every shattered shard of his soul and patched them back together.

All the anxiety and panic filtered out of his mind the moment their lips met. And the ease that she brought him, the relaxation that pushed away all that fear, it stayed with him even as she drew back to breathe.

“Wow,” she whispered, before giggling again. “Look at that.”

“Look at what?”

“You’ve got will-o’-the-wisps all through your hair.” Katherine reached up and plucked one out of the long, tangled strands. And he watched the tiny creature struggle in her grip before she released it to float back through the air like a firefly.

He had never loved her more. Standing in the moors with his arms wrapped around her, watching her eyes as she followed a wisp through the air. She was so stunning. All that tangled red hair floating around her head like a cloud. Every freckle on her cheeks that he wanted to count a thousand times over, just to make sure he knew exactly how many she had. Without a doubt, he’d never adored a creature more than her.

Gently, he pressed their foreheads together and breathed her in. “Where did you come from? What goddess put you on this earth to teach me how to love?”

“I would like to think it was meant as a punishment,” she teased. “Perhaps with a realization that you’d been wallowing for too long.”

He growled a little, mockingly yanking her hips tighter to his. “Indeed. It was a punishment, certainly, because I have thought of nothing other than you for far too long.”

“Soon there will be more to think about, I’m certain.” Katherine cupped his jaw, holding him a little closer as her eyes fluttered closed. “But for now, I’m rather enjoying pretending it’s just you and me. That there is no one else in this world but the two of us.”

And, oh, if that didn’t squeeze his heart and make his world spin out of orbit.

“Come,” he breathed, lifting her into his arms as he strode into the bog. “I think it’s time for us to return home.”

Katherine tilted her head back, dangling in his arms like she had no question that he would carry her safely. “Home. I like the sound of that.”

So did he. But only when she said it.

They talked about nothing and everything as they meandered back to his castle. He took the long way to show her all the secret hiding places of the dangerous creatures of his kingdom. She even got to see a baby kelpie. The little calf snorted at them and then tripped on a thick patch of moss. The sound of her joyous laughter made even those beasts pause.

He showed her the kingdom that she’d never seen before. The kingdom that was filled with so much dangerous beauty, just like her. And though Katherine would likely never see herself in the same light, he knew just how dangerous she could be.

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