Page 20 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

“Kate,” he said in light admonishment. “Did you really think you could escape so easily?”

Her eyes narrowed in challenge. “It was worth a shot.” He did not normally like being challenged by anyone, but he found it oddly charming when this womanruffledhis feathers, so to speak.

Roan narrowed his eyes at her. “Surely you realize you cannot leave.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Why not? This is your world, not mine. I don’t belong here, Roan.”

“You are mine.” It was that simple. Why couldn’t she understand?

“I am not?—”

“If I wish to reorder the planets or birth a new star in the sky, such is my power.” He felt her tremble as the words left his lips, and he tightened his hold on her before continuing. “You aremine.I will reorder time itself and break every rule for you, if you but ask me to. Consider it. Anything you wish will be yours. Any pleasures you wish to seek shall be found. In this land, there is no limit to your desires. You may have anything.”

Her eyes flicked up to his with that word, and he could feel the heat that flushed into her skin. His fingers dug into the fabric covering her thighs, his body hardening and his lips quirking up slightly. She licked her lips, her lashes fluttering. “Anything?”

“Anything,” said Roan, “but your freedom.”

Her head snapped back. “Roan, I have to go back! My family?—”

“Your family does not care for you,” he said cooly.

The pain in her expression made him regret his words but not the truth of them. Her family had no interest in her, but he did. He was a king with vast power at his command who could have anything, and he wantedher.

“No one here cares for me either,” she said, her tone quiet.

“I want you,” Roan replied.

She turned away, her gaze looking toward a land he could not reach. “Wanting someone isn’t the same as caring for them.”

For one so young, she had moments of wisdom that many would not see in their entire lives, Fae or mortal.

The distance cleared from her eyes as she looked back up at him.

“Fae like to make bargains, don’t they? You get me for one night, and then I get to go home the next day.” She bit her bottom lip as she waited for him to reply.

“I may only want you, Kate. But my desires would not end after one night. My appetites can last a millennium. I offer you a chance to forget your old life and take this gift—to live in the land of the unchanging. To live well past your human lifetime, to do whatever you desire, so long as you belong to me.”

“But what about my brother? I can’t leave him. He needs me. Sandra will ruin him. I have to go back.”

“No,” Roan said simply, carrying her toward the path that would lead back up to the palace. “Forget your brother, forget those who would forget you—stay with me. I will show you such pleasures you will fear you will die from them.”

He lowered her to the ground, keeping one arm around her waist while his other hand cupped her chin. Roan leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, then roughly, letting her taste the passion he held in check. Her soft lips parted beneath his, and his tongue delved into her mouth, seeking its mate. Kate made a kittenish noise at the back of her throat that drove his hunger for her even higher. He let his magic wrap around his body and hers, as he painted a future for her to see within her mind.

“A consort to sit at my side, nights of sweet ecstasy in my bed, adventures and magic are yours.”Kate trembled as he spoke within her mind.

He backed her against the rock wall, gently pinning her there with his body as he continued his sensual assault on her senses with his kiss. He sent her a vision of him kneeling at her feet as she sat on the edge of his bed, naked, as he kissed his way up her inner thighs, to explore the taste of her. The Kate in his vision fell back onto the bed, drawing him up her body until he covered her with his own and sank into her welcoming heat. He rode her until she screamed his name and the stars in the sky fell to the earth at the force of their lovemaking.

As the vision faded from her mind, Roan brushed his lips along her jaw to her ear and then down her neck as he caressed one of her breasts through her sweater. She pressed closer to him with a moan, and he wanted to howl in triumph at her answering need.Yes. Good.

He gripped her bottom and slid his hand down the back of her thigh until he reached her knees, to lift her body up so she wrapped her legs around him. He rocked into the cradle of her thighs, letting her feel his desire for her.

“Roan...” She breathed his name, her nails digging into his shoulders.

“Tell me you belong to me,” he encouraged. “That is all you must say.” He was on fire at her touch, at her single utterance of his name. He’d never wanted anyone or anything as much as he wanted her, and it stunned him.

But rather than promise herself as his, his words brought the rebel back into his little human.

“Put me down! This isn’t real. This...” She kicked and almost dislodged herself, but he tightened his hold.

---