Chapter 7 Trouble

Alexander’s POV

I circled to her front again.

And then my wolf did something it had never done before. We knelt down.

My face was level with her navel now, and I watched her stomach rise and fall with those infuriatingly calm breaths.

I grabbed the remains of her dress and tore it completely away. The fabric pooled around her knees, leaving her in nothing but the chains and her own stillness.

My mouth went dry.

She was beautiful. Not in the soft, delicate way that court ladies tried to be. But in the way a blade was beautiful. Her essence was sharp and dangerous and absolutely unwilling to bend.And how my wolf absolutely loved that! That bastard was dropping!

My hands gripped her thighs and spread them slightly. She allowed it. Didn't resist. Didn't cooperate either. Just... allowed.

"You are not going to fight me?" I asked, dragging my fingers up the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. She did nothing.

"Not even a little?"

Still nothing.

My thumb found the heat between her legs…and a finger just brushed slightly, just a promise.

Her breathing remained steady.But I felt it. The faintest increase in her pulse beneath my palm.

She was trying…but she wasn't unaffected.

The excitement shook me physically. She was resisting…I did get under her skin…she was just very hard not to show it.Fighting hard to control it.

This was sexy! Mastering her own body's responses even while I touched her in places that should have made her weep.

My cock strained against my trousers.

"Look at me," I commanded.

She did. Those dark eyes—still steady, still burning with that unnameable thing that wasn't fear and wasn't defiance—locked onto mine.

I slid one finger inside her folds…slowly, watching her face for any reaction.

Nothing on her face.

But she was wet. Her body responded even if her expression didn't. I added a second finger, curling them in a way that would make even the toughest women gasp.

Her lips parted slightly. That was all.

Fuck me!

I wanted to destroy her composure. I wanted to crack that perfect mask and see what was underneath…I needed it like I needed air. But I could tell she wasn't ready.

I withdrew my fingers and stood up abruptly, towering over her kneeling form.

"On your feet."

She rose. Took her slow, unhurried time.

The chains clinked between her wrists, as she stood before me completely naked, completely exposed, completely unafraid.

I grabbed her waist and turned her around, pressing her against the nearest pillar. Stone at her front, me at her back.

My hands roamed her body—her breasts, her stomach, between her legs again—rough and demanding and desperate in a way I hadn't been in years.My wolf was begging me to take her then and there. The bastard was completely out of control.

"Tell me your name," I growled against her ear.

No response.

I bit her shoulder again, harder this time. My hips pressed against her ass, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me.

"Tell me, or I wll take you right here against this pillar with every guard outside listening."

Her hands—still chained—reached back and gripped my hips.

Not to push me away.

To hold me closer.

I froze.

She turned her head slightly, just enough for me to see the corner of her mouth.

And then—finally, finally—she spoke.

"Nyra."

Her soft voice was absolutely devastating.

My wolf howled.

I flipped her around so fast she had no choice but to gasp.It was a small sound, barely audible, but I heard it. I gathered both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head against the pillar.

"Repeat," I demanded, my voice raw.

"Nyra."

I kissed her. Her eyes widened with surprise. Gosh, she looked absolutely perfect.

My lips weren’t gentle. I didn't know how to be gentle anymore. My teeth and tongue followed…it was barely restrained violence, and she met every bit of it without flinching.

When I pulled back, her lips were swollen. Her eyes were still steady.

But her chest was finally heaving.

"There you are," I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. "There you fucking are."

I released her wrists and stepped back, breathing hard. My whole body burned for her—ached in ways I'd thought was never possy. I thought the curse had killed this part of me a long time ago.I truly could not believe I was capable of this kind of controlled arousal.

"I understand you were brought here with force. I understand you are not willingly doing this but you are not leaving this castle," I said, and it wasn't a threat. "You are not leaving my sight. Do you understand?"

She tilted her head slightly. That infuriating, beautiful, maddening stillness returned. "For how long?"

The question was simple, direct, utterly without fear and it made me laugh. Actually laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I had done that.

"Forever," I said, and meant it.It was a promise.

My wolf surged forward, demanding I claim her right there. Demand she submit. Demand something. He wasn't going to starve after that tease feast.

But I held back.

Because for the first time in years—maybe for the first time ever—I wanted someone to come to me willingly.

Also because I realized, Nyra had just proved she didn't do anything she didn't choose to do.

I wanted it to be her choice.

Fuck!!!

I was in trouble.