AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nicolette was quite the trooper, actually.
She hadn’t complained about the continuous, no doubt jarring ride, and I knew she was used to living in luxury and comfort—she’d packed half her damn castle and brought it with her, not to mention her hands had been as soft as silk when I’d helped her onto her horse. She couldn’t be used to such poor conditions. Yet she said nothing.
Curious that.
What stumped me even more was the chat we’d had earlier. She’d always said things that were outright quirky and unusual, but honestly, she hadn’t seemed as mentally deficient as I’d originally pegged her. The more we talked, the more it seemed as if she had all her faculties intact. I just—
I couldn’t figure her out.
There was definitely something about the Donnellean I couldn’t seem to piece together.
Like why she’d so willingly come with me—me, an enemy, a known warrior who’d invaded her land to slaughter her kind and reign over what was left.
I knew her agenda had to do with love. She’d outright claimed she fancied herself my soul mate. But for Christ’s sake, she was a fucking princess. And beautiful. Aye, she was a bit odd, but for the kind of riches, beauty, youth, and even the compassion she possessed, oddness could be overlooked by anyone. Surely, she could find someone else in Donnelly to dub as her “true love.” Surely, she had suitors galore, vying for her hand, men battling for the mere chance to sit with her at dinner. She could have literally any man she wanted.
So, why had she chosen me? We’d barely even spoken the night we’d met. And I definitely don’t remember saying anything witty or passionate enough to warrant making anyone—let alone a princess—fall in love with me. I wasn’t ugly, but I wouldn’t say I was that mesmerizing in the looks department either. It made no sense.
I glanced over, trying to fathom it, when I realized the sun was beginning to rise because I could actually make out the features of her face as she rested against the steed’s neck.
God’s blood, but she was gorgeous.
Her silk wrap dress ensconced her like a lover’s caress, wrinkling in places that concealed just enough to drive a man crazy with curiosity, while exposing her enough in other areas to finish him off. Her arms were bare, as were her sun-bronzed shoulders with only two gold wrist guards to protect her slim, delicate appendages.
Her dark mass of hair curled and tangled down her back, over her arm, and across Caramel’s mane. It looked lush and soft, perfect for tunneling one’s fingers through and gripping while experiencing a torrent of pleasure.
Damn, she had hair made for temptation. Everything about her was, really. Her lips were pale pillows, lying dormant under a pert nose as if waiting to be plundered, while the lids of her closed eyes were stained a dark brown, making her lashes appear long and bounteous.
A sharp ache sliced through my gut as I studied her painted fingernails, and leather bit into my palm when the hold on my reins tightened. Those painted nails implied she was just a gentle, pretty thing, but all the while, I could very well imagine them savagely digging into my back and scoring their way along my spine while I tupped her hard and fast.
If she ever worked in a whorehouse, men would brawl for the chance to be with her every night. They had for my mother, and truth be told, Gaina hadn’t held half the demure yet enticing thrall Nicolette did. And men had come from miles around to visit her. She’d been so popular she’d gained the interest of the king, and once he’d met her, he’d demanded exclusive rights to her for the next two years until she’d gotten full with child. And only then had he—
Dammit all. The king! He was going to eat Nicolette alive.
What was I going to do with this girl? I couldn’t hand her over to him. Yet I couldn’t free her, either. I just had to think. I had to come up with a solid plan that—
“Shit!”
The slumped princess listed sideways off Caramel.
I fumbled in my haste to dismount Mint so I could catch her, my foot momentarily tan
gling in the stirrups and making me pitch face-first toward the sand. By the time I rightened myself, she was free-falling. All I had to do was open my arms, leap a step forward, and she plummeted right into me, jarring the teeth in my head with the force of her landing.
Cursing as I tasted blood, I grappled to keep hold of her while she woke with a start, instinctively struggling.
“Shh,” I assured, petting her silken hair. “It’s just me.”
“Farrow?” Immediately, she calmed and wrapped her warm arms around my neck to clutch me tightly as if I were some kind of savior, while in truth, I was her greatest threat.
“I’ve got you now, my lady,” I told her anyway, swallowing down my regret and guilt.
Shame and self-loathing coated my belly as she touched my hair, lovingly stroking her painted nails through the short strands. “Of course, you do,” she said. Drawing in a reviving breath, she hummed deep in her throat, pleased. “Mmm, you smell good.”
So did she. My nostrils flared, drawn to her with the same intensity. Even after a night of riding, she smelled fresh, like honey and flower petals. I wanted to lick the scent straight from her skin—warm skin that was pressed directly to my bare chest in the places where silk did not cover her.
I could take this woman, here and now.
She seemed willing. Very willing, if her quickened pants and heaving breasts had anything to say about it, along with her fingernails that were sneaking up into my hair, just at the base of my nape. All I needed to do was stretch her out on the soft bed of sand under us, roll up her skirts, and—
