Page 51 of A Beastly Court

I shook at the memory of my loved one’s treachery, Ossian’s grief and pain and fury amplifying my own through the bond.

“I was usurped,” he hissed out, teeth gritted. “Betrayed. Then banished here, cut off from the magic of Elfame. The portal between our realms was cursed with an impossible requirement—that a witch should be the only one to summon it. It granted false hope, for no witch had ever been strong enough to command fae magic.”

Ossian turned toward me now, his anger replaced with gentleness. “Until you.” The backs of his knuckles brushed against my cheek, fingers straightening to hook behind my jaw. “I was destined to die in purgatory, until you, Meadow Ní Violet.”

He took a step closer, consuming my vision. Nothing existed besides him, not while he cupped my cheek and stroked the rubies of my necklace along my throat. They warmed under his touch, and a fiercer desire bloomed in my heart.

“I’d thought to one day return to Elfame and fight for Shannon, to reclaim what I had lost, but then you came into my life. My mate.”

My body thrummed in response to his words, the golden haze of our bond almost overpowering me. It was obsession. I strained towards him. I had to touch him, to consume him, to feel his hands roving over me.

“And in my quest for home, I’ve done you a great disservice.”

My heart faltered. “Wh-what?”

He wet his lips, running his thumb over my mouth. His breath hitched, clearly warring with the desire to kiss my upturned face or answer my question. Ossian’s jewel-green gaze flicked from my mouth to my eyes, and my own breath caught at the passion and possession raging there.

“I never asked you to come with me. Not formally,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “Meadow, do you love me?”

“Of course! You’ve stolen my heart, Ossian.”

“Then come with me.” His hands slid down my arms and brought my hands, one of them still clutching the red rose, together in front of me. Then the fae king knelt. A moment later, he produced a silver ring with a ruby the size of knuckle bone. “Come to Elfame as my queen, Meadow. As my bride.”

With his words, the rubies warmed at my throat and the golden haze hit me with such euphoria that I gasped, “I will!”

Behind the copper-colored shield, the grizzly bear went wild.

Ignoring his prisoner, the fae king smiled and slipped the ruby onto my finger. “Then seal your promise with a kiss, love.”

But it was Ossian who snatched me into his arms and crushed a kiss against my mouth. My lips parted for his tongue, my hands hooking around his neck to keep him fused against me. By the Green Mother, I didn’t want this embrace, fierce and bruising as it was, to ever end. My heart beat at a frantic rhythm, demanding more, more, egged on by the golden haze and the heat of the rubies.

Ossian grunted when I broke away from him to yank open the ties of his shirt and dig my teeth against the muscle of his chest. My tongue dragged across his sternum to his heart on its course towards more sensitive flesh.

Suddenly his hand knotted in my hair, wrenching my face upwards. His jewel-bright eyes were savage. “If anyone is going to maul anyone, it’s going to me. I am the King of Beasts, after all.”

Then he stooped, hands sweeping over each butt cheek before they clamped down hard. I squeaked as he hoisted me up, slamming his hips between my thighs. Before I could protest at the pain, his mouth was on mine again, and the golden haze was consuming me like a forest fire. His lips left a trail of their own fire as they traveled down my neck, his teeth nipping sharply.

“Ossian, be gentle,” I whispered hoarsely even as I dragged my hands through his copper curls, raking my fingernails against his scalp.

“No,” he growled.

I stifled a yelp as my butt landed unceremoniously on top of the trestle table, the discomfort immediately forgotten as Ossian kissed me again, blasting me with another wave of that golden haze. By the Green Mother, it was glorious to be so fiercely desired by him. I clawed once again at his shirt, desperate for more of his touch no matter how I found it. From his hands on me to his chest pressed against my face, I wanted to feel all of him.

With a growl, he shucked his shirt then paused, allowing me to shamelessly grope his sculpted body. The feel of him was incredible. The taut bronze skin, the definition of the muscles, the flawlessness of his complexion. Ethereal and unhuman in its perfection.

When he’d deemed I’d stroked him enough, he caught my hands and kissed them. “Lie back now, love.”

I did as he bade, trembling with anticipation. His blazing jewel-green eyes held my gaze as his hands swept under the hem of my woolen gown. At the touch of his warm palms against my bare thighs, I jumped, forcing myself up onto my elbows. His grip tightened, and a feral smile came to his mouth. Backlit by the blue flames of the fireplace, he seemed more animalistic than I’d ever seen him before.

The King of Beasts indeed, preparing to devour me.

“I said lie back,” he ordered. One hand left my thigh to press against my chest, forcing me back down.

Then that hand dragged sensuously down my sternum, fingers splayed wide to graze my breasts, then over my stomach and lower still. A pleasured growl like a hum emanated from my fae lover as I began to quiver.

“Close your eyes,” he purred.

There was nothing but the sense of his touch then, the thundering of my pulse in my ears, the golden haze of our bond lulling me with warmth and the need to submit. Both of his hands were under my dress and on my thighs once more, stroking with long, languid and unhurried movements. Teasing me.