Page 43 of Settle Down, Princess

“Well, I need to get to bed,” she announced.

“No.”

I didn’t move my lips, didn’t muster the sound in my chest, but he did, and suddenly my wolf’s claws were digging into the tabletop.

“I’m very tired, Master Creed,” she said, in a pleading tone that had me flushing even redder, so that sweat went running down the side of my face and into my beard, making it itch furiously. “And the thought of sleeping in an actual bed—”

The images hit me. A bed. Her. Naked, bare, under me. Squirming as I repeated the performance of the other night, bringing her to one sobbing climax after another. Then, when she was wet, soft, and wanting, I’d push her down on the bed, just as I’d hungered to do in that room by the docks in Stormare, and free my cock—

“…is a very pleasant one. I assume I won’t have an opportunity to do so often. Isn’t that right, Arik?”

“What?”

The commander was watching her lips so closely that he should’ve heard every word she said, but a red haze hung over his eyes, and he blinked hard to see her.

“A bed. I won’t get a chance to sleep in one often,” she repeated.

“You…” Arik didn’t sound quite human as he tried to respond. He sounded more like a catamount, which had my ears pricking up and my body stiffening.

More. Stiffening more.

My cock was so hard and aching that I was leaking seed in my breeches. The way the damp leather slipped against the throbbing head was too fucking much like the way I imagined she’d feel when, finally, I—

“Ugh… the lot of you are as drunk as lords.” Jessalyn pulled away from the table in an attempt to sweep toward the stairs, but Silas intercepted her.

As his arms went around her waist, it was as though I could feel her warmth against me, and when he bent and whispered in her ear, I felt the stray brush of her hair on my lips. She said nothing to him in response, but she flushed bright red before twisting herself out of his grip.

“I’ll see you gentlemen in the morning.”

No. That wasn’t right. A low growl rumbled in my chest, because as she turned and walked away from us, instead of coming closer, other men looked at what was ours.

At least they did before I corrected their behaviour.

When my fangs flashed, sensible men shrank back. They knew what wolf shifters were and how ferocious we could be. There were plenty of other girls in the inn for them to chase. However, one was stupid enough to rise to follow her, but he didn’t make that mistake for long. I planted my hand on his chest, letting the claws prick through his shirt as I shoved him right back into his chair.

“Sit down, friend.”

I bit off the word, not waiting for a response as I trailed her.

Jessalyn looked back in alarm when she noticed she had someone following her. Those pretty little feet started to move faster, as if that would help. That’s what mates do when a heat hits them. A female wolf shifter runs before her mates, sending them on a merry chase, forcing them to prove they were worthy of her, and surely that’s what this was? I watched her move faster and faster up the stairs and my eyes burned in my skull, hotter than my body. Because they traced the slender shape of her form, the way the skirts swirled around her, giving tantalising glimpses of her ankles, her legs as she climbed the stairs.

So I joined her.

I’d always follow her, that was something she needed to learn. From here to the end of the earth, I’d track her down, make sure she was safe, fed, cared for. Right now, my instincts weren’t pushing for something so sweet or gentle. I raised my nose and inhaled: the floral perfume that always seemed to follow her had bloomed.

But what was that sour note?

It stung my nose and made me falter in my steps, shaking my head as if to dislodge it. The little minx used that one moment of distraction to duck into her room and pull the door behind her.

My hand slid over the heavy wooden door, caressing the smooth surface with the same touch I would give her.

“Jessalyn…” I got no response, and my hand slid down, down to clasp the doorknob. “Jessalyn…”

“I’m going to bed, Master Creed, but thank you for escorting me to my room. I always feel safe in your presence.”

I pressed my forehead to the barrier between me and her, and the stout wood was hard against my skull. It was nothing. Humans built themselves walls, fences, and gates, always finding ways of cutting up the world into smaller and smaller chunks, of being forced to mark their territory with stuff they built. But I’d have the door off its fucking hinges in seconds if that’s what it took to get to her.

“Jessalyn…” I loved the feel of her name in my mouth. My eyes closed tight as I let out one panting breath, then another. “Jessalyn, sweetheart—”

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