Page 68 of Once Upon a Fable

He dragged me closer by my hair, losing himself to the inevitable kiss.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t pull away.

I panicked at the thought of what a kiss from this man could mean.

At what it would do to me.

Don’t....

But as his lips almost touched mine, as the heat of his mouth seared my own, common sense slammed into him. He shoved me away so quickly, I tripped over my feet and skidded on my discarded towel.

Falling to my knees, I looked up at him. I blinked at the sudden change, then glanced down at the white threads of his seed all over my hand and wrist. I held evidence that he’d come undone, that the wild beast before me had granted me his power, even if it’d been for a few seconds.

He was about to kiss me...

Raw rage painted his face, killing all the passionate chaos inside him. Raking ten fingers through his hair, he blew out hard then ducked and wrenched up his slacks. He buttoned and zipped with quaking hands, almost as if being naked for longer than necessary was a sin he couldn’t commit.

It went against how I’d met him.

He’d worn nothing that day.

He’d run as if not wearing clothes was familiar and enjoyed.

He’d been a savage barbarian as much as a beast.

So why did he act as if I had no right to see him undressed now?

“Clean that up.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust at my cum-covered hand. “Once you’re done, join me in the bedroom.”

He stalked out before I could blink.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

––––––––

I PACED.

I wanted to run. To bolt. To gallop so far and so fast that this godforsaken place could never trap me again.

She was wrong.

She wasdangerous.

Her touch had felt a million times better than any touches from my past. Beyond intense. Terrifyingly consuming. A simple squeeze had stopped my heart. A quick tug had made me detonate. What was I supposed to do with that? How was I supposed to stop my body from wanting more when she put a fucking hex on me?

Christ.

Pacing to the window, I glanced out at the dark-shrouded wilderness. A coyote dashed past in the moonlight, followed by the chatter of a raccoon in the distance.

They were free.

I was not.

I thought I’d earned my freedom; turned out, I was still chained to this place, and now I had yet another cross to bear.

Her.