Page 38 of The Time Of Kings

Then I ignored the horrified looks from the household staff and continued to take her back to my bedchambers, now depositing her on my bed. However, the moment she tried to scramble away from me, I grabbed her ankle and pulled her back to where I wanted her. Quickly pinning her beneath me and lowering my body over hers, making sure that I didn’t apply too much pressure, for I didn’t want to accidently hurt her.

“You forget yourself, little thief,as you are mine now!”I growled down at her.

I was too close to the edge. One she tipped me over when she opened her delicious lips to argue. Furious lips that I ended up tasting for myself and by the gods…

They tasted fucking sweet.

The fact was made sweeter still when she kissed me back with an equal amount of passion, despite her anger at me. It was as if the kiss of the Fated could not be denied, no matter the circumstances. And it looked as if the Gods had Fated me with an eager little vixen, for she was quickly trying to rid me of my breeches. Her intent for where she wanted this kiss to lead was evident. As for myself, well I was certainly of the same mind.

However, I wanted to savour the experience, which was why I took her wrists in my hold and after a slight growl of dominance, I pinned them above her head, keeping her captive to where I wanted her. But what I had not expected to find was the evidence of pain and suffering, for the action caused her wide sleeves to fall.

I had seen plenty of damage that a blade could inflict on mortal skin in my years to know what I was looking at.

Someone had done this to her…

Someone had…

Hurt my Chosen One.

17

FINALISING OUR FUTURE

Iwas surprised I was able to still speak in my mortal tone at that point, as well as keep the purple flame from my eyes when they homed in on the multiple scars that marred her skin.

“Who hurt you?”I asked in what I knew was a dangerous tone, and one so dark and foreboding that it, no doubt, would scare her.

She closed her eyes as if in a pained way before demanding,“Please let me go.”

A large part of my being didn’t want to grant her this request. However, after what she had been through and no doubt by the hands of a man, I decided not to push her. But this would not be the end of it like she hoped. I needed to know the name of my next victim, for if they were not dead already then…

They soon would be.

“I asked you a question, little thief,” I reminded her after she had moved to the other side of the bed. My question giving her cause to now lower her head in her hands in what I perceived as frustration. This was before she shifted from the bed entirely, walking toward the window. A moment that had me takingaction before I could stop myself. For I locked the door with my mind, preventing her leaving me once more.

At the sound of the lock clicking into place, she turned towards me, a questioning look of surprise clear on her face.

I rose from the bed, at the ready to capture her should she even think about attempting another escape, because locking the door wasn’t enough to quench my fears.

“The door… it is locked?” she asked fearfully.

“It is,” I stated, gritting my teeth in response, as I knew what would come next.

“But how?”

“It matters not… now stop evading the question I asked,” I demanded, needing to get her to tell me all I wanted to know. I also needed to get her mind far from what a mortal would deem impossible.

“Oh, but it’s okay for you to evade all my questions, is that right?” she threw back and, unfortunately for me, it was a valid argument. One I promptly ignored in my arrogance to get what I wanted.

“It is simply a matter of importance, and in this, my question takes precedence.”

Her beautiful features said otherwise.

“To you perhaps, but I find my being locked in a room with a man I wish to leave as a serious matter.”

Again, this was another blow for me to receive, and I folded my arms so as to prevent myself from acting on impulse. For all I wished to do was to kiss this foolishness away from her mind. But I decided to fight against her words with logic, pointing out the flaw in that statement made.

“And pray tell me, do you kiss everyone you wish to leave with such unbridled passion?”

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