Page 53 of The Queen and the Half-blood
Grateful to be able to flee to a chair rather than the shadowy sleeping nook to their right, Lara hurried over to the fire and seated herself.
Sinking down into the chair opposite, Alar eyed her. “It’s all right,” he said, his lips curving. “I’m not going to maul you.”
Her blood started to roar in her ears, and she took yet another large swallow of wine. “You aren’t?”
His expression sobered then. A groove etched between his dark brows as he continued to study her.
Lara made a choking sound. “For the love of the Gods, do you have to stare so? You’re like a wolf sizing up its next meal.”
He snorted. “Sorry. After years amongst the wulvers, I’ve adopted many of their ways.”
“Aye, well … can you look elsewhere?”
“Maybe I don’t want to. You are lovely to look upon.”
Her fingers clenched at her cup. By the Gods, it was starting.
He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs. “I will do my best to make tonight easy for you.”
The wild urge to laugh ripped through her.Easy?
Downing the last of her wine, she set the cup down on the hearth with a thump. She then stood up and moved back from the fireplace. Heat flowed through her now, giving her the courage she needed.
The sooner they consummated their union, the sooner they could focus on their campaign to take Strath.
“Right then.” She tugged at the laces on the side of her fitted, ankle-length tunic. “Let’s get started.”
What are you doing?Ignoring the screaming in her head, she loosened the last of the laces and wriggled out of the tunic. Then, clad only in a thin sleeveless shift that reached mid-thigh, she began tearing off the golden arm rings she’d donned for today’s celebrations, tossing them carelessly onto the sheepskins at her feet. Afterward, she tore off the restrictive torque from around her throat.
Breathing hard, she looked Alar’s way once more.
He hadn’t moved from before the fire.
“Come on,” she challenged him. “What are you waiting for?”
A moment passed before he rose smoothly to his feet. He then cocked an eyebrow, a challenge glinting in his eyes.
Her heart kicked violently, dizziness sweeping over her. This was false courage. Indeed, her heart quailed as he unlaced his vest and shrugged it off. He was now clad in nothing but tight leather breeches.
The first thing she noticed was the wolf’s head tattoo inked over the left side of his chest. It had been done by a master,in exquisite detail. The wolf’s jaws were open, revealing sharp teeth, although it was the beast’s eyes that held her fast.
For a moment, they appeared to glow red in the firelight.
Lara blinked.No, surely not.
She was loath to admit it, but he had a beautiful body, graceful yet strong. However, when her gaze traveled down the smooth, sculpted muscle of his lean torso, to where his breeches sat low on his hips, it settled upon a bulge at his crotch.
Those trousers left little to the imagination.
He then took a step toward her, and Lara’s bravery fled. Panic slammed into her breastbone like a mallet. And then, suddenly, all the strength went out of her legs. Gasping for breath, she fell to her knees, onto the sheepskins.
“Lara?” A moment later, Alar was there, kneeling too, in front of her. There was no mockery in his eyes now, no teasing smile. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” she choked out.
“You—”
“I’m all right.”
