His hands wrap around my waist and he backs me up until I’m pushed up against the trunk of a tree. A bright red tree trunk. Colt nibbles on my bottom lip, his front pressing against mine, his head tipped and his breath fanning my face.
“Why are your leaves bright gold? It’s disturbing,” I whisper. “Is it fall or something?”
He hums, but doesn’t answer me right away. When he does, his voice is deep and husky. “Fall?”
“Autumn,” I expand.
He shakes his head. “What color are the leaves of your Llobil trees, darlin’?”
Tilting my head to the side, I frown. “What is a Llobil tree?” I ask.
Colt lifts his hand, waving it around at the tree behind me. “We don’t have any trees by that name that I know of,” I murmur.
“What do your trees look like?”
“Generally, brown trunks with green leaves, in the fall they turn red and soft gold, and in the winter, they fall off.”
He hums, shifting his face closer to mine, his lips warm and firm against my own. He doesn’t stop this time. His tongue slides inside of me and he takes. He takes and takes and I allow it, once again being his whore and not even trying to stop.
There is no stopping when it comes to Colt. He owns me, he consumes me, he confuses me. His fingers reach for my skirt, hiking it up, his hands slipping beneath it to untie the bloomers. They fall down to the ground and without skipping a beat, he reaches behind my knees and lifts me up.
My legs automatically wrap around his waist and with one quick shift of his hips, he buries himself deep inside of me. I don’t know when he unbuckled his pants and released himself, but I don’t care, because he’s exactly where I want him—where I need him.
His hips move against me, in and out, his breathing is heavy and mine is panting. He’s close to me, but he’s not kissing me anymore. He’s pulled away slightly and his eyes are focused on mine as he takes me.
My blood is boiling beneath the surface already, I need more, so much more. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I dig my nails into his back. His hat fell off sometime when he started kissing me, so I slide one of my hands up to his neck, twisting my fingers in his hair and tugging it slightly.
“You think I would let some nobody girl from a bordello sleep in my house? You think I would dress her in the finest clothes money could buy. That I would sleep next to her in bed? That I would share meals with her, share my life with her?” he asks on a growl.
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as I watch him. His strokes are even, but hard, my back scrapes against the tree trunk and I have no doubt that the soft and delicate fabric of this yellow dress will be completely torn to shreds.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “Wrong answer, darlin’,” he grunts as he continues to thrust hard and fast. “I would not do what I do with you, with any common soiled dove.”
I want to tell him that he is only being kind to me because of the prophecy, but I can’t get any words out. Every slam inside of me takes my breath away. Harder and harder, faster and faster. He doesn’t stop, doesn’t slow, and my body just climbs.
“It is not because I have to, either. It is not because you come from another world. If that were the case, I would just lock you away until I knew what to do with you.”
“Then why?” I breathe.
The sun beats down hard around us, but a cool breeze whips around our bodies. I let out a sigh as the air cools my skin off, but my blood is still hot beneath the surface. My eyes are focused on his as I wait for his answer.
“Because you’re mine,” he growls.
I open my mouth to respond, though I’m not sure what to say. It doesn’t matter, because his mouth slams down against my own and his tongue fills me. He fucks me in tandem again and again, it feels amazing. It’s so good, the way his pelvis grinds against my clit with each stroke, the way he makes my body ache with his force, that I’m seconds from coming completely undone.
Ripping my mouth from his, my head hits the tree trunk and I let out a cry as I come—hard. He grunts as he continues to move inside of me and then his eyes find mine right before he buries his face against my neck and roars against my skin as his body fills me with his release.
“Darlin’,” he rasps. Once we’ve both caught our breaths, he lifts his head and his eyes meet mine. “Because you’re mine.”
Chapter Nineteen
BIRDIE
The ride back to Colt’s property is fairly quiet. I ask him about his life, but he continuously turns the subject back to me and mine. He doesn’t want to talk about his marriage and I understand that, but he also won’t talk about his parents or his childhood. It’s really hard trying to get to know someone who won’t talk to you—at all.
“What is happening with the soldiers and the food you need?” I ask.
He hums and I think that he’s going to refuse to answer me, yet again, but this time he surprises me and speaks.
“I was made the ultimate ruler of this country after a civil war ended. We were suffering, as a people and as a country. The Assembly took over, they got together and unanimously chose me to lead because of my efforts in the war.”
“And this upset some people?” I ask.
He turns his head, which is leaning against my shoulder again and touches his lips to the side of my neck. “Naturally, darlin’. A small group
