Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“What are you doing, lass?” he asked with an equal amount of curiosity and amusement.
“Well, I’m living in a fairy tale with berserkers, shifting wolves, immortals, and enchanted castle.” I wrinkled my nose. “Music should play at my command.”
His shoulders shook the slightest bit. He trailed his knuckles across my cheek. “Unfortunately, the castle is missing the enchantment.”
“There goes my Beauty and the Beast dreams.” This man, this amazing king, was a fairy tale fantasy come to life. A wish so close and yet entirely out of reach.
“We don’t need music.” He drew me into his arms, urging me to rest my cheek against his chest.
Mmm. He wasn’t wrong. Here, wrapped in the strength of his arms, swaying to a rhythm created by the beat of his heart, I needed only him.
“This is nice,” I admitted.
He gently pinched my chin, lifted my face, and smoldered at me. “This is how it can always be. Neither of us wanted this marriage, but I have no desire for strife in my home. I get enough of that outside of these walls.”
Was I getting a peek at the real Callen? Not the legendary king or the fierce berserker, but the man willing to reveal his vulnerability to me and me alone.
Parts of me constricted. “What are you wanting then?”
“A truce,” he suggested.
“A truce I can do.” I’d just have to be careful. Guard my secrets.
Grinning, he tugged me toward an open chest filled with gems. “Pick your favorites, and I’ll commission a necklace to commemorate this night.”
If only I’d get to keep it! Both excited and resigned, I dipped my hand inside the chest and let cold, hard diamonds, pearls, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires slip through my fingers. The amount of sparkle baffled my mind. So many precious gems. Enough to fund a thousand trips home.
Closer to escape than ever!
Ignore the spark of regret. It meant nothing. Less than nothing. “How can I choose until I’ve bathed in them?” I said, attempting a light tone as I pivoted to face him.
He stood with his hands linked over his sporran, so sexy I almost lost my train of thought. “A bath in jewels, hmm?” His pupils enlarged, spreading over glittering irises. “That’s somethin’ I’d like to see.” As my cheeks flushed, he chuckled and took my hand. “Until then, let's continue our day of fun.”
A huge, beautiful chestnut horse, saddled and ready, waited for us in the backyard. Callen gripped my waist and set me on the mount, then climbed up behind me.
Awe consumed me. “Are you serious? I get to ride?”
“You do.”
Grinning big, I leaned against him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
For the next twenty minutes, he trotted me around, sharing fascinating details about his life. “I used to race here as a boy.” “I plucked those flowers for my tutor, not knowing they were poison.” “This is where I fell off my first horse.”
“I can see it. You hit the ground, silent and stoic, then jumped to your feet and got right back on.”
“Almost. I screamed in pain when the horse stomped on my ankle, breaking it. Then I jumped up and got right back on.”
“Ouch. Even your animals throw temper tantrums.”
He chuckled softly. “I suppose so.”
“Is that why you refused to take me riding before? You expected a tantrum?”
His next exhalation tormented my nape in the best way. “I refused because I knew I’d like it.”
Oh. Oooh. Because he liked me?
All too soon, the ride ended. I thought we would return to the castle after we dismounted, but he led the stallion to the entrance of the garden maze and tied his reins to a hidden post.
“There’s more?” Already this was the best date—day! not date, day!—of my life.
“There’s more,” he confirmed.
Needing a moment to calm my heartbeat, I cooed to the sweet beauty.
Callen took my hand and led me toward the winding hedges. Lush greenery rustled in the crisp Scottish mid-morning breeze. My hand trembled within his. The first time I ventured inside this viney terror, a wolf had howled as if it waited for an opportunity to strike. The second time, when I’d decided to face my fear, I broke my foot.
“I feel your apprehension,” he told me. “You doubt my protection as both your king and husband.” Dropping my hand near the towering entrance stones, he faced me. Determination emanated from him. “It’s an insult to me.”
I could tell he wasn’t upset. Hmm, maybe just a little. He was a berserker, after all. Mostly, I sensed…kindness? “Well, then. No more apprehension. But I expect you to act as my meat shield in the event of trouble.”
“Consider it done.” The corner of his lip quirked. “Come on. We’re going through Briarwrath together. I’ll teach you the secrets of the maze, and you’ll never again get lost inside.”
“You named it Briarwrath? No wonder the place attacked me twice.”