Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Do you not want a man to love you?”
He reached out and grabbed her arm as she scooted to the end of the bed.
“I need no man.”
It sounded more a challenge to him than a fact.
“Why is that?” he asked, tugging her back to the middle of the bed.
She hesitated.
An abrupt, “Tell me,” got him his answer.
“I have no time for a man. Men demand as you do now.” She glanced at his grip on her arm. “You hold me here. You say I must rest and I say no. Is the choice not mine?”
“I look out for you,” he argued, releasing her.
“For no other reason but that I am needed to tend your people.”
He moved his face close to hers. “So say you.”
She stammered her response. “Wh-what o-other reason—”
“Could there be?” he finished, and stroked her cheek with his finger. “That you are a good and generous woman whom a man could easily love.”
“I need no man,” she reiterated sharply and made a dash for the edge of the bed.
Rogan was quicker and had her on her back in a flash.
“Sometimes we deny what we want the most,” he said, staring down at her.
“That is nonsense.”
He loved the way her eyes fired a blazing green; a passion lay burning in them. A passion he was certain she had yet to discover. He leaned closer. His lips so near to hers that it appeared they kissed, but they did not, though when he spoke his warm breath stroked her pink lips like a kiss waiting for an invitation.
“Is it nonsense? Think about it.” He stood and walked to the door. “Do not dare get off that bed at least until supper.”
“If I do?” she challenged.
He laughed deeply and walked out the door.
Aliss listened to his fading laughter. He had left her to rest, but it was her thoughts that he really left her to. Thoughts of him kissing her. Not that he had; was she disappointed?
His lips had been close enough for her to almost feel them on her own. She licked her tingling lips, recalling the warm sweetness of his breath and the way it had tickled and tempted. She had for a brief moment actually thought of kissing him.
She jolted up and pressed her fingers to her mouth.
Was she crazy?
Had she actually thought of kissing the Wolf?
She felt her head, certain she suffered from fever.
Nothing.
She scurried off the bed and heard his laughter in her mind. Should she challenge him?
With a heavy sigh, she dropped back on the straw mattress.
He had upset her—or was she upset with herself? Their talk had reminded her of the problem she had left behind in Hellewyk and would face upon her return.
Marriage.
Unwanted marriage, though her brother-in-law Tarr had offered her a chance to choose her own husband. No amount of protesting had changed the circumstances. Tarr had decreed that the prophecy Giann had predicted be satisfied, which meant that the twins, she and Fiona, had to wed if the clans were to avoid destruction. Fiona had fulfilled her part; now it was Aliss’s turn.
She had yet to find anyone suitable. Though there had been many willing prospects, none had impressed her. Actually, none would have tolerated her propensity for healing.
She hesitantly touched her lips and thought of the intimacy expected of her once she wed. How could she be so intimate with a stranger?
A peck or two on the cheek was all the experience she had with kissing, though Fiona, her sister, claimed it was fantastic and urged her to try it. She had insisted it would help her to decide on a husband. If a man could not kiss then Aliss should not even consider wedding him.
What else, though, did she look for in a husband?
Kindness. Strength. Patience.
Rogan possessed all three qualities. He had demonstrated them often with his clan and with her.
What of love?
She jumped, startled by the question that popped into her head. She had not even considered it. She had no time for it. She was not certain she would recognize it if it hit her in the face.
Would a kiss help acquaint her with it?
Kissing, Fiona had said, was a pleasure to be shared repeatedly and often between husband and wife. If a man’s kiss left her feeling nothing, then he was not the one for Aliss.
She rested her fingers to her lips.
How would Rogan’s kisses leave her feeling?
Aliss drifted off to sleep, her mind chaotic with kisses.
“Sweet, you taste so very sweet.”
Aliss sighed with pleasure. His lips caressed every inch of her face, her closed eyes, the tip of her nose, her cheeks, her chin, her forehead.
“Sweet.”
He kissed along her neck. It tickled and she laughed softly, hunching her shoulders to prevent him access. She relinquished them and his kisses resumed, bringing her a pleasure she had not known possible.