loved me stung deeply with his wife’s name attached to the sentiment as an afterthought.
“Excuse me?” he asked thickly. “What the fuck has gotten into you now, woman?”
“You almost got into me,” I whispered vehemently, uncaring that my lips quivered with the anger I felt. “I think I should sleep someplace else or with anyone else. You don’t have enough room for me in your bed with your ghosts joining us.”
“Whose name did I call you, Aria?” he asked softly, his back tensing as he waited.
“You called me Liliana, right after you said you loved me as you prepared to fuck me. I can accept many things, but hearing another woman’s name as you push your cock into my body isn’t among the list. I’d rather sleep in the cage than be a substitute for who you really wanted in your bed.”
Knox snorted, dropping his head into his hands. “I didn’t mean to say that to you.”
“I got that from the ‘I love you part,’” I exhaled a shuddered breath as he shook his dark head. “You could always allow me to change someone else to appear as your dead wife. That way, you can have a night with her instead of me,” I offered coldly. “Obviously, you’d prefer her in your bed.”
“I didn’t enjoy fucking my wife, Aria.”
I tensed as he turned to stare at me. “It hurt Liliana to be with me, and when we made love, it was never for pleasure. Liliana was delicate, and my size made it painful for her to endure being with me. We were only together to create an heir for the throne, as required by our union. So no, I do not prefer my deceased wife in my bed. I prefer you because I can destroy you, and you’ll take it, begging for more. I’m sorry that I said her name in my sleep. I must have been dreaming.”
“And woke up to a nightmare,” I grunted, kicking off the blanket before turning away from him.
I hadn’t expected him to grab me or pull me to him. He swiftly rolled my body beneath his, pinning me to the bed with his weight. Knox peered down into my eyes, searching them briefly before his mouth lowered, claiming mine in a soft kiss that caused a storm of emotions to tear through me. He grabbed my wrists, pinning them above my head as he lifted his body, smiling wickedly.
“You’re nothing like my wife. If I told her to do something, she’d never have thought to argue or defy me. You argue about everything because you’re the most infuriating, stubborn woman I have ever met. You defy me at every turn, and you have no fear of whom or what I am. I am a born king who has seen wars and ended thousands of lives, and you don’t allow that to faze you. You have no fear of me, Aria. There’s not a timid or docile bone in your entire body. I hate that I admire you and your brazenness. You would make a fierce queen.”
I didn’t speak because I wasn’t sure what to say. Knox had loved his wife, and I was just fun. He could abuse me and enjoyed that about me. I looked away as he exhaled, rolling from the bed to open the chest at the foot of it. He tossed me a dress and shoved his legs into dark pants that hugged his powerful thighs.
“Get up,” he said roughly, his eyes noting the sheerness of the nightgown I wore. “We have a long journey ahead of us today. We might as well start now. I don’t think either of us could go back to sleep. Unless, of course, you need your pretty pussy painted?”
“Pass,” I whispered, turning and slowly sliding to the edge of the bed, standing to dress.
I hooked my fingers through the hem of the nightgown, lifting it over my head and reaching for the dress. I turned my back to him to get dressed as I began pulling it on. Knox grabbed me, lifting me in his arms, and parted my legs as his mouth met my flesh. I gasped, screaming as I fought the dress and pleasure he sent radiating through me all at once.
Knox held me in the air, lapping hungrily against my core. He’d forced my legs over his shoulders, hooking his hands around my thighs, devouring me without mercy. His tongue slid through my sex, slurping greedily as I gasped, moaning while