Chapter One
“Ah, shit.”
Aleo sat on his throne staring at the human waiting in line before him. The matching ceremony was for lion shifters only. Females from all over the kingdom came to the castle to try to appeal to the king for the potential to mate him. The ceremony was ancient, and everyone knew the rules. Humans weren’t allowed.
So what the fuck was she doing here?
Her sea green eyes met his in pure defiance across the room. The strands of her long brunette hair would feel silky in his grasp. She wore a white dress that left little to the imagination, and he was fairly sure that if he stared hard enough, he could see the dusty rose color of her nipples. His mouth watered to taste them, to pinch them and suck them like he had every fucking right. As if she could read his mind, she folded her arms over her chest. They’d known each other for two years. When they’d been together it had been intense. His father had put a stop to them seeing each other when he found out things had grown serious between them. But it didn’t stop him from fantasizing about her. The woman was a real piece of work, and his cock hardened in his pants just thinking about it.
“What is it, sir?”
He didn’t say anything as he kept his attention on the woman in white. Hell, she was gorgeous. Her pouty lips were rosy and plump. He’d pictured them wrapped around his cock more than once over the past few years, and the image of it now only made him harder. She had a look of innocence that he found so damn alluring. He knew from experience though that she was far from the image she portrayed. Forbidden. He knew it. She knew it. Everyone knew it. His cock, however, didn’t get that fucking memo.
“Ah.” Keenan, a royal guard, grinned as he saw the troublemaker wreaking havoc on King Aleo. Hell, everyone saw it, even the females that he was able to be matched with. “I’m guessing you want me to get rid of her?”
He scowled at his friend, and Keenan held up a hand. In more bold defiance, she stepped out of the line and walked toward him, completely disregarding the rules altogether. Several of his potential mates glared at her while Aleo couldn’t help scratching his chin in amusement. She was one hell of a woman, and it fucking sucked that she had to remain completely off-limits.
“I need to talk to you,” she said. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to his throne. When he didn’t say anything to her, she lifted her dress and climbed them. Keenan made a half-hearted attempt to stop her, but Aleo held out a hand, curious as to what she intended to do. Nobody approached him. It was a well-known rule for meeting with the king.
“My father has been arrested by your goon squad. I want him back.”
Aleo blinked a few times. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. He was in the village. There was supposed to be a peace agreement between your kind and humans, but your goons arrested him for trespassing.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know what kind of game you want to play, but I can tell you right now, you won’t win.”
Threatening a king was a serious offense. The maximum punishment was life imprisonment. How the hell did he land himself in this position with her? “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I will look in to it.”
“That’s it? You’ll look in to it?”
“As you can tell, I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Kind of busy? Like when we were in the cabin together and you stepped outside to talk with your father?”
Yeah. She was never going to let that go. Thoughts of her naked body facing him filled his mind before he could stop them. He’d been wild and carefree back then. He’d also been a prince without any responsibilities. When he’d whisked her away to a cabin in the middle of nowhere to have his fill of her, his father found them. Aleo had tied her to the bed and planned to have his wicked way with her, but instead, he’d had to indulge his father’s command to meet him outside. Not only did he get a lecture by the king on the forbidden nature of humans mixing with shifters, but he’d left her naked and exposed with the rest of the guard. His men still talked about her. A smile tilted his lips. Two years had passed, and she was still pissed at him for it.
“Being royalty is more difficult than you think.”
She jumped on him, reaching for his throat. Aleo grabbed her, quickly forcing her arms to her sides before she could do any real damage. Once he captured her, he motioned for his guards to clear the room. Not only did she threaten him, but she tried to strangle him, too. The people would demand punishment if he wasn’t careful, and he’d have to do something to keep the peace.
“I know you’re fucking crazy, but don’t ever do something so stupid like that again.” Pressing his forehead against hers, he panted against her lips. His fucking hard-on didn’t help the situation any. His fingers wrapped around her tiny wrists tightly. Because he could, he forced her arms above her head as he pressed her body in to the wall behind him, pinning her in place.
“Or what?” she asked boldly. Her nipples poked out beneath the thin white dress, begging for his attention. Her breasts brushed against him, and he held back a groan while she struggled in his hold.
“You won’t like it.”
It would be so easy to fuck her right there. Her dress left little to his imagination. A simple tug would have her breasts bared to his gaze. She wore nothing underneath, and he could have her open to him within seconds, plunging deep into her wet warmth before she even had time to protest.
He caught a whiff of her scent and nearly groaned out loud. The predicaments he found himself in were intriguing. He’d seen hundreds of women, some were gorgeous, some were friendly. None were like the firecracker standing before him. It’d been so hard to keep himself away from her for two years, and it seemed even harder now to not lean in and taste her lips.
“Get that stupid expression off your face,” she commented, drawing his attention back to the present situation. “I’m not here to mate you or bed you. I want my father released. I couldn’t care less about you.”
“I said I’d look into it.” His attention focused on her pouty lips. “But if you think you’re going to come to me making demands, threatening me, and attacking me, to get what you want, you’ve clearly forgotten who I am. My father would have had you executed.”
“Would you rather me show you my tits?” She shimmied a bit in his hold.
He smirked before he could stop himself. “I think you need some time to cool off. That temper of yours is getting the best of you. Quite frankly, I want to wring your neck myself.”
She narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything. What the hell did he do with her? Besides stealing her away to his room, there wasn’t much else he could do at the moment. His potential mates had seen her attack him. Most of the people in the kingdom knew she was human. Piper Marsh had a reputation thanks to his brief relationship with her and his father’s intervention. He had to punish her somehow for the day’s events.
He glanced over his shoulder at Keenan, who did his best to keep his expression neutral.
“I think Piper Marsh needs some time to cool down in the dungeon.” He passed her off to Keenan. “King’s orders.”
“Yes, sir.” He took her out the side door.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Aleo tried to focus on greeting his guests. Behind Piper’s defiance was a serious amount of hurt. Aleo knew it was because of him. Not only with the shit that happened years ago, but with the matching ceremony, too. He didn’t know what the issue was with her father, but he’d fix it. Taking a moment, he adjusted himself. It wasn’t so easy for him to get over her either. He kept his distance, after his father had threatened him with exile, but thoughts of her never stopped entering his mind and driving up his libido.
How the hell did he live with a woman from the chosen line-up, when there was only one that made him burn? He sat down on the throne and motioned for the doors to be opened again. The women before him came and offered their best in the hopes that they’d appeal to him and be chosen. Hell, he didn’t even pay attention. It pissed him off that Piper had defied him. He also found himself liking it more than he should. The sexual frustration alone had him damn near ready to walk to the dungeon himself, lay her on the flimsy mattress in the cell and fuck her until he got his fill. He tried to pay attention to the women before him, but the sassy Piper Marsh was the only woman on his mind.