Loved by a Beast - Miranda Bridges Page 0,40

there is a war going on? I mean, holy shit, it’s a lot to deal with.”

Jaxar says nothing, nor does he interrupt me, but when I come up for air, he’s quick to interject. Probably because it’s his only chance to get a word in.

“You are a creature that I may never understand, especially when it comes to your emotions. But you cannot let them come between us, wife.”

He leans down to kiss me, and I flinch. It’s unintentional, but that doesn’t prevent the look of hurt that streaks through his golden gaze. He takes my chin in a firm grip, the pressure of his hold preventing me from moving. It doesn’t hurt, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he is not happy with me.

“You shy away from my touch?” he asks. “You will explain this to me, and you will do it now.”

I inhale deep, trying to settle my erratic breathing and the racing of my heart, but it doesn’t work. If anything, I’m getting closer to hyperventilating. “I’ve been feeling confused all day, and it’s difficult to explain.”

He narrows his eyes to little more than slits. “Help me understand why my silana, the mother of my children and my queen, can no longer stand for me to put my hands on her.”

Fuck-fuck-fuck.

“Help me understand why I yearn for her and she does not reciprocate this,” he says. He releases his hold on me, only to lightly trail his claws down the side of my neck. It doesn’t hurt, but when he palms my breast and strokes my nipple, I gasp, him responding with a low growl. “Tell me how I’m supposed to relieve myself if I’m not in her cunt?”

My stomach somersaults inside me at the same time that my body comes alive with awareness. As much as I want to arch into his caress, there’s another part of me that is upset. No, not upset. I’m…hurt.

I slap my hand on top of his, halting his thumb from sweeping over my nipple again. “I don’t want to have sex with you because I’m still hurt from what happened with Grefina.”

He exhales long and loud, his exasperation igniting a spark of anger within me. “Do not mention that trazak to me, especially not in our bed. I won’t have it, Massela.”

Blame it on sleep deprivation, hormones, or just plain old stress, but an inferno of rage mixed with pain comes roaring out of my soul. It rises through my chest and up my throat until it’s a waterfall, pouring from me rapidly.

“It’s your fault I feel this way, so don’t give me shit about it.” I dig my nails into his hand when he frowns at me. “I wouldn’t have thought anything was going on between you and her if you hadn’t given me so many things to be suspicious about. She called you by your name, which is my right, and she helped you with leading the tribe, which is my place.” I shove his hand from my breast as tears fill my eyes. “You pulled away from me first, but when I do it, then that’s not okay? Fuck you, Jaxar.”

I push against his chest with all my might, but it’s for nothing. Especially when he snatches my wrists and anchors them above my head. I struggle as soon as he shifts his body in order to peel away the fur blanket, which causes a sense of vulnerability to spread through me as he eyes my body despite the flimsy nightgown I wear. Then he tosses his leg across my calves, and I give up, now completely immobile.

“Do you not remember what happened the last time you said those words to me in anger?” he murmurs. With his free hand, he runs the back of a claw down my sternum, between my breasts, and then finally stops at the first inch of naked skin on my thigh. “Do you remember what I did to you for that insult and what I said?” He lightly taps my clit, and I’m not able to stop the arousal that blooms in the pit of my belly. “I said that your anger would make your response that much more gratifying.”

“Don’t touch me.” My threat is weak, breathy as he slices through my clothing. “Did you hear me?”

He pulls back the two halves of my nightgown, baring me completely. “Did you hear me, wife?” The second he palms my breast, the tip of his tail strokes my clit, and I