Page 36 of Tamed for Her Pleasure

Alone, I turn back to the room, once more assaulted by the abundance of green.

The lamp, with its gold-trimmed green shade, is lit, bringing soft illumination to the room; it sits on an ornate green and gold nightstand. That matches the wallpaper, the swags, and the woven floor covering that stretches to the far corners of the room.

Gods, I’m going to lose my damn mind sleeping here.

I note that the windows are actually large double doors. When I open them, I find they lead out to a stone balcony surrounded by a carved stone balustrade. The air is crisp and cold, with a light dusting of snow covering the balcony. It is quietand offers views across the castle courtyard and the city beyond. I am high, alarmingly high. The endless twisting stairs Penelope guided me up have taken me up into the sky.

My fingers close over the balustrade as I take in sights such as I never thought to see. Here I am, a former barbarian king in a Hydornian castle, set to marry a woman who will one day be queen of all this.

As I stare out at the expanse of rooftops, watching the smoke of a myriad of chimneys rising, I see so many lights. They twinkle from windows and make long chains through the streets.

It is pretty in the way of a forest full of fireflies.

I wish my parents had been there before I left. They have traveled extensively since I took on the role of king and are wintering at a neighboring clan. My mother, as wise as she is kind, would have approved of Penelope.

The lasses of the clan never stirred more than passing interest. I always thought I was waiting for my fated omega to enter my life. It is a fantasy many alphas have.

It is not my fantasy anymore, for I do not want anyone who is not Penelope. Now, I must navigate a delicate time and thoroughly stake my claim, imprint myself upon her, and ensure her every need is met lest another male step in.

As I look across the great city, I question what I have to offer a princess. In the clans, I would provide a comfortable home with her favorite things, the softest blankets for her bed, and fine clothing as I could afford. She would want for nothing. When the babes come along, it would be my privilege to provide for them, too. Yet, what could I possibly provide for Penelope that she does not already have? I do not even need to offer her protection when she has an army of loyal soldiers. All the wooing gifts I might buy for her are nothing compared to the grandeur she lives in every day.

I have only my love.

This realization confronts me. An alpha enjoys the wooing of a mate, paying attention to those things she favors, so he might provide her with more, whether that is tending her to pleasure or digging the plot over so she can have a pretty rose rambling over the garden wall.

Penelope wants for nothing.

She wants me, I remind myself. And I want her; I am already fully committed, and there is no changing that.

I close the doors and return to the overly green room, which puts a strange queasiness in my gut.

I note another door on the left opposite the bed. Curious, I stride over and open it to find a bathing room with a green marble floor and walls.

“Gods! Do they not have any other colors?”

I turn to the left and start when I find a giant barbarian staring back at me.

My heart rate steadies as I realize I am the giant in the looking glass.

I scratch absently at my jaw. Fuck, I am a big, fearsome bastard.

“I see you found the bathroom.”

There is a smile in her voice, and I swing around to face the object of all my lustful thoughts.

She circles, coming around the front of me, placing herself between me and the looking glass.

“You have changed,” I say unnecessarily, for she is wearing a pretty blue dress with a carefully placed silk scarf against her throat to cover my necklace… and the love marks I put there.

I growl and, fisting the silk, unravel it, revealing the welts that mark her as mine. “You washed off my scent.”

She nibbles on her lower lips. “Oops.”

Damn brat!

I’m about to toss her over my shoulder when I notice her in the looking glass. Not only her but her and me… together.

I purr, watching myself as I lower my hand to cup her ass. She is tiny beside me, delicate, and I am a big hulking brute.

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