Page 32 of A Wolf's Bargain

They laughed as Cora looked on, nonplussed. When Cillian noticed her expression, he smiled and reached out his hand. “Ah, I suppose some introductions are in order, aren’t they?” Hegestured toward the woman with his other hand. “Cora, I’d like you to meet my mother, Aoife.”

Chapter 15

Cora

“You could have told me she was your mother!”

Cora followed Cillian through the dark woods that night. Moonlit patches acted as guiding touchstones for her feet through the dark. Cillian led her confidently, as though the lack of light was no trouble at all. She realized that it likely wasn’t and wondered what the world looked like through his eyes.

“Ah, but if I’d told you, you might not have been so beautifully brave. You’d have been too worried about making a poor impression on your mother-in-law. So really, it’s good that I didn’t.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Insufferable man,” she muttered.

Cillian laughed, ducking under a branch ahead. “It all worked out, didn’t it? You made a fine impression on the elders. Not only are they sending some guardians fromClann Abhaileto help with the English, but you thrashed Elder Bradán so soundly in your little speech that I doubt any of the elders will darken our door for a long while.”

Cora huffed, then squawked as she stumbled on a root. Cillian chuckled as he helped her regain her footing, and she wished she could see well enough to throw something at his back. A pinecone, maybe—nothing damaging, just enough to make her point.

“Can you see as well at night as you can in the day?” she asked.

Cillian glanced back at her, a playful smile on his lips. “Just about. Certainly well enough to see that spider in your hair.”

Cora tore her hand out of his and frantically brushed at her hair. When she found no spider, she glared at Cillian and swatted his arm. “You awful man! I hate spiders!”

Cillian chuckled and brushed the back of his knuckles against her temples. “Ah, lass. Don’t worry—I’ll keep you safe from all the spiders in Ireland.”

“I can manage just fine with a big stick, thanks. I’ve never needed a wolf to kill a spider before.”

“Ah, but you’ve never seen the giant ones deep in the woods, have you?”

Cora’s eyes went wide. “You—you’re lying! Cillian Fane, you tell me this instant that you’re lying!”

Cillian grinned, and Cora decided she liked the way the playfulness made him appear so much younger than he was. He’d always smiled easily with her—especially when saying something that infuriated her—but there was something about this smile. The one he had when they were alone. Something she thought, she hoped, was just for her. At first, she’d ignored it. She hadn’t wanted his warmth because she’d been blinded by her fear. Too sure that the beast was only a breath away from the surface.

“And if I was? What would you do, Madame Fane?”

Cora’s heart skipped a beat whenever he called her by her married name. Though they’d been married several weeks, it was still difficult to see herself as anyone’s wife. They’d shared a tent since the wedding, and of course, there had been the consummation. Cora would never admit just how much that night played through her mind when she crawled into her cot at night. She’d done her best to hide the way the memories heated her skin and caused her heart to race, but she suspected Cillian knew. He’d never pushed her. Never pressed for anything physical past the kisses he would leave on her hand with mocking lips each morning.

She wanted more.

God help her; she wanted her husband. She wanted the Wolf King who’d bedded her that first night when she’d been so stubborn in her refusal to show any sort of enjoyment. She wanted the man who’d brought her pleasure with just his thigh and his words. Wanted his certainty and the way he’d overwhelmed her with his body and his voice.

Cillian’s loud, deep inhale shook Cora from her thoughts and reminded her that she hadn’t answered. Cillian’s stare pinned her in place, and she forgot what he’d asked.

“I—sorry, what?”

He moved closer and took her wrist in his large hand. “Distracted, wife?”

Her pulse thundered in her ears at the rough rumble of his voice. Desire sparked beneath her skin, raising goosebumps on her arms. After the nearly palpable heat between them in the tent earlier, she’d hoped he might—that they might—explore it more.

“Of course, I’m distracted. You’ve dragged me out into the wilderness in the middle of the night, and I can hardly see the nose on my face. Now you’re telling me there might be giant spiders frolicking about! Who wouldn’t be distracted?”

Cillian leaned in suddenly and ran his nose up the sensitive skin of her neck as he took in another breath. “I don’t think spiders are what’s got you smelling so sweet, My Lady. Not unless you’ve been thinking about spiders each night in our tent. Are you sure you’re not thinking of something else?”

Cora bit her lip to hold back the moan that nearly escaped at his touch. When he spoke, his beard scraped against her skin teasingly. She fought against the sudden urge to pull him closer and force him to drag his beard across her breasts. He’d done that on their wedding night before taking her breast in his mouth, and she still remembered the way she’d panted for more.

“I’m not sure what you mean, My Lord. Perhaps your sense of smell isn’t as keen as you think.”

“Cora.”

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