Page 23 of Satisfying the King

I started walking toward the stream. Carlo’s hand quickly shot out and grabbed my arm. “I think I can do better than that.” He chuckled and pulled me along beside him. His arm slid around me, and we walked up the bank a bit.

Until we came to a large cooler with a rolled up blanket on top. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m so hungry, but I didn’t want to say anything.” I slipped from under Carlo’s arm and headed toward the cooler—but a large hand stopped me. My eyes gazed from the hand grasping my lower arm and then up to his angry face. “What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling completely clueless about why he was so obviously angry with me.Had I said something?

“If you’re hungry or thirsty, you tell me. Do you understand?” I could tell by the tone he used that Carlo was trying very hard to hold his shit together.

And then I remembered that Carlo had a thing about feeding me. I wasn’t sure why—or where it came from.

But it was his thing.

And it was a big—thing.

For him.

Maybe one day he’d tell me why.

And maybe not.

Whatever the case—this was how he was wired.

I nodded and stepped into his body. My hands landed on his big chest, and I gazed up at my burly lumberjack. “I’m sorry, honey. I was having so much fun on our ride.” I lifted up on my tiptoes and kissed the bottom of his hairy chin. “I didn’t want it to end.” Then I hugged him and laid my head against his furiously beating heart.

I felt his body relax and his arms wound around me. He kissed the top of my head and sighed noisily.

I gazed up and smiled. “I’m hungry, Carlo. Feed me, please.”

I watched as his eyes flared—in a good way. His head dipped down to mine. “That’s better,” he said against my lips before he kissed me lightly.

After that, he let go of me and spread the white blanket out on the ground. I sat down and waited for him to pull everything out of the cooler. I watched the horses at the stream and reveled in the quiet out here. The only noises were the horses, the birds, and Carlo.

I grinned to myself and closed my eyes. And then I took a moment to just—breathe.

I knew the calm wouldn’t last.

But I put that out of my mind.

I cleared it altogether.

And just enjoyed the perfectness of—right now.

“Giselle,” Carlo said in a low, caring voice.

My eyelids fluttered open, and I saw him looking at me curiously. “What?” I grinned at him and sighed. Gosh, he really was my dream lumberjack.

Scruffy.

Sexy.

And huge.

“Tell me what you were just thinking.” His fingers reached out and grazed down my cheek. “You had the most peaceful, joyous look on your face.” His eyes trailed over my face as he touched me.

I shrugged and gave him my honest answer. “I was thinking that if I died right this second,” I inhaled and Carlo’s piney scent floated up my nose, “I’d die happy.”

The curious look on his face fell right the heck off. And it was replaced with an angry as heck look. His hand dropped from my face, and he frowned. “What the fuck kind of thought is that?” he spat out at me.

His anger confused me. “A nice one?” I shrugged again and turned to him.

“Christ, woman,” he shook his head. “We’ve barely started our lives together. You’re not fucking going anywhere.”

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