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All the same, she was mesmerised by the energy he exuded.
This was Talos stripped back, in all his graceful, powerful glory.
Sweat dripped off him, his muscles rippled, his punches were hard and merciless—as if he were imagining the punching bag as a living target, a foe to be destroyed.
He was in pain. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name. His pain was in every one of his punches.
He must have caught sight of her in the mirror, for he suddenly stopped and spun around. Breathing heavily, he stared at her disbelievingly, his throat moving, his jaw clenched.
Her lips parted to apologise for the intrusion—and it was an intrusion—but the words stuck in her throat.
Not taking his eyes off her, Talos reached for a towel and wiped his face and chest, then dropped it to the floor and prowled over to stand before her.
His chest was rising and falling in rapid motion, and his nostrils flared before his mouth came crashing down on hers and she was pushed back against the wall.
His kisses were hungry, the kisses of a starving man. His powerful strength was something she’d always been hugely aware of, but until that moment she’d never appreciated the restraint he displayed around her. Now, holding her upright against the wall with one arm, he gripped her hip with his free hand and pulled her tight against him, before loosening his grip to slide his hand down her thigh to the hem of her short skirt and rip her knickers off. Manipulating her thighs to wrap around him, he freed himself from his shorts and plunged into her with a groan that spoke as much of pain as it did of pleasure.
Amalie held him tight, breathing in his salty, woody scent, cradling his scalp, wanting only to take away his pain.
As far as lovemaking went this was fierce, primal, but she embraced every carnal thrust, felt the pulsations building in her core as she clung to him. He gave a roar and buried his face in her hair, his whole body shaking, and his final thrust pushed her over the edge as the pulsations exploded with a shocking power that took all the life from her bones and left her limp in his arms.
Time lost any meaning.
It was only when he gently placed her back on her feet, tugged her skirt down from around her waist and stepped back, that she saw the red mark on the top of his shoulder and realised she had made it with her mouth.
Talos spotted it too and gave a ragged grin. ‘My first love bite,’ he said, in an attempt at humour that didn’t fool her for a second.
She waited for him to ask why she was there, but all he did was cup her cheeks and kiss her with something close to desperation, then pull her to him.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his voice husky. ‘That was incredibly selfish of me.’
‘I’m not,’ she murmured, tilting her head to look up at him.
His eyes closed and he muttered an oath. ‘I didn’t use protection.’
That made her blink. She hadn’t been in the right frame of mind to think of protection either.
‘We should be okay. I’m due on tomorrow.’
‘Should be okay?’ He gave a savage shake of his head.
‘I’m not an expert, but I’m certain I’m way past the ovulation stage of my cycle. And I’m always regular,’ she added, trying to reassure him even while the image of a dark-haired baby wrapped in vine leaves filtered into her mind. ‘I’ll know within a couple of days if we have a problem.’
The pulse in his jaw was working overtime. ‘Make sure to tell me the minute you know.’
‘I promise.’ She hesitated before asking, ‘Talos, what’s wrong? You’ve become so distant.’
He gazed back down at her, and for a moment she was certain he was about to talk. Instead, he pulled his arms away and took a step back.
‘Nothing’s wrong. I’m a little stressed about the gala, I have a few minor problems with work, a lack of sleep...the usual.’
‘I’m sure the rehearsals tomorrow will go better,’ she said, trying to inject positivity into her tone. ‘At least I was able to play it today.’
Even if it had sounded like a cats’ chorus ringing out, and even if the members of her orchestra had been gazing at her with something close to horror.
He raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head, before jerking it into a nod. ‘I’m sure you’re right.’
And in that moment she knew he was lying.
He wasn’t merely concerned.
He didn’t believe she could do it.
Panic took hold in her chest.
Up until that point Talos’s conviction that he could fix her had taken root in her head, allowing her to believe that she could overcome her fear in time. But if her warrior prince had lost faith, what did that say? Where did that leave her? Where did that leave them?
