“Crinka?”
I moan softly before turning in the direction of the voice. I open my eyes groggily, overjoyed to see those familiar white orbs. I approach him, pulling him into an embrace.
“Oh Sia, he hurt me. He hurt me.”
“You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine, baby.”
“I don’t feel fine. My head hurts and I…” Clamping my hand down on my mouth, I push him away, running to a corner in the room before throwing up my breakfast. My breath is heavy as I straighten.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“A nice bath should do you some good.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Sia, I met Sycamore today, a part of you, that you kept hidden and he hurt me. Instead of addressing it, you’re telling me that I would be fine!”
“He’s not the first man to hurt you, so I don’t get why this is such a big deal.”
I gasp. He did not just say that. “You did not just say that.”
“Look, I’m sorry, but what was I to do?”
“You’re an asshole. Why didn’t you tell me about him?”
“Because there was nothing to tell. Crinka, all you need to know is that he’s very violent and heartless. And you are to stay away if he ever takes over again. He’s not exactly keen with wolves,” he replied.
“And you are? Sia, all you do is keep me in the dark!”
“It’s much safer in the dark, Crinka. And that’s exactly what I want you to be. To be safe.”
Safe? As if. “I don’t want to argue with you, so I’m just going to leave.”
I take a step forward but I only end up falling. He doesn’t let me hit the floor, though. His hands are wrapped around me, eyes filled with so much concern, I wonder if it would be okay to kiss him.
Well, screw wondering. He’s mine anyway.
I jump him, locking my ankles around his waist before smothering his neck with kisses. Sia grasps my arse, squeezing it softly. I lick carefully my fading mark on his neck and he lets out a soft moan. Oh how I’ve missed hearing his moans.
“Kiss me,” he whispered, slipping his hand into the waistband of my jeans.
“I can’t,” I murmur into his neck.
“I could care less about the fact that you puked, Crinka. Now kiss me.”
“Fine, but don’t blame me if I taste horrible.”
“You’ll always taste the same to me, love.”
Smiling, I kiss him gently, but gentleness doesn’t last for long, not for animals like us. Sia kisses me savagely and I had no other choice than to submit. He moans his approval before putting his mouth to work, leaving me burning with desire. For him. For his touch.
I break the kiss to breathe in air. He’s breathing heavily, hooded eyes meeting mine, his hands tugging gently at my shirt, a silent permission to continue.
“Sia, if we’re going to do this, I’d like to be on top,” I say, sharply.
“As long as you don’t cuff me, then yes, you can be on top. This place or…”
“Here please. It would be fun to disturb the king’s peace the same way he did mine.”
He laughed. “You’re one of a kind, Crinka.”
“Enough with your compliments, Sia. Take off your shoes and get on the bed.”
Sia obliged and I approached the bed carefully, eyeing him. He’s not naked, but the sight of him laying there, waiting for me to pleasure him, turns me on.
I kneel between his legs before taking off my shirt. “If you want to say something then out with it.”
He smiled and remained silent. I try unclasping my bra but to no avail. Frustrated, I ask for his help. He renders it, but not in the way I expected.
I frown, looking at the torn pieces of my brassiere. “You could have simply unclasped it.”
“Would have wasted time. You are beautiful.”
Lovely three words but not the words I want to hear. I seal his lips with a kiss, pulling him closer to me, my bare chest meeting his. Breaking the kiss, I move against him, rubbing my swelling breasts against his torso. Sia exhales sharply and I let out a moan when his nipples meet mine.
I push him down then, before taking his nipple in my mouth. He squirms under my touch and I suck both his nipples greedily, reducing the Icelander prince to a moaning mess. I rub my nose against his chest, drunk on his scent. I don’t think I can ever get enough.
Sitting up, I undo the knot, discarding the bed sheet with ease.
“It doesn’t take much to get you hard, does it?” I ask, referring to his hard on.
“With you? No.”
His dick stands tall and proud. Dark veins outlined his cock and I wonder if he has become Sycamore.
When I check, it’s still those white eyes.
I grasp it in my palm, massaging gently. The tip leaks with pre-cum and I run my tongue along the shaft, causing Sia to shiver.
“What’s the story behind the tattoo?”
“There’s no story,” he bites out, chest heaving.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Sia. I know there’s a story behind it. I just want you to tell me.”
“Is this the reason you asked to be on top? So that you can question me?”
“What’s wrong with what I asked?”
“Everything. Questions like that make a man lose his interest quickly, so please refrain from asking them.”
“Well, such replies make me lose interest,” I say, jumping to my feet. “I’m done here.”
He sits up in bed, staring at me confused. “What do you mean? We just barely started. Crinka, take off that shirt at once.”
“Come and make me,” I snarl, annoyed. It was just a question, one that deserved to be answered. He didn’t have to get so mad about it.
“Crinka, if we don’t do this now, I can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to do it again.”
I glare at him. “Does it look like I care? You’ve got whores at your disposal, don’t you? So go to them. As for me, I’m done here. You and your cock suck!”
“You didn’t seem to care about that when you begged me to make love to you,” he said, getting to his feet.
I don’t remember begging, but whatever. “That was in the past. We’re in the present, so go get a life.”
“Why the fuck are you being like this? One minute you’re all lovey and dopey, then the next, you’re acting like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. What’s the matter, Crinka? Is there anything you’d like for us to talk about?”
“The tattoo. What does it mean?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
What an arse. “You can talk to me, Sia. Tell me anything.”
“I don’t want to.”
And that’s my cue to leave. “I’ll… I’ll just be in the library. I hear it’s up in the attic?”
“It is, but I doubt Gales would let you in.”
“Gales?” I ask, confused.
“The librarian. Only that he stays outside the library.”
“So he’s a guard. Why won’t he let me in?”
“The library holds the Icelander secrets, most of them. No one wants a wolf to know.”
“Oh, thank you for reminding me of what I am, Sia,” I say with a short laugh.
“Crinka…”
“No, it’s fine. I get it. I’m this outcast that nobody wants to deal with, even those who brought in the outcast. I totally get it, Sia.”
He pursed his lips. “Um, I’ll write you a note. You give it to him when you get there.”
I put on my shoes while he writes me the note. He hands it to me, our fingers brushing in the process. “We’ll talk later.”
“Not interested. I’ll see you later, ice boy.”
…
“You’ve been over that note thirty times!” I yell at Gales, a small boy of about fourteen years. I don’t know how the Icelanders would allow an annoying teenager to guard their secrets. “When are you going to let me in?”
He squints his eyes at me. “It’s been forty times actually. Plus, I just need to be sure that this is the prince’s handwriting.”
“Well, why don’t you just call him to confirm?”
“I would have, but I don’t have a phone.”
I snort in disbelief. “How can you not have a phone?”
“Do you have one?”
“No, but…”
“Exactly. No confirmation, no entry.”
“Aargh! I really need to be in there!”
“Why? So you can harness all our secrets and bring this great kingdom to its ruins?”
“No, of course not! I just want to read. Am I not allowed to read again?”
“You’re a concubine, are you not? You’re supposed to be breeding pups, not reading.”
What an arse. “You’re an asshole.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“You don’t like me, do you?”
“Hell, I don’t like anybody. Not even my own mother.”
“Well, I’m not just anybody. I’m a girl who has been screwed over by everyone in her life, so you could at least express sympathy and let me in.”
“Okay. You can go in,” he says, moving the chair aside so I can access the door. However, the moment I touch the door handle, I get electrocuted. Instantly, I remove my hand. “Fucking hell!”
He laughs. “Works every time.”
“I’ll kill you.”
He laughed again. “Then go ahead. You won’t enter the library with me dead.”
Aargh! How can someone be so… “Gales, please.”
“Open the door.”
“So I can get shocked again? No, thank you.”
“Open the door, Crinka.”
When I try the handle again, I don’t get shocked, and the door creaks open.
“How… I thought you needed confirmation?”
“I already had confirmation. I just wanted you to say please.”
Please? Hmmmm. “So that was the code for entry?”
“I am the code for entry, but saying please means you respect me despite the fact that you’re older than me.”
“Thank you. I won’t forget that next time.”
“If there would be a next time. Have fun in there, Crinka, and oh, Merry Christmas.”
I smile, repeating the words Mila had taught me to say. “Same to you, Gales, same to you.”