Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Sky went to him and took the tankard from his hand to place on the table then she took hold of his hands. “I was given no choice to marry you. But I have a choice whether I will care for you or not. You made that easy by choosing to become my friend, something no one has ever done, so I will always care for you… but—” She felt him stiffen. “I made the choice alone to love you with all my heart and that I will do even beyond my dying day.”
Something shattered in Slayer, broke away, released him to be embraced with an intense joy he never thought existed or was even possible. He recalled the one specific time they had coupled and how he had thought of feeling loved. He had been right. His wife loved him, and he so wanted to love her in return, but he wasn’t sure how.
Sky saw the joy in his eyes and the confusion, and she pressed her fingers gently against his lips. “In time, you will come to understand love and know you love me as well, for I feel it every time you make love to me.”
He did not understand what he felt, he only knew he never wanted to lose it, never wanted to lose her. He swung her up into his arms and kissed her gently. “I think we should concentrate on producing an abundance of heirs.”
She kissed his cheek. “And every one of them will be conceived with an abundance of love.”
He felt it, though the warrior within him would deny it, think it foolish, but it could not be ignored. It overpowered him, gripped at his gut and heart, forcing him to acknowledge it.
Love.
Did he truly love his wife? Was that what he felt that he could not understand? He did not know but he would find out. For now, he would do his best to show her what he felt.
Wakefulness stirred Slayer the next morning, though it was more an urge to come fully awake, to open his eyes. Or was it a warning? He did not debate the matter; he opened his eyes.
Sky lay on her side beside him, her hand stretched out to his face, though frozen in flight, and her cheeks were stained deep pink. No desire stirred in her two different colored eyes. On the contrary, it was fright he saw sparking there.
Then he felt it, a movement on top of his head and he all but growled at her. “Do not tell me the kitten is on top of my head.”
“You are on her pillow,” Sky said softly.
“Her pillow?” Slayer asked none too gently.
“She likes to nap on it,” Sky said and quickly snatched Angel off the top of his head and the kitten hurried to bury herself against Sky’s chest.
“The animals do not belong in bed,” he admonished and received a warning growl from Fane, whose head had suddenly popped up from beyond Sky’s side of the bed. Slayer sprung up to lean over Sky and glare at the hound near the hearth. “Never growl at me, Fane.”
The hound approached the bed submissively, his body hunched, and laid his chin on Sky’s hip and whined.
“He is torn between his loyalty to you and his gratitude for my help.”
“His loyalty to me comes before anything else,” —Slayer paused, his brow narrowing— “though I am glad to see that he protects you but not from me.”
“Then let him know you mean me no harm, or he will remain confused.”
She was right about that. His hounds trusted him because he made his commands clear to them. He rested his hand gently on Sky’s waist. “I protect Sky, Fane, just as you protect her. She is part of our pack. We will keep her safe and she will see to our care.”
Fane licked his hand as if understanding.
“Confirm my words,” Slayer ordered with a possessive squeeze to her waist.
Sky turned on her back to glance at Fane, her husband’s hand moving along with her as she turned to lay on her back, keeping a possessive hold of her.
“I care for you all, Fane,” she said and patted his head.
As soon as his wife turned her attention on him, he said, “The animals do not belong in our bedchamber. They carry bugs and I will not have bugs in our bedchamber.”
He remained sitting next to her and she looked up at him from her prone position. Even upon waking, he soothed the eyes though his manner was a bit grumpy.
She reached up to brush a strand of hair off his face. “I rubbed them both with a powered mixture of copious amounts of mint and rosemary to keep the bugs off them and had rosemary and lavender placed around the room. Fane and Angel probably have less bugs on them than the clan’s people.”