Igo a little dizzy, so quickly does all the blood rush into my cock. It pulses hot and heavy against the confines of my leather pants.

On the other side of the room is a goddess in human flesh. She has done this for me, making the bed in a barbarian style—it is almost a nest.

I don’t think she realizes the significance of what she has done or how much it means to me.

Or perhaps she does. Perhaps, this is my saucy princess pushing me to take that final step. I know she is desperate to be mine completely, to be fully seated on my flesh—including my knot.

Her eyes sparkle. She is alive with mischief and joy. That is what she gives me every day—joy. Living is a pleasure when one has someone like Penelope to share it with.

And then she put on this dress.

I fucking love her silk gowns, peeling her out of them, getting them all rumpled as I ravish my sweet princess. But this, this isnew and strangely erotic, which makes no sense to a man who hails from the clans and who has seen women dressed like this every day.

Penelope is not one of my clan women. She is a princess—a noble. One might say she is many stations above me. I have accepted that. But in this place, we are equals. In this place, she will be beneath me in the manner of a woman being bedded lovingly by her mate.

I want to go to her, fist those long red tresses, and slant my mouth over hers. But I have not forgotten that whispered promise she gave me as I lay upon a fancy bed with my life in the balance.

I didn’t realize that at the time, only after.

Penelope is no ordinary woman. Her submission is a gift to be cherished.

I will nurture every one of her fantasies.

So I don’t go to her. Instead, I walk over to the foot of the bed, leaving her waiting as I inspect the deeply layered furs, appreciating the way they lend a barbaric feel to this once-civilized room. I have come to love this home in so short a time. But I also miss my former home in the clans. It seems like forever ago when I took her to my clan bed.

This time will be different.

Turning to face my mate, waiting expectantly by the mirror, I pull my leather jerkin over my head and drop it to the floor. Then I strip off everything except my pants, although I loosen a few buttons at the top, so they don’t strangle my cock. They hang low on my hips—her eyes settle on them.

I sit down at the end of the bed and pat my thigh.

Her throat works as she swallows.

“Did you think I had forgotten?”

Her eyes darken, lifting from her perusal of cock bulging against my pants to meet mine.

The unmistakable perfume of her lust saturates the air.

She is fertile.

Ready to be bred.

“Get over here, mate. If I have to ask you again, this will go so much worse.”

She huffs out a little breath and lifts her nose in the air, reminding me that she is regal to the core. She draws closer, but does so slowly, allowing me to feast upon the sight of her sweet, lush body all wrapped up in a hide dress, scandalously short by her Hydornian standards. Her breasts near spill out, and my mouth fucking waters.

“On second thoughts, bring me my tits. That dress makes me feel hungry, and I have a mind to indulge myself.”

She hesitates—I see the mischief in her eyes like she is thinking about running. Brat! I clamp my hand over her waist and drag her onto my lap with her tits in my face.

She giggles, then groans as I scrap my teeth over the hide, over one distended nipple. Her fingers fist my hair, pulling me closer. I suck her nipple through the soft leather.

“Oh, please!”

I like the impatience in her voice, and I will have a lot more of it before I am done.

Only, I want this too, so I tug the lace at the front undone. Her tit falls into my waiting mouth. I suck hard, stuffing my mouth with the comforting flesh and lavishing her nipple with my tongue. I bite down over the sensitive nub—she jerks against my hold—and then suck to soothe it again.