Pain—worse than the enchanted lash against her skin, worse than her belly after three days without food and worse than the idea of Liam never having walked into Granny’s Pub—squeezed Red’s lungs.
He struggled to stay upright, but looked as if even the slightest breeze could have knocked him over. “Let her go and I won’t fight you.”
“Look at you. You can’t fight me anyway. Not even on your best day and you’re far from that.” The King waved his hand, knocking Liam to the ground with magic.
The king raised his hand to deliver the deathblow.
“Wait.” Adrenaline and fury pouring through her, she latched onto the first plan that came to mind. “Let me do it.”
“Do I look like a fool?” The king curled his fingers, the movement bringing Liam up from the ground so that he dangled fifty feet in midair.
She wanted to tear the king apart, rip him into shreds that could never be put back together again, but unless she could get him to release her, Liam was a dead man. So she twisted the anger and found a new target for it because she had to hate Liam, to save him.
Birds were singing. Judging by the number of honking cars she could hear, the morning commute had begun in earnest. Dawn was over and the morning was here, giving her the opening she needed.
“Look around. It’s morning. The spell has worn off. I’m back to normal,” Red said, keeping her tone flinty. “He lied to me. He abused my trust. Let me prove my loyalty and have my revenge against him in the same moment. Then, we’ll go on doing business together as if this had never happened.”
The King gave her a considering look before lowering his hand. Liam landed softly on the concrete in front of them. The King snapped his fingers and her entire body tingled as blood rushed back into her limbs.
“One wrong move,” the King snarled, “and I’ll kill him slowly.”
She smirked. “What do you think my plan is for him?”
The king handed her a knife with a six-inch blade. Its solid steel handle was heavy and awkward in her hand, but she curled her fingers around it, knowing that her timing had to be perfect. She’d only get one shot at this.
The King nudged her forward. “Go on, make the smart choice.”
“You’re right. Killing him would be the smart choice.” She shifted her grip on the knife’s handle. “But someone once told me that sometimes you have to go with your gut.”
She spun around and raised the knife in one fluid motion, turning her wrist so the blade was perpendicular to the ground then slammed the solid metal hilt against the king’s temple. He crumpled to the ground, alive but no threat—at least not until he regained consciousness.
Red tossed the knife aside and dropped to her knees beside Liam. The morning sun showcased every cut and bruise on Liam’s gorgeous face, making her ache for him. Heart thundering in her ears, she swept her hands across his body, checking for broken bones and praying there wouldn’t be any telltale signs of internal bleeding. “You could have been killed.”
He grinned up at her, wincing a little from the effort. “Coulda, woulda, shoulda.”
“Are you always going to be such a pain in my ass?” She slid her arm underneath his chest and helped him sit up.
“As long as we get an always.” Stubborn ass that he was, he pushed off from the ground on his own. He regained his footing, but the tightness in his jaw
showed the effort it had taken.
“You’ll have to be satisfied with a happy for now.” Sliding close, she dropped one of his arms around her shoulder and wrapped her hand around his waist. Together they hobbled to the front gate. “Let’s just see where all this leads.”
Liam winked. “Eventually, right down the aisle.”
As soon as they crossed the property line and were in the street where magic worked again, Red reached into her cape and retrieved a glass vile of an effervescent purple liquid. She uncorked it and held it to Liam’s lips. He drank without question. Within moments, the cuts had healed, the bruises had faded and his swagger had returned.
“You are cocky son of a bitch.” Just her type of werewolf.
“And that’s why you love me.” He pulled her tight to him, every one of his hard lines complementing her soft curves, meeting her halfway as an equal.
“Maybe.” The love spell had worn off, but the thrill of being this close to him had her hot, bothered and ready for more anyway. Granny had asked her if this connection between her and Liam could be more. What Red hadn’t realized at the time was that it already was.
“Where’s Harold?” Liam asked, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. “I think it’s time we rode off into the sunrise.”
Red threw back her head and laughed, for real this time. “Come on, let’s go reverse that curse before you turn permanently furry. Granny would have a fit if I brought an actual wolf home and introduced him as my boyfriend.”
He leaned in close, brushing his lips across her jaw. “What happened to being your fiancé?”