Page 99 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

I couldn’t answer. He had stolen my words, and all that escaped was a breathy moan. He felt too good, my wolf was pushing my control, and I was so damn wet, my arousal was going to be rolling down my inner thighs if he didn’t stop touching me.

But as soon as he heard my moan, he froze, shoulders tight. “Too hard? I can go softer.” He eased up on the pressure, searching my face with every stroke.

Something about the sight of him there, on his knees for me yet again, bulldozed the barriers I’d been hanging onto so desperately. For protection. To keep my heart intact as I did this impossible thing the Goddess had charged me with.

All those objections, those staunch defenses, felt suddenly hazy and overblown. Why was I keeping him at arm’s length?

Why was I fighting fate so hard?

“That’s better, thank you.” I finally managed to choke out coherent words, and he set my foot down, but didn’t take his hand off my calf. The warm, calloused heat of his palm was fueling all kinds of sexy ideas, but I couldn’t go there, not now.

So, I did what I do best and blurted the first unrelated thing that popped into my head. “I need french fries.Need them. I’m going to see if I can get someone to drive me into the village to get some. There’s got to be a bar still open, and fried potatoes are bar food, no matter what part of the world you’re in.”

His lips quirked up into a half smile. “Pregnancy craving? Does that mean the nausea is fading?”

“Pretty much gone now, so I’m moving on to eating all the things. Like that caterpillar in the kids’ book.”

He mouthed the wordcaterpillar, but didn’t comment on the reference. “The drivers can’t go out with any of the pack females without approval from Kane or the head of security.”

I was just relieved we were talking about something safe and distracting from my intense need for the man I was trying to keep at arm’s length.

“I don’t think you understand. If I have to, I’llwalkmy ass to town, because I need french fries like I need oxygen, and the chef in this castle has all these ideas about only feeding me superfood until I pop. But I need salty, greasy goodness, okay? Pregnancy cravings?—”

“Are nothing to take lightly,” he interrupted me, standing with a single, fluid movement.

That was how a predator moved, and my wolf liked it. She liked ittoo much.

“Which is why I’m offering to drive you myself. Will you let me take you into town?” He offered his hand, palm up and unassuming, and waited for me to decide.

Damn, so much for distractions. Spending the whole evening alone with him in town was risky.

I raked my hands through my hair, probably making it stickup like a crazy person, then made a rash decision. I slid my hand into his, locked eyes, and said, “Take me to town, prince.”

His grin was devilish, and it had me wanting to lean into the desires instead of away as he tugged me down the hallway, not giving me the chance to change my mind.

It felt reckless as we ran out the front door—the only time I hadn’t seen Cristian guarding it, which meant he did sleepsometimes—and down the steps, not stopping until we hit the row of black SUVs always at the ready off to the side of the castle. I was oddly breathless, though I exercised much harder every single day. It was all him; the pull between us.

He opened the door to the closest one for me and didn’t let go of my hand until I was seated. When he did let go, it was to grab the seat belt, buckling me in himself.

“I can do that myself, you know. I’m a big girl,” I said with an extra dash of sass.

“Youcoulddo it yourself, or you could let me take care of you.” There wasn’t an ounce of joking in his voice. He was dead serious, and something about that had me resisting the urge to rub my thighs together with need.

His face was inches away from mine, and the tension between us was so heavy, it was a physical presence. All I had to do was lean in half an inch, and I knew it to my core that his lips would be on mine, and I would be getting something hot and heavy that wasnotfrench fries.

My stomach grumbled, and his eyes crinkled with his smile. “Come on, princess. I promised you french fries, and it’s time to deliver. I know the perfect place.” He lifted my hand one last time, pressing a kiss to the back of my knuckles that made me shudder.

It was giving medieval knight vibes, and it was working for me in a big way. Maybe it was the castle, maybe it was the stunningly green and untarnished countryside we were driving through, or maybe it was the fact that I had a real, live princedriving me, but for the first time in my life, I really did feel like a princess.

He turned on something upbeat in Romanian that I didn’t understand on the radio, and the silence between us was oddly comfortable as we drove the fifteen minutes or so off castle grounds and into the little village where more of Pack Caelestis lived and worked.

When he stopped, we were in front of a quaint-looking stone building, that simply saidGustav’son the front window in green lettering.

“Gustav’s? There isn’t a burger joint around here?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous for no reason at all.

He scoffed, but I could tell he was poking fun and not upset. “Gustav isthe manif you want a basket of hot fries. Trust me?”

The question was weightier than it should have been. But when I nodded, Gael grinned as if I’d just given him the best gift in the world and hopped out of the car. Before I could even finish unbuckling, he jogged around and opened my door for me, hand already extended to help me down. I turned and took it, stepping down onto cobblestone that looked like it’d been around for nearly as long as the castle. I might normally have made a sassy remark, but he wastrying. I kept my remarks to myself and followed him toward the front door.

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