The Alpha King's Bride novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: Sober

I did not sleep.

Near midnight my skin began to burn, and it was not the fever.

The fever had been wild and aching.

This was slow and low, and it lived in my hips and the backs of my knees.

My body wanted one thing, and it knew his name.

I put on my robe and went down to the south terrace, because the night air was cool and nobody would be there.

Somebody was.

Aldric stood in the new rose bed with his coat off and a spade in his hand.

The gardeners had dug out the black roses that afternoon, and he was filling the hole with fresh soil himself.

"The King digs," I said.

He turned.

Whatever he was going to say died in his throat.

His nostrils flared, and his eyes went from gold to nearly molten.

"Finola," he said, very low. "Go back inside."

"No."

"You are in heat."

"I know what I am."

"Your scent is going to bring every guard on this terrace running." He dropped the spade. "Go in, and I will come to you when I can trust myself."

"I don't want you trusting yourself," I said.

I crossed the grass until I stood in front of him, and I put my hands on his bare forearms.

The muscles under them were rigid.

"Two weeks ago I couldn't tell my own wants from a drug," I said. "I can tell now. I haven't had a cup of tea since the Choosing, I've slept in my own head for ten nights, and I'm standing here sober."

"Finola..."

"I want you. Here. Now."

His hands came up and gripped my shoulders, and I felt them shake.

"Terms," he said hoarsely. "Your Majesty."

"I broke them. You said so."

"So I did."

"Then stop being so patient," I said.

He kissed me.

There was nothing gentle in it.

He hauled me against him, and I met his mouth with all the hunger I had been swallowing for days, and he groaned into me.

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