The King’s Bed

Chapter Two

“Do you want me to undress myself… or will you rip it off me, my king?”

Liana’s voice was soft, yet it carried through the heavy silence of the king’s private chamber. She had not meant to say it, not with all the courtiers gone, not when they were finally alone. But the words slipped out, shameless, trembling on the edge of defiance.

Kael turned from the tall arched window where the moonlight streamed across his shoulders. His golden eyes gleamed in the shadows, pinning her as surely as if he had chained her to the bed.

“Your tongue is sharper than your mind,” Kael murmured. He moved toward her, every step slow, measured, predatory. “But I will allow it. Because I enjoy watching you trap yourself with your own words.”

Her back brushed against the carved post of the bed. She had been trying to stay far from him, from the intoxicating heat of his body, but somehow her feet betrayed her, bringing her closer, cornering her.

“I only speak what you want to hear,” she whispered, her lips curling. “Is that not what a king’s bride should do?”

Kael’s smile was cruel, but his eyes burned. He stopped so close she could feel the warmth of his breath. One hand lifted, and his fingers toyed with the edge of her gown where it slipped off her shoulder.

“You speak like a wh*re, but tremble like a maiden,” he said. His touch trailed lower, brushing the bare curve of her arm. “Tell me, little bride, which one are you?”

Her heart thundered in her chest. She wanted to slap him, to spit in his face. Instead, she leaned in, her lips grazing the shell of his ear. “Why not make me both?”

His hand shot to her throat, not choking, but holding, claiming. Her pulse jumped against his palm. “Careful,” he growled, his voice a blade wrapped in velvet. “Do not beg me to destroy you unless you are ready to be ruined.”

She gasped softly, and for a moment her body betrayed her with the shiver that ran through her spine. But she tilted her chin higher, forcing the words out. “Then ruin me.”

The chamber seemed to darken, the silence growing heavy with the weight of her challenge. Kael’s grip tightened, not in cruelty, but in promise. His other hand dragged down her waist, pulling her closer until she was pressed against the hard wall of his chest.

“You have no idea what you are offering,” he said, though his voice had thickened, his control fraying. “If I take you, it will not be gentle.”

Her lips parted. “Then don’t be gentle.”

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The air between them was molten, vibrating with hunger and defiance. Then Kael bent his head and captured her mouth in a kiss that stole the air from her lungs.

It was not tender. It was dominance carved into flesh, a taste of fire, a claim of ownership. Liana’s hands pressed against his chest, but not to push him away—her fingers curled into the silk of his shirt, clutching, needing.

When he broke the kiss, his mouth trailed to her jaw, to her throat, leaving heat wherever his lips touched. “This is only the beginning,” he murmured. “Tonight you learn what it means to be mine.”

Liana’s body betrayed her again, arching toward him, her gown slipping further down her shoulder. She hated the weakness, hated the heat pooling between her thighs, but she could not stop it. Not when his hand slid lower, gripping her hips with rough possession.

“Tell me,” Kael whispered against her skin, “do you dream of me when you close your eyes? Do you wake wet, aching, desperate?”

Her breath shuddered out of her. She should have denied it. She should have kept her silence. But instead, her lips parted with a confession that was almost a moan. “Yes.”

His laugh was dark, dangerous. “Then you are already mine, whether you admit it or not.”

Kael lifted her effortlessly, setting her on the edge of the bed. The silk sheets were cool beneath her thighs, but the heat of his body consumed her. He stood between her knees, his cloak falling around them like a golden cage, shutting out the world until there was nothing but the two of them.

Liana’s hand rose, almost against her will, tracing the line of his jaw. His skin was warm, rough with faint stubble. He caught her wrist, kissed her palm, then pressed it hard against his chest. His heart thundered beneath her touch.

“You feel that?” Kael asked, his eyes blazing into hers. “Every beat is yours. Not because I give it freely, but because I cannot stop it. You have already cursed me, little bride.”

Her lips trembled. “And you have already ruined me.”

His mouth descended again, taking hers in another bruising kiss.

The chamber filled with the sound of silk rustling, of breathless moans, of hunger too strong to deny. And though Liana hated him, though she told herself she would never love him, she knew in that moment that her body was betraying her… and soon her heart might follow.