Synopsis:
He was the chief’s cousin.
Namoriee knew the only way to protect herself against the blond-haired gentle giant was to stay away. The way her heart pounded and her insides fluttered when he was near could only lead to disaster.
Two years ago he made a promise to her that she never thought he intended to keep.
She was wrong.
She was the handmaiden.
Tyronian wanted Namoriee even when he knew he couldn’t have her. The need to possess her was so deep, it took every ounce of mental and physical strength he had to keep the promise he made to her that stormy night.
He promised he would wait until she was older.
He promised her two years.
But now… time’s up.
Namoriee wants nothing to do with him but he has no plans on stopping until she’s in his bed, and he’s in her heart.
She will be his. Forever.
Whether she likes it or not.
* * *
Excerpt
Namoriee hurried away from her Lady Chief’s hut, keeping her eyes on her feet as she passed the people in her village, dodging bodies as she went. She felt a slight moment of guilt for leaving Leawyn when she was still recovering, but she couldn’t stay in that room.
Not with him in it.
Only when the sound of her village dimmed, did she let out a sigh of relief.
She turned her gaze up to the sky and closed her eyes in contentment as the sun’s rays bathed her face, causing her body to relax completely.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
Namoriee jumped, whipping around to stare at the blonde in front of her who was frowning at her disapprovingly.
“The woods aren’t safe these days,” Tyronian told her, and as if to prove his point, his blue eyes scanned the tree’s suspiciously before they came back to rest on hers.
She stared up at him silently, not knowing how to respond. She moved back a step when Tyronian moved one forward.
Noticing this, he took another step towards her. When she once again stepped back, he stopped, grinning.
“You’re not afraid of me, are you Namoriee?” he asked, voice light with his amusement.
She stiffened. “No, I am n-not afraid of y-y-you.” She lied, her eyes taking turns between flashing up to his face and the ground.
“Really?” he drawled, arching a brow.
Namoriee’s hackles rose at his tone, causing her to lift her chin up insolently. Her eyes flashed with emotion she rarely demonstrated.
“Yes, really!”
He grinned, amused at her show of defiance and false bravado.
“If that is true,” he drawled, casually taking another step closer to her with an indulgent grin quirking his lips when she tensed but forced herself to hold her ground.
“Prove it.” He purred, stopping so that their bodies were just a breath away.
He must have felt her chest rising and falling quickly against him with her rapidly beating heart; see her lips part slightly at their closeness. Could he smell the scent of her sweat from her hard work around the village?
They were so close that she could feel his warm breath against her cheek, the edges of his blonde beard scratching against the top of her head. His heavily muscled frame encompassed her tiny, frail one, shadowing her like a waterfall would with a rock. His presence was nerve-wracking, and it was all she could do to not let him see how much he affected her.
Her limbs were trembling, caused by an emotion she didn't quite understand.
Whatever it was, she didn’t like it. She needed to get rid of him.
Now.
Namoriee squared her shoulders and tilted her head so that she could better look him in the eye.
Gods, he was massive! Just how tall was he?
“I believe I am, and have already,” she replied boldly, proud that she didn’t stutter with her nervousness.
He chuckled, and leaned his elbow against the tree he managed to back her up against, just beside her head and trapping her in.
“Yes, you didn’t retreat. Good job, Namoriee.”
She took a sharp intake of breath as he dipped his head so that their face were level with each other, pinning her with his gaze.
“How long will that last?” he challenged in a whisper. Her eyes widened.
“I-I don’t know.” Namoriee said, stumbling over her words, his proximity making her nervous and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise with awareness.
His lips were so close to hers—another centimeter and they would be touching.
He studied her quietly, and her eyes had a war on where to look— his eyes, or his lips. He stared at her not as a man measuring the prospect of a horse, but of a man of studying a sword being made. He looked at every detail, taking in every flaw and perfection.
She felt exposed, and self-conscious.
Her hair was lighter than the other women in the tribe, more of a chocolate color than coal. She was frail, her skin tanned from all the days she worked outside in the sun. He towered over her; her forehead level with his chin.
Finally, he met her eyes, taking in her expression.
“Do I make you nervous, Namoriee?” he asked quietly.
“Y-yes.” Namoriee replied, just as softly. She closed her eyes when he leaned closer and trailed a finger lightly down her cheek.
His lips brushed against hers when he asked his next question, voice a low murmur.
“Are you afraid of me, Namoriee?”
She inhaled deeply through her nose, opening her eyes that clashed with his vivid blue ones. Her lips trembled when she whispered her answer.
“Yes.”
Tyronian said nothing for a moment, and both continued to stare at each other in tense silence. It was as if the air sparkled with electricity, so potent, you could feel it.
He straightened slowly, and dropped his arm from the tree. Turning his body sideways, he gave her the space she needed to slip by and escape him.
* * *
Tyronian stared after Namoriee as her long brown hair flew out behind her like a whirlwind as she ran.
Away from him.
She was young, too young even. The fact that he was eleven years her senior should have been enough to keep him away, but it wasn’t.
He couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the empty space she was at a moment before.
Because he knew…he wasn’t going to let her run away from him for long.
She was doomed long before this encounter because he had already made up his mind.
She was going to be his. Forever.
Whether she liked it, or not.
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