Page 20 of The Time Of Kings

“Yes,my wife…for make no mistake, little thief, that is what you shall soon be.”

I let out the breath I had been holding on a quiet whoosh, before arguing,

“So, first, you are convinced the only reason I don’t grant you my name is that I must be a criminal, and the next assumption in wanting your lips at my core, is that I must be after your title. That I fancy myself as being the next lady of this castle…?”

He scoffed at this, as if dismissing my argument entirely, despite the sense in every word I threw his way. Something I continued to do when I told him,

“…After all, it was like you so kindly put it, I am of lower rank and most definitely not a lady, so gaining higher status must be the only thing I could want from you in return!” I snapped, shocking him enough that he actually took a step back. As if I had struck him. I took advantage of his surprise enoughthat I stormed past him and opened the door, only pausing long enough to look back at him to issue my final goodbye.

One that told him all he needed to know, when I snapped in anger,

“Oh, and my name is Catherine…”

“…My Lord, Dominic Draven.”

10

THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES

It wasn’t usual that I argued with my husband but whenever I did, I usually ended up doing exactly what I did now. Something I knew utterly infuriated him every time. But this wasn’t the reason I did it. No, the reason was self-preservation. I didn’t like crying in front of others and that included Draven, despite many times finding myself doing just that. However, when he was the one making me mad or upset, granting him my tears just felt weak. I didn’t want his guilt because there were tears in my eyes. I wanted his apology on his own terms, just like I gave him my own if I was the one in the wrong.

Which was why I walked away, now removing the angry tears from my cheeks with a frustrated swipe of my hand. And as for Draven, well he did as he usually did. Which was of course, to chase me down with an angry growl. Hence why I warned him,

“No, don’t you come near me!”

And the game we played continued when his next move was to flat out ignore me! Something that ended in my cry of outrage when I was tossed up over his shoulder.

Time had no impact on who my husband was at his core, for he was a man who knew what he wanted. And having me walkaway from him was never on that list. Hence why I was not surprised by the outcome of my short escape.

Again, how this must have looked to his staff, I didn’t know. But with the way his maids scampered off with fearful looks on their faces, I could certainly guess. It also had me wondering if they were questioning their Lord’s sanity by this point. Especially considering how many times he had been caught chasing me down like this.

But as for questioning his sanity, I was close to doing the same after he entered the room and kicked the door closed in his anger and frustration. Especially when I was dumped unceremoniously on the bed, making my body bounce.

I wasn’t in any mood to put up with his cave man shit, so I scrambled back, only for him to snag my ankle and tug me closer.

“You forget yourself, little thief,as you are mine now!”he growled down at me, and before I could argue further, opening my mouth to do so, he chose this opportunity to silence me with a passionate kiss. A kiss I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of, despite burning in my own anger.

My own sanity was now questionable as I pulled back enough to slap him. His eyes burned into my own and the punishment of doing such a thing was right there. However, before a single word passed his lips, I quickly reached up, hooking my hand at his neck and dragging him back to my lips to kiss once more. His growl vibrated against my tongue and made me bite his lip in response.

Oh yeah, now this was us.

This was how we usually solved the arguments when both were at fault. The frustration and pent-up emotion usually ended in some sexual battle for dominance. One I wasn’t ashamed to say he usually won.

However, this time, when I tried to tug at his breeches, he took my wrists in his hands and pinned them up over my head, causing my sleeves to pull down my arms. Meaning it was during this point that he noticed something for the first time. He now saw the result of his actions when my sleeves falling revealed far too much. Something I had to admit no longer bothered me back in my own time. Not after years spent with this man and the scars of my past no longer holding power over my emotions like they once had.

But the second I saw the narrowing of his eyes on my skin, it was like being dosed with ice cold water. Because this wasn’t my husband who I had spent decades with. The man who had taught me what it meant to be comfortable in my own skin. Who had encouraged me to become the type of person who no longer cared to hide that part of my past.

I watched his eyes darken to the point of becoming murderous, and I wasn’t then surprised when he demanded dangerously,

“Who hurt you?”

I closed my eyes and calmly told him,“Please let me go.”

Something he did, obviously taking in my grave tone and choosing, in that moment, not to push me. He even let me shift to the opposite side of the bed, sitting with my back to him.

“I asked you a question, little thief,” he reminded me, making me lower my head to my hands, hunching over before pushing all my loose hair back in my frustration.

When I shifted off the bed and walked towards the window, I heard the door lock on its own. This giving me cause to look back to Draven, questioning him with a look of shock. Because in his panic to prevent me from possibly leaving again, he had let his powers slip, despite knowing that I must surely question this. He also got to his feet to face me, as if concerned I would take to jumping out the window instead.

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