Lilith
I swallow hard, looking at the literal King that is standing before me.
When he rescued me the first time, I didn’t know who he was.
When I rescued him, I only began to put it together.
Now, the heir to the werewolf throne is asking me to stay with him.
He is offering me a place to stay.
A place to be safe, only it doesn’t feel safe.
“Well,” he nudges me again.
“What will it be?”
”Umm,” I hum.
“I don’t know.
You seem to be on some sort of revenge mission.
I would probably just be in the way.”
”I doubt that,” he smiles.
“Please.
Stay with me.”
”Is the King begging?” I muse.
His lips turn up in an adorable smirk.
“I am not the King…
yet.”
I roll my eyes.
“Like I said.
Your revenge mission doesn’t seem to be my vibe.
It feels unsafe.”
Kael scoffs loudly.
“There is no place safer than here with me.
I promise you that.”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth to stop from smiling, but it is clear that Kael isn’t going to give up easily.
“Not only will I give you a place to stay,” he continues.
“I will pay you to keep me company.”
”Pay me?”
”Yes.
With lots and lots of money.”
I cross my arms over my chest and glare in his direction.
“I am going to pretend that is not a proposition for me to be some sort of prostitute.”
His cocky demeanor drops for a moment, and he actually pales.
“I would never.
I just meant…”
”Hey,” Ethan calls from the hallway.
“While your foot is in your mouth, Ian and I are going to head out.
See you tomorrow.”
Ethan chuckles.
“Love you, too.”
After I hear the front door close behind them, I turn to Kael.
He still looks mortified.
“Alright, boss,” I giggle.
“Let’s change your bandages.”
His eyes brighten.
“Does that mean you are staying?”
”I don’t know yet,” I admit.
“But I can smell you bleeding from here.”
Kael takes my hands and leads me up the stairs to a spacious bedroom.
“This is my room.
The bandages are in here.”
He points to a door that leads to the biggest bathroom I have ever seen.
He gathers the supplies that he needs and sits on the edge of the massive garden tub.
I peel his bandages off, one by one, taking care not to go too quickly.
My fingers tremble when they brush against the bare skin of his chest, and I don’t miss the way he holds his breath.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask.
Kael shifts awkwardly on the tub.
“Quite the opposite.”
I finally look up into his eyes.
They are dark with lust, and something else I can’t put my finger on.
Quickly, I look away.
“I am sure you say that to all the she-wolves you bring to this place.”
”You are the first I have brought here,” he mutters.
I ignore the way that admission makes my heart stutter, and continue my work.
His fingers flinch at his sides, and before I can stop him, he has rested them on my hips, dragging me closer to him.
“I can’t see what I am doing,” I groan playfully.
He buries his face in the shirt I am wearing.
“I like the way my scent smells on you.”
”Your highness,” I grunt, trying to pull away from him.
“Don’t call me that,” he moans against my stomach.
“Call me Kael.”
”Fine, Kael, you are all done.”
”Rude,” he laughs, getting to his feet.
I glance around the bathroom, and hate myself for what I am going to ask.
“Is there a place I can take a shower?”
Kael’s eyes light up like it is Christmas.
“Alone,” I add quickly.
“A place I can shower…
alone.”
The look of excitement doesn’t leave his face.
I will leave some clothes for you on my bed.”
He slips from the bathroom, and the door clicks too loudly behind him.
I rush to the door and flick the lock; only then do I exhale.
I pull my phone from my pocket and see several angry messages from my father.
Most are demanding that I turn on my location so he can find me, but I ignore them all.
I am don’t want him to find me.
Not now, not ever.
Placing my phone on the sink, I strip down and step into the shower.
I let the water rush over my body, rinsing Kael’s blood away and the smoke from the fire still clinging to my skin.
Once I have scrubbed myself clean twice, I wrap myself in a fluffy white towel and pad quietly across the bathroom floor.
Peeking out of the door, I make sure the bedroom is empty before I step closer to the bed.
Just as promised, Kael has placed clothes on the bed for me.
They are his, and I smile, remembering that he said how he likes my scent on him.
I pull the shirt over my head, and it might as well be a dress.
My shoulder slips from the neck hole, and it drops past my knees.
Unable to stop myself, I lift the fabric to my nose and inhale deeply.
Gods, he smells good.
So good that it makes my mouth water, and arousal drip from my core.
“No,” I chastise myself.
“You aren’t fucking the heir to the throne.”
There are a pair of boxers on the bed as well.
When I pull them over my hips, they fall back down.
I groan and roll the waistband several times so it stays up.
Even though I am covered, I feel exposed.
“This is a mistake,” I mutter under my breath, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from checking my reflection in the mirror before I exit the room.
After I get dressed, I go in search of my new captor.
I can hear him screaming at someone on the phone from what I can only assume is his office.
Not wanting any parts of that, I settle onto the couch.
I sink into the cushions, and before I realize it, I have drifted off to sleep.