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He sounded irritated, was covered in sweat from whatever battle he’d fought to get to her side, and looked like he would rather take a sledgehammer to the castle walls than kiss her.
Needless to say, this was not how she’d dreamed of being proposed to.
“Put an end to this mess?” she repeated with a frown. “Is that the only reason you’re here? If so, you shouldn’t have bothered. I have no wish to marry—”
You see there, she has no wish to marry. Now get out of here before I—
“I have no wish to marry for any reason but love,” Calliope broke in, raising her voice to be heard over the castle’s wailing and rumbling. “I love you, Aaron. I loved you even after the spell between us was broken. But I can’t promise my life to someone who doesn’t feel the same way.”
“I love you too, woman!” he shouted.
“Then why are you yelling at me?” She felt near tears and as the bed rattled and shook, she considered letting go of Aaron’s neck and sliding away. That would show him how little she appreciated this angry, frustrated proposal.
If the stones at the foot of the bed hadn’t chosen that moment to crumble away, leaving a massive hole on that side of the tower, she might have had the gumption to follow through with the impulse.
“Calliope,” Aaron said, the effort it took to gentle his voice abundantly obvious. “I knew the moment you spelled me and slid down that rope that I loved you. I would have come to save you immediately if I didn’t have to deal with the business of making Johann ruling sovereign. And then Henri mounted an insurrection and I had to throw him in the dungeon. But at no time during any of that did I stop loving you or counting the minutes until I would be back by your side.”
“Really? What do you love about me?” Calliope asked, ignoring the crash as more of the tower crumbled around them.
One entire wall was now gone and it wouldn’t be long before the structure would prove unsound, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry about that until she had her answer.
“I love your sweetness,” he said, his eyes softening. “I love your bravery in the face of illness and adversity. I love the way you smile at me and the way you touch me when we’re making love. I love hearing you talk and watching you walk along tree limbs and just sitting together and watching the sun set over the—”
The bed bucked until it was nearly vertical. Calliope screamed and Aaron’s arm tightened around her waist, but they were both hanging from his one arm now, and there was no telling how much longer he could hold on.
Good thing he had been sufficiently convincing.
“Yes, Aaron!” she shouted, clinging to his neck. “Yes, I will marry you.”
No! No, creator! You tricked me. Tricks, your wicked tricks…
The voice of the castle faded away and the earth settled, sending the bed crashing back to the ground. Aaron and Calliope grunted as they bounced back onto the mattress then sat in silence for a moment, watching dust float through the suddenly still air.
“I didn’t trick her,” Calliope huffed. “I told her when I agreed to take Rosamund’s place that I was including a way to break the spell. Nothing tricky about that.” She turned to look at Aaron, grinning when she saw the smile on his face. “What are you smiling at?”
“You. I love you.” He bent and kissed her, softly, but Calliope felt the emotion in the kiss all the way down to her toes.
She sighed happily. “You do love me, don’t you?”
“I do. Good thing, since we’re going to be married.” His hands were already wandering under the nightdress the castle had dressed her in while she slept, sliding up the inside of her thigh in a way that made her tremble.
“Yes, a very good thing,” she mumbled against his lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth, stroking against hers with the same skill that his fingers used to tease through her swollen folds.
“You’re already wet.” He dipped a thick finger inside her, just once, making her groan in response.
“I was dreaming about you.”
“A naughty dream?” His hands pushed her nightdress up to reveal her breasts, his fingers teasing the tightened buds of her nipples before he dropped his head to capture one nub in his mouth.
“Absolutely,” she moaned, twining her fingers through his hair and arching into the skillful swirls of his tongue. “I believe you were taking me from behind, while you pulled my braid and said terribly naughty things.”
“Really?” He pulled away from her breast, a surprised, but fevered, look in his eyes.
“Really,” she said as she tugged at the closure of his pants, freeing his cock. “I think you might have also swatted my bottom once or twice,”
“Did you like that? When I swatted your bottom?” He shoved his pants to the ground and ripped his shirt over his head before rolling on top of her, capturing her wrists and pinning her arms above her head. He kneed her thighs apart and she eagerly accommodated his hips between her legs.
“I’m not sure, but I’d been a very bad fairy and I think I deserved—” She broke off with a cry as he guided his burning length inside of her. “Oh Goddess, yes, Aaron, I want all of you.”
