Chapter Three
Aleo smiled while Piper poured the warm water into the bathtub. She hated her new task, and he fucking loved it. He intended to have her hands on him as much as he could without actually fucking her. Now that he’d met all the potential mates, he had to behave himself on a personal level. It looked bad to his future bride if he was screwing around with another woman the night before the shaman selected her. He didn’t think Piper would go for it anyway. She was still pissed. A night he relived over and over in his mind all the time.
“You’ve got your water. There’s the soap. I’m going to the laundry to get some clean sheets.” She met his eyes with a boldness he rarely ever saw in a female. “Is there anything else you want?”
“Undress me.”
She blinked a few times. “What?”
He held out his arms. The look on her face told him to go to hell. Instead of saying anything, she moved forward and started to undo his shirt.
“I’m not scared of you,” she commented. “You may be a shifter and the king, but that means nothing to me.”
“Really?” He watched as she opened his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. Her hands lingered along his chest, her gaze taking in the view before she finally looked up at him. She wasn’t completely immune to him. The interest was there, and it hurt to think about it.
“Really.” She brushed the backs of her knuckles along his stomach before gripping the fly of his pants. He held his breath while she undid his pants. “I may have fallen victim to your scam two years ago, but I’m wiser now.”
She shoved his pants down, freeing his cock from the confinements. Aleo watched as she bent slightly, her mouth inches from his dick as she tugged the fabric down his muscular thighs. It damn near killed him to entertain the idea of bending her over the bed and fucking her senseless. If she kept licking her damn lips when she stared at his cock, he probably would.
Meeting his eyes, she said, “Completely unaffected.”
He stepped out of his pants and walked toward the bathtub. “Good. Then you have no problem getting the soap and bathing me.”
He didn’t bother looking at her as he stepped into the bathtub. He sank back in the hot water and closed his eyes. He listened while she rummaged around. Then the slap of the wet washcloth came against his chest. Meeting her gaze, he stared into her eyes.
She’d push every button he had if he let her. He gripped her wrist and held her to him. “The nicer you are, the nicer I’ll be. Remember that when you have one of your fits.”
“What else can you really do to me?” she stared into his eyes, almost as a challenge. “I’m already your slave.”
He brushed her nipple with the knuckle of his finger. It beaded with his faint touch. “I have a creative imagination. Don’t test me unless you’re really prepared.”
She smeared the soap along his chest. His fingers left the fabric of her dress wet, making her dusty rose nipple visible. She wasn’t completely unaffected. If he wanted, he could have pulled her in the bathtub with him and kissed her senseless.
“You smell good,” he commented. “Sweet.”
She dipped her hands beneath the water to wrap the cloth around his cock. He moaned softly as he laid his head back against the bathtub. Two strokes of the washcloth had him hard. Her lips were inches from his eyes as she bent over the bathtub, her breasts rubbing along his arm.
It would be so easy to give in and take her. He thought about what it would feel like to bury himself inside her, fucking her like he wanted. Nothing sounded better in that moment.
“I guess you want me to wash your ass, too?” she said.
He blinked his eyes open. “What?”
“I can’t wash your ass if you’re sitting on it.”
Instead of saying anything, he reached up and gripped her neck. Staring into her eyes, he leaned in. Her lips parted slightly from the shock, and he pressed his lips against hers. He kissed her aggressively, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She propped herself above him, half leaning into the tub and half out. His body felt on fire. Desire he’d been fighting all the fucking day for her flooded through him. She made his head spin. Made him think and do crazy things he wouldn’t normally do. She had him so completely on edge he couldn’t think of anything but what it would feel like to have her. To make her his.
When he pulled back, he let her go slowly. The defiance had left her eyes, and he almost missed it. He liked a woman that challenged him. Most of his youth had been spent seeking out women who flattered him, but he liked Piper’s indifference. He liked knowing that no matter how hard she fought it, she wanted him, too.
“Get me a towel,” he said letting her go.
Piper stood and grabbed the towel she’d brought in for him. “I’ll go get some clean sheets for the bed.”
He stood, his cock erect from the teasing. After dabbing his arms and chest, he wrapped the towel around his waist. Piper had moved to the side, watching him. The top of her dress was damp from the bath, and he could see her hard nipples and the outline of her luscious breasts.
His idea of not fucking her backfired. Every time she was around, his entire body knew about it. He wanted nothing more than to spend his last night as a single man buried inside the one woman that he could never have. She cleared her throat and walked across the room. Before she could leave, he grabbed her, pulling her back to him.
“Nobody gives a fuck about clean sheets.” He stared into her eyes. “If I told you I wanted to fuck you, what would your response be?”
Piper’s gaze darted around the room. “Your future mate wouldn’t like that.”
“No.” He shook his head. “But she’s not here, and you are.”
The slender column of her neck had faint marks from his fingers. He liked how possessive it looked. “Take your dress off.”
“I don’t think…”
“I didn’t tell you to think. I told you to take your dress off. Now.”
Piper moved away from him. He watched her a moment as she walked across the room. She turned to face him. “No.”
The defiance was back. His pulse sped up. “No?”
“No.” She propped her hand on her hip.
He stalked toward her. “That sassy little mouth and that revealing dress have had me hard all day. You’ve awakened the beast in me, sweetheart. Now you’re going to learn what that really means.”