Kira blinked, throat working on a hard swallow. She had never had sex before, but she wasn’t ignorant. She knew arousal was necessary to make it pleasurable instead of painful. At least he was thoughtful enough to consider that. She tore her gaze from his and stared at the steam drifting from the open bathroom door. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Without another word, Derek stepped back, turned, and walked toward the ensuite. Kira stood frozen, staring at the broad expanse of his back until he disappeared through the doorway. She sucked in a sharp breath, willing her thundering pulse to slow.
“It’s just sex,” she muttered to the empty room. “Everyone has it nowadays.”
She exhaled deeply, shoulders dropping. She had known this moment was coming. She had tried to brace herself mentally, though no amount of mental rehearsal could quiet the frantic racing of her heart. The second she had signed that contract, she had accepted his legal right to claim her body for his pleasure and for the heir he demanded. At least he wasn’t proving to be an animal. He hadn’t simply leapt on her, forced her legs apart, and stabbed away. That was a mercy. Far better than the cold, clinical way he had demanded it on their wedding night.
When she finally stepped into the bathroom, Derek was already seated in the deep tub. Jasmine-scented steam swirled thick in the air, curling around his shoulders and chest. Her heart gave one final, hard lurch at the thought of his naked body hidden beneath the water. He watched her approach without blinking, his stare cold as ice, yet everywhere his gaze touched her skin, heat bloomed in its wake.
“I’ll only let you touch me on one condition,” Kira said, lifting her chin.
“Condition,” Derek repeated. He sounded entirely nonchalant, as if they were discussing a change in the dinner menu.
“Yes,” Kira answered, holding his gaze without flinching. Her heart hammered so hard she was sure he could hear it echoing off the tiled walls, but she refused to let him see her waver. She had to get this out.
“Undress and get into the tub,” he told her evenly. “Then we can discuss your condition.”
“I’m not getting-“
“Don’t you know the act of seduction gets you what you want faster, wife?” His tone carried a mocking edge, one dark brow lifting slightly. “You should learn to wield that power. It’s a weapon. Now, undress and get into the tub.”
Kira sucked in a deep, steadying breath. Fine. She wanted this over and done with. She would follow his order, but she wasn’t letting him lay a finger on her until he gave her what she needed. Gathering every scrap of courage she had left, she let the silk robe slip from her shoulders to pool at her feet, revealing the tiny nightdress beneath. She met Derek’s unflinching stare with defiance. She would not let him see her cower.
Slowly, she slid the thin straps down her shoulders and let the silk slip away, leaving her completely naked. Cool air kissed her instantly, raising goosebumps in a rush across her arms, her stomach, her thighs. Small, involuntary tremors ran through her, not from the chill, but from the sudden flare of heat in Derek’s eyes. His face remained inscrutable, but his gaze swept over her with such intensity that it felt like physical hands skimming over her skin.
“Come inside.” His voice had gone low, and a raspy edge had further deepened it so that his words came out on a rumbling growl.
Kira stepped into the tub at last, but she chose the opposite end, putting as much distance between them as the tub allowed, and faced him directly. Derek gave no outward reaction to this small act of distance.
“What is it you want?” he asked, the question almost lazy, though his eyes never left her, roaming her shoulders, her collarbone, the curve of her breasts half-submerged in the water.
Kira forced herself to stay still when all she really wanted to do was run and hide. She lifted her chin and met those amber eyes again. “I know what the contract says. Open marriage, no strings, whatever. But I don’t want you sleeping with any other woman while you’re sleeping with me.”
Derek’s expression didn’t shift, no furrowed brow, no flicker of surprise. “Why?”
She had a dozen reasons burning on her tongue, but she wasn’t about to hand them over. “At least until I’m pregnant,” she said, sidestepping the question entirely. Once she carried his child, she would never let him touch her again. Then he could sleep with the entire Dravengard for all she cared. But until then, she needed him faithful.
For a long beat, Derek said nothing. He simply stared at her, blank and unreadable, and for the first time since she had stepped into the bathroom, Kira dropped her gaze to the rippling water between them.
“You’re asking me for fidelity?” he asked at last.
“Yes,” she answered, a little too quickly. “Not for the rest of the year, just until I’m pregnant.”
“Why?” he pressed again.
“Because, I…”
Because I don’t want to catch some nasty disease from your parade of mistresses.
“Because… well, because I’m staying faithful until then, too. It’s only fair.”
Derek studied her face, as if searching for cracks she refused to show. She kept her expression as neutral as she could manage, bracing for him to shoot this down?
“The women I claim are all clean,” he said, as if he had read her mind.
How the heck would he know that? They could be sneaking around behind his back. It wasn’t as if they carried health certificates pinned to their foreheads.
“I receive health reports every time before a rut,” he added, answering her silent question.
Kira blinked. “You didn’t get mine.”
He didn’t reply with words at first. Instead, he reached out, closed his fingers around her wrist, and pulled her to him in one effortless motion. She barely had time to gasp or resist before he turned her, settling her between his powerful thighs. His arms banded around her from behind, one large hand cupping her breast, thumb brushing over her nipple in slow strokes. His arousal pressed hard and insistent against her lower back. A sharp bolt of desire shot straight to her core, catching her off guard. The heat of his chest against her spine, the slide of wet skin on wet skin, the gentle rasp of his thumb over her now-pebbled nipple, all made her inner muscles clench hard. She bit her lip to trap the moan that wanted to escape. He had to agree first.
“Who said I didn’t?” he murmured against her ear, giving her right nipple a light pinch.
Kira inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering shut as pleasure crashed through her in a bright wave.
“When Lorenzo treated you for those whip marks, how did you think he found the poison in your blood?” His hand drifted from her breast, trailing down her abdomen while his hardness pulsed behind her. “He ran every test we needed. And as for your request… I’ll consider it.”
“No.” Her voice came out breathy, legs trembling as his fingers drifted lower. “I want a promise.”
He stayed silent for a moment, breath warm against her neck. “You are impossible,” he growled softly. “Fine. I promise you fidelity until you’ve conceived. But never mistake this for emotions, Kira.”
To Kira, it was a deal. That was all she needed. She wasn’t going to die in this Lycan kingdom, not from some lurking disease or a blade. Before she could scrape together a reply, though, his hand slipped between her thighs, easing them apart with gentle insistence. His finger traced through her folds, finding the swollen nub that pulsed under his touch. Her thighs snapped shut on instinct as a sudden rush of pleasure slammed into her.
“Open up, wife,” Derek murmured in her ear, the words sending fresh shivers racing down her spine. “Humph. You’ve already become wet for me.”
Kira sucked in a shaky breath as his fingers parted her, circling that one perfect spot until her toes curled against the porcelain. She gripped the edge of the tub, biting her lip hard to stay quiet. No way was she moaning like some desperate girl. However, her willpower was currently circling down the drain. One hand kneaded her breast, pinching her nipple in rhythm with the slow strokes over her clit. Between the dual assault, she lost the fight entirely and became a trembling, sobbing mess of sensation.
Then he sank a thick middle finger deep inside her throbbing heat.
Kira let out a sharp yelp-half pain, half reverent “oh my goddess”-and he stilled instantly.
“I think you’re ready now, wife,” he rumbled low. “Go wait in bed until I finish my shower.”
Kira drew in a ragged breath. Without a word, she rose slowly from the water, her clit still tingling with the ghost of his touch. She didn’t look back at him. She snatched her robe from the floor, wrapped it around herself, and fled the bathroom, aroused, ashamed, and burning all at once.
Kira scrambled into the bedroom, stumbling towards the bed, hugging herself as if to hide the flush still burning across her skin. She sat on the edge of the bed, her damp hair clinging to the silk of her robe. She looked at her hands that wouldn’t stop shaking. Her pulse hadn’t slowed; if anything, it raced harder now that she was alone with the echo of his touch. The place between her thighs still throbbed faintly, slick and sensitive from his fingers, and every small shift of her hips sent a fresh ripple of awareness through her.
She had demanded fidelity, she had stood her ground in the bathroom, but now the reality of the “intercourse meeting” was settling in her gut like lead. He wasn’t just a King or a contract partner anymore; he was a man who knew exactly how to make her sob with a single finger.
Derek emerged from the bathroom minutes later, a fresh towel slung loosely around his neck. He didn’t look at her at first. He walked to the small table, poured a glass of that dark juice, and drank it in silence. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock and Kira’s own shallow breathing. When he finally turned, his amber eyes settled on her where she sat huddled on the edge of the bed. They were dark and hungry, as if he were staring at his favourite meal and had forgotten he was supposed to be on a diet.
“The bed is large enough for both of us, Kira. You don’t need to cling to the edge like you’re planning to bolt.”
Kira didn’t move. “I’m not bolting. I’m waiting.” She tried to sound like a boss even though her insides were doing backflips.
“Then wait lying on the bed.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. Kira’s fingers fumbled with the tie of her robe; she let the silk fall open and slid it off her shoulders, then eased herself back onto the mattress. She lay flat, arms at her sides, bracing herself for whatever came next.
Derek didn’t move at first. He just stared with those amber eyes of his, looking at her with an intensity that made her skin feel as if it were on fire. When his gaze dropped lower to the soft curve of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the shadowed place between her thighs, her fragile bravado crumbled. She reached instinctively for the duvet, trying to cover herself.
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