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She was surprised when he took her wrist in hand and drew the bread toward his lips. She watched him open his mouth, then guide the piece inside.
Except, he took more than just the bread.
His lips surrounded two of her fingers and her thumb. She felt a sucking pressure as he slowly took the bread from her.
Rosamunde froze where she stood. The cool air hit her now damp fingers. Stone held her gaze, his brows low, his green eyes glittering.
Deep within her abdomen, a vibration began, one that she recognized as her profound need to bond with him. She could hardly breathe as sudden desire began to spread from the point of that vibration throughout her entire body.
Her cheeks heated up. “Stone are you really suggesting what I think you are?”
Was it possible he’d started overcoming his anger? And so soon? She knew Stone had spoken with Davido. Maybe the wise old troll had offered Stone some advice.
~ ~ ~
The last thing Stone had expected was to see the complete vulnerability in Rosamunde’s violet eyes. He couldn’t believe how much he’d misjudged the woman. He’d always thought of her as cold and reserved, stuck in her royal life and indifferent to the plight of the Nine Realms.
Nor could he deny a need to embrace what his fellow ruling mastyrs had already experienced; a deep, overwhelming call not just on his body, but on his soul. He hadn’t expected the latter, which worked to complicate everything.
The experience of the elf-lord power had not only ramped up his mating vibration, but also told him quite simply that Queen Rosamunde of Ferrenden Peace was in a similar state.
Slowly, he extended his hand in her direction. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to make love to Rosamunde?
His palm touched the bare skin of her arm and an electrical current began to pulse, a very Nine Realms vibration. In response, she drew in a slow, halting breath punctuated with faint gasps. He held her gaze.
Whatever this was going to be, he wanted her with him all the way.
“Rosamunde, are you sure you want to do this, because I know once we begin this journey, there’s no turning back.”
Tears touched her eyes. He could see she was overwhelmed. He was no less so and felt as though if she refused him right now, if she said she couldn’t continue, he’d break apart in a way that could never be restored.
He didn’t get this. He didn’t get any of it.
Then she did something he knew he’d never forget for the rest of his life. She lifted her hand and settled her palm on his cheek. She never once averted her gaze. He knew what this was costing her, how much courage she showed in just looking into his eyes. He could hear the quick, erratic beats of her heart.
“I’m scared half out of my mind right now.” She swallowed hard. “But the elf-lord power tells me this is the right, maybe even the only possible path, not just for me but for you as well. Yet you and I have been enemies for so long. How can we come together like this now?”
“After all that we’ve been through just tonight, especially beginning with events at the Wild Boar, I want us to be together, as close as we can be, short of a true bond. We’ll get to know each other and maybe the rest will follow.”
“Then it’s a matter of faith and of trust?” she asked.
“Rosamunde, tell me you trust me, that you believe in me at least that much.” He knew he’d spoken stridently and her sensitive fae features startled then paled quickly.
She gasped again, but she never broke eye-contact with him. Damn, the woman had courage, more than he’d ever supposed. She was practically splintering in front of him, yet she held her course.
He felt her answer before she gave it. “I never disagreed with your character, Stone. Only with your attitudes toward me. With all my heart, I trust you. Sweet Goddess, I trust you with my life.”
He slid his arm all the way around her, pulling her tight against him. He crashed his lips down on hers because he couldn’t do anything else. Her words had lit a fire in his heart, his soul, his body that wouldn’t be denied.
~ ~ ~
Rosamunde felt as though she was falling backward and just kept falling, even though she remained upright. The sensation was sublime. She also couldn’t believe that in the space of a few hours, he’d changed his view of her. Davido must have helped, yet at the same time, she knew the battle for his forgiveness wasn’t over.
For now, though, she focused only on him. He had his arms tight around her, so she felt safe, absurdly and ridiculously safe.
Until the past two nights, she hadn’t been with a man in so long that she’d forgotten the thrill of experiencing the sheer physical strength a man possessed, especially Stone.
Her heart pounded. She’d already begun producing the extra portion for Stone and she was eager to have him feed from her again. But she didn’t want to hurry the process. More was happening here than just sex. She knew that. She might not be able to quantify everything, but this was the beginning of a bonding process that had to take certain steps.
