e. The castle was both a sanctuary and a prison-its stone walls too cold to offer comfort, and yet they held me captive. I was never truly alone. His pr

inesc

ef or unspoken-sent an electric current through my body that I couldn't control. I told myself I hated him, that I wa

wned

r came. Instead, I lay awake, tangled in the sheets, my body restless and my mind consumed by him. The moonlight filtered thro

gh, something

ervants and guards had quieted, and the usual sounds of life beyond my room had been

he sound of

to turn around to know who they belonged to. The ground seemed t

er than life, a king in every sense of the word. His gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, t

soft but carrying an edge of some

ering against my chest. "What do you want?" I asked, my

slow, deliberate movements. My breath caught in my throat, my body responding to his presenc

his voice low and commanding. "I'm here b

ally in my chest as I struggled to stay calm. "What could you possibly want from m

want you to understand that this... this between us is inevitable." His words were like a spell,

my throat when he moved even closer. He was so near now that I could feel the heat radiating off h

tensity in his eyes-the gleam of something raw and primal that I had seen only glimpses of before. Som

mured, his voice a comman

visible thread drawing me toward him, making my body ache with need. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to pus

h to make me gasp. "You can fight it all you want," he whis

ie. It wasn't true, but the heat flooding through my b

shing over my bottom lip in a slow, sensual motion. "I can feel it. Your body reac

ut unyielding, like a steady promise that nothing would tear us apart. "You won't get a

body was betraying me, burning with a desire I couldn't understand, couldn't control. His fingers slid d

ntoxicating. "You feel it, don't you?" he whispered, his

wn desire, but I couldn't. I couldn't stop the way my body respon

him away. I wan

ushing my ear, I couldn't help t

his voice laced with both promise a

eathless, my heart pounding in my chest as I stoo

soft but carrying an edge of wa

ound of his footsteps echoing through th

o of his presence sti