Page 91 of Iron Blade

I leaned in, pulling her hair over one shoulder to have access to that gorgeous throat. That pulse point. The lovely little lines that drew the blood from her heart to her head. How I envied that pathway. How I loved that scent.

“What about this madness that you were mentioning?” She swallowed hard, and I watched her throat move. I took my finger and traced the lovely ridges of her trachea. Every line was made to complete perfection.

“It’s an obsession.” I placed my lips gently on her neck. The one place that truth always appeared. “I thought that it had skipped me, but I realize that I suffer from it now.”

“Obsession?” She shivered but didn’t move away from me.

“Yes, I am rather obsessive in love.”

“You seem obsessive about everything.”

“I’ve been reasonable with women until now.”

“What do you mean?” She was shivering, her hands balled into fists.

“I’m obsessed with you, Kira Green,” I confessed outright, because I wasn’t ashamed of it. I wasn’t ashamed of the madness that was going through me. If I had known this was how it would be, then I wouldn’t have fought it my whole life. Not that it mattered, as the madness existed for her, and her alone.

“You said your father became a monster when he was…” She blinked, as if trying to get the fog out of her eyes. “You said he was crazy for your mother, and became a monster when he…”

“I could be your monster, if you let me.” I was already a monster, even before I knew her. I had been born in my father’s image, and he was a beast without the calming hand of my mother. She was the witch that could control him. “But as you can see, I am a monster, made in my father’s image. A curse I will never break. But I swear… I will be a good man to you. I swear it. I swear it!”

I came to my knees in front of her and wrapping an arm around her waist.

“I’ll be a good man to you, Kira.” At least I hoped I could be.

Her hands came to my hair, stroking it tenderly. With my cheek against her abdomen, her loose hair curtained around me in the most beautiful black waves. Her floral scent, like the sweet pea orchid, surrounded me with its comfort.

“You don’t like being here.” Her statement hit the mark. I avoided this house like the plague.

“I hate it here,” I confirmed. “I seldom come here except when I am summoned. After we leave, I hope to never have to bring you back. We’ll live in the penthouse in Manhattan, if you like. Or we can find a place if you want to start fresh. Hell, I could buy your building, if you wanted to stay at your flat…”

She laughed, lightly. “I think your penthouse will do just fine, Eoghan.”

I squeezed her closer, holding her to me. “Good.”

She hadn’t run away after meeting the disaster that was my father. She was here. She was making plans with me.

That was a comfort.

“Husband,” she groaned, as I heard the rumble of her belly.

“Hungry, love?” I asked, pulling away to look up at her from between the valley of her luscious breasts.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Deli meat and sandwiches are fine but hardly filling…”

I liked her appetite. I liked her voice. I liked the fullness of her figure and every curve of her hair. She was a woman created exactly for me, and I had fooled her into becoming my wife. Could I fool her into being handfasted to me? Could I make her think it was something that wasn’t medieval and strange?

More importantly, could I do it without lying to her? Without uttering a falsehood to my sweet muse.

“I’ve had some clothes delivered in the closet,” I said, nodding my head to the adjoining door. “You can’t wear a black dress like that. You’ll look like the help.”

I came to my feet and cupped her face.

“I need them to see you as the future lady of the house.” I ran my thumb over her cheek, staring down at her full lips, and feeling the hunger building in my gut again, as my cock throbbed behind my zipper. “Will you let me dress you, Mrs. Green?”

With the painting of the kiss behind her, I felt a sense of prophecy, as if this moment was something that had been shown to me in a vision years ago.

“Will you take no for an answer?” she asked, her eyes fluttering closed with lust.

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