I tried to unlace my fingers from his (and failed, by the way) so I scowled up at him. “You forget, I’ve decided to go it alone.”
“And you forget that you foolishly left me, taking my horse while doing it. It’s my duty to protect you, you put yourself in danger and doing this, you negated anything you might have earned in our fight and enduring my foul temper in the church.”
“That doesn’t add up!” I snapped.
“It certainly does,” he returned.
“It doesn’t!” I shot back and his fingers tensed and stayed tensed in mine.
“The curse has just begun. The Shrew cannot complete it unless she has a half of both the souls. She gets you, and it’s highly likely, you go on alone, wherever the bloody hell you think you’re going, she’ll get you. That means my land, my people, will live under that curse in all its fullness until the next divided souls blissfully wed. My people, as yet, are unaware of what has befallen them. They are experiencing unpredictable weather patterns but, as far as I can tell, nothing more. As the curse has not descended for millennia, there is no known record of what to expect except whatever it will be will likely mean floods, droughts, crops failing, plague, famine and the only hope would be to endure, for a shred of humanity to hold on as the decades pass until the new souls are united in matrimony. You endangered that, again, my love, and for that we return to our terms and you earn your keep.”
Oh dear. I didn’t know any of that. I’d fucked up again. Royally (in my case, seeing as I was a princess, that was weirdly literal).
Shit.
“Then I’m not hungry,” I decided. “We can just go.”
“You’ll eat and you’ll earn it.”
“Nope, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern but I’m good.”
“Did you eat yesterday?”
No, I did not and, incidentally, I was starved.
I didn’t tell him that.
“Cora, you can earn it or I can take it from you.”
I blinked up at him. “What?”
“You kiss me or I kiss you. Those are your choices. You have two seconds to decide.”
“Don’t you dare kiss –”
“One.”
“Noctorno, you kiss me, I’ll –”
“Two,” he muttered, his eyes dropping to my mouth then his lips dropped there.
Hells bells.
I fought it, I did. Seriously. And I worked hard at it. And it seemed I was winning.
I kept my mouth resolutely closed no matter how he coaxed (and he coaxed) with lips and tongue to get it open.
I was feeling pretty pleased with myself when his free hand suddenly cupped my breast and his thumb, with pinpoint accuracy, swept over my nipple.
Holy crap.
My mouth opened at the shock of pleasure that shot through my system and his tongue swept inside.
Oh shit. I forgot just how stinking much I loved how he tasted and how much more I loved how he kissed.
My body gave in before my mind, my arm curving around his broad shoulders then my back arched to fit my breast more firmly in his hand.
He groaned in my mouth and I loved that too. So much, that was when my mind gave in and he had all of me.
He deepened the kiss and my fingers glided into his hair to hold him to me as his thumb stopped sweeping my nipple, his hand went up, tugged the fabric down then he went back to my nipple, thumb and finger this time, rolling and squeezing.
Oh my. Nice.
My hips surged up, my fingers still laced in his hand held on tighter and I moaned my pleasure in his mouth.
His lips left mine and I moaned again because I didn’t want them to go.
But they didn’t go. They just moved to relocate. His hand cupped my breast, lifting it, his body angled down then my nipple was in his mouth and he instantly started sucking even as his tongue swirled.
Oh my God. That felt freaking great.
My fingers still in his hair fisted and I breathed, “Tor.”
His lips left my breast, his hand cupping it warmly again, just cupping it this time as his mouth came back to mine.
My eyes opened and they stared into the heated depths of his.
“Don’t stop,” I begged, arching into him again.
“Why do you burn so hot now, sweets, when we must go?” he muttered, his mutter husky with want at the same time I sensed frustration.
“We can delay,” I whispered, my hand leaving his hair to cover his at my breast and my other hand squeezing his insistently.
“We can’t,” he denied.
“Ten minutes,” I pushed and watched the desire in his eyes war with amusement.
“My love, what I intend to get from you will take far, far longer than ten minutes to get.”
Oh boy.
I liked the sound of that.
His hand moved from my breast and he pulled up the material.
Drat!
I couldn’t help it; I felt my mouth twist into a pout.
His eyes dropped to it, he stared at my mouth for a scant second and then he burst out laughing, throwing his head back and everything to do it.
It totally sucked that he looked gorgeous all the time and laughing was no exception.
“Get off me,” I snapped. “I’m hungry.”
His laughter turned to chuckles and he dropped his chin to catch my eyes. “I’ll give you what you’re hungry for, in my soft bed, in my big castle, I promise you that, Cora.” His voice dropped sexy, husky deep when he finished, “And I’ll take my time doing it.”
“I was talking about breakfast,” I informed him briskly.
“Right,” he murmured, smiling down at me.
“Hello? Noctorno? Aren’t we in a big hurry?” I called.
This earned me another blasted chuckle but he knifed away from me never letting go of my hand therefore he used it to pull me out of bed with him. And he rested me on my feet half an inch from his body, let go of my hand but crushed me to his body with both arms.
I tipped my head back to look up at him. “What are you doing now?” I snapped.
His eyes searched my face and they did this for a long time, so long, the scrutiny so intense, I started to feel funny but I didn’t know if it was a good funny or a bad one.
“Noctorno?” I finally said.
“I prefer you calling me Tor.”
I didn’t answer.
One of his hands slid up my spine and started to play with the ends of my hair.
Oh dear. I liked that too.
“My wife is exquisite,” he said softly and I felt my body still as I felt my lips part. “That, I always knew. But she’s also brave, defiant, clever and amusing. That, my sweet, I did not know.”
Holy crap!
“Tor,” I whispered but didn’t say anymore because I didn’t know what to say and because his head dropped
