Page 53 of Settle Down, Princess

Instead, my cock throbbed sulkily inside my breeches.

“Our unit was formed out of a beating,” Silas told her in a conversational tone, stepping in close enough he could have kissed her. He looked at me over her shoulder. “Do you remember?”

He might have been looking at me, but I wasn’t the only one the question was directed at.

“When we refused to set fire to the fields of people who hadn’t paid their taxes.” Roan nodded grimly, also drawn forward. “They beat us within an inch of our fucking lives.”

“They were supposed to kill us.” I said through gritted teeth as the memories came back. “And if we didn’t die from the flogging, then we were supposed to kill each other.”

“Prey on each other’s weaknesses.” Silas nodded. “Just a few miscreants and malcontents left to lick their wounds on their own. We were such fucking bastards within the corps that they’d assumed we’d be the same if they threw us together, especially if we were injured.”

“But we weren’t.” Creed joined us. “We formed a pack that day: brothers in all ways but through birth.” His eyes flicked down to meet Jessalyn’s. “And we knew then that we’d find one woman—our fated mate—to complete us.”

His fingers gripped her jaw as he bent down to her, bringing her panting lips to hover a hair’s breadth away from his. “The only woman we’ll ever have, for our whole lives. But you…” I saw the banked embers come to life in his eyes. It had taken longer for the fire to catch alight in him than in me, but now that it was burning, a terrible intensity flared in his gaze. “You tried to run from us.”

“To be free.” That dissenting spirit that never seemed to dim for long with Jessalyn reasserted itself. “It’s something men take for granted, but why shouldn’t I have the same chances?” I watched her shoulders square as her spine snapped upright, despite her disgraceful position. “Why shouldn’t I be able to pick and choose where I go, what I do?”

My hands locked around her hips as Creed tugged her chin closer, the two of us stretching her between us. His forehead pressed against hers as his eyes closed.

“Because you’re not free. No one really is. They belong to family, class, country, but you…” His lips brushed through the air above hers and she strained forward, desperate to close that gap despite herself. “You’re ours. You’re not going to the capital. The king will never get his bloody hands on you, not while I have breath in my lungs. But you’re not going to be slinking out the back door with some lad and falling into the company of other men.”

He kissed her then, hard enough to bruise, but she didn’t seem to care. Truth be told, she leaned into the kiss just as she had leaned into me when I’d spanked her impudent arse. I watched their lips clash, then my heart leapt into my throat as his fangs raked along too soft flesh. He didn’t break the skin, just let out an animalistic growl, and his eyes had turned perfectly yellow when they snapped open.

“You’re mine, all fucking mine, Jessalyn. And you’re not going anywhere.”

Chapter 30

Silas

This needed to be stopped. If I’d been in my right mind, I’d have never let Arik lay a hand on Jessalyn’s delectable arse, not unless everyone had been clear-headed and consenting.

But I wasn’t.

I’d just watched her strain against the ropes, and I’d seen the exact moment when her cheeks had flushed, her eyes sparking pure fire as she snapped at the commander. Then just as I’d gone to summon the words to stop everything, she’d changed her tune, gasping so prettily with each swat, her breasts pressing against the confines of her dress. I’d followed the way her body had swayed back and forth, like the pocket watch of a marketplace mesmerist, and I’d let it lure me forward until I caught this.

Of course, then they all started talking, and there were so many unnecessary words when all the important things were being said by their bodies. Arik gripped Jessalyn’s hips as if he was terrified that she’d be torn away from him. Creed devoured her mouth with all the savagery of his beast. Jessalyn swayed between them, pliant as a reed, and as strong as one. At first, Roan had been content to simply watch the proceedings, before he strode forward, plucking the knife from my hand as he stood beside me.

“You’re not comfortable like this,” he told her.

Jessalyn’s eyes were hazy, unfocused, when she broke away from Creed to face her red-haired protector, but after she blinked, she nodded.

“Please, Roan—”

“Let me help you then.”

I drew in a sudden breath when he used the knife to slide up the centre of Jessalyn’s gown, wanting to warn him how fucking sharp it was and that she was liable to move around if Arik kept up his ministrations. He found out for himself as the fabric of her dress parted. It pulled apart, almost with a sigh, but Roan didn’t stop there.

“If you cut her…” I growled.

“You’re the only one likely to want to be cut in all of this,” he said, shooting me a sidelong smile. “I’m just helping her out.” His focus shifted to Creed. “And him. Creed’s on the edge, Commander.”

“I know,” Arik ground out, his gaze still not shifting from the sight of our princess’ half-bared arse.

“And with roseblood of that intensity riding him—”

“I know.” He shook himself and then pulled free of the girl, knowing where his duty lay, even if following it was not his inclination. “Creed.”

Our brother moved to where Arik had been standing behind the princess. The hazel in his eyes swirled between brown, green, and yellow as he stared at her in wonder while Roan stripped her bare. When the knife got too close to her skin for my liking, I took it from him.

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