Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
It’s not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t ache. And it’s more than my muscles. Something is definitely wrong with me. Seeing Kaja in danger broke me. I can’t make my heart stop racing. I can’t seem to come down. I need something.
I need her.
I begin to force myself off the ground. I need a long bath. Since Cara owes me her life, I’m not going to feel guilty about asking her to set it up. I’ll get the stink of ogre off of me and then settle down to have a long discussion with Kaja about what it means to be my wife. Beck has the right idea. I’ll make sure Kaja’s backside is red, and then I’ll fuck her until she forgets there was ever a time when I wasn’t shoving my cock inside her pussy.
Then maybe I’ll calm down.
Kaja whimpers, her nose nuzzling me.
“It won’t work, Kaj,” I say. “You can’t turn those puppy eyes on me and expect that all will be forgiven. You disobeyed. You put me and Meg and yourself at risk. You’re going to have to take your punishment.”
I never wanted to punish anyone before. I’m a good-time guy. If a chick doesn’t do what I think she should, I leave.
I can’t leave Kaja. I can’t walk away this time. She looks at me with those same eyes I claimed won’t move me. She’s alone in the world. She doesn’t have anyone except me.
I bring my hand up to give her a pet, to let her know that I can be mad at her and not leave her, when she growls. The sound comes from deep in her throat. Her spine straightens, and she seems to focus on something.
“I would have your dog heel, Mr. Dellacourt.” A proper British voice fills the courtyard now. I look up to see a group of vampires in gray-and-green fatigues.
“What the hell is this?” I push up to my knees. I stare at the group of ten mercenaries. They appear well armed, with swords and Taser units at the ready. Where the hell were they when I needed them? “You’re late to the party, boys.”
I move to reach for the gun, which has fallen behind me, but Kaja is quicker. She covers it with her body and lays down, head on her paws.
“Kaj?” I ask, not understanding what she’s doing.
Kaja barks as though trying to tell me something, but she’s forgotten I don’t speak wolf.
“I think we’re right on time, Mr. Dellacourt,” the leader says. “Bring her.”
I get to my feet as two soldiers lead Meg toward me. She’s safe and whole, and tied up with a gag in her mouth. She fights against her captors, but they’re bigger and meaner. “What the hell is going on?”
“A successful operation, Mr. Dellacourt,” the leader says. “We have the queen and you, and soon we shall have the rebel kings, and trade will flow between the Seelie and Vampire planes once more. I admit, I rather thought the ogre would kill you. Would you like to explain how you managed to take it down?”
This is bad. This is way worse than the ogre.
Beck is going to kill me.
“Fuck you, mercenary,” I shoot back. Kaja is covering the only weapon we have. Smart girl, my wife. And they have no idea she’s anything but a pet.
“Yes, I heard you would be trouble.”
The leader gives a signal with his hand, and a large, righteously ugly dude steps up. I can bet what’s coming and try to hold up my hands in the universally acknowledged sign for “don’t send ten thousand kilowatts of pure electricity through my body.”
“I’m not going to be trouble,” I lie.
But the Taser flares and sinks into my flesh. I hold on as my body spasms, and I fall back to the ground.
My last thought is of Kaja and those blue eyes.
Chapter Twelve
Chalen Palgrave
I stare at the monitor with something akin to happiness. I would never allow myself actual happiness because emotion would prove something my father has always said about me. That I am undisciplined. Perhaps as a child, but he thoughtfully beat the weakness out of me and now and I am nothing if not disciplined. But still, the sight of Dante Dellacourt lying on the dirt floor, his perfect hair a mess, brings a bit of joy to my heart. Dante’s hands are tied behind his back, and he lies at an angle that would surely be painful if he was awake.
Of course, the Taser they used on him would have been intensely painful, too.
“And you have the female?” I ask.
The feed from my mercenary’s tablet turns. Former Sergeant Major William Roan nods shortly, his manner as crisp as his clothing. I doubt the man would get dirty even in the middle of a war. “Her Highness is secured, though I will say, sir, she has quite the mouth on her for a royal.”