CHAPTER7
AGONAK
Ahuman. A pitiful, pathetic human. Here in our camp.
It boggled my mind, but more than that? It tugged at my heart.
All evening the sight of her chewed through my brain. Every thought, every motion was colored by thoughts of her on her knees before me. Of her defiant glare. Of her sweet, female scent.
I groaned and scrubbed a hand through my hair, shifting in my seat. Only a matter of time now, and I would be able to go to her. Krom didn't understand my reaction to the human female. No one did.
Least of all, myself.
But I couldn't bring myself to trap her in the dungeons or have her executed for sport. Not yet. Not while questions still lingered.
How did she get here? What did she want?
And why did she smell so fucking delicious?
I finished my duties as quickly as possible and took my leave, even telling my guards to take the night off. For this to go as planned, I needed privacy.
Just me and the human. Alone.
My cock throbbed in my trousers as I made my way through the treetop maze back to my palace. We'd had human prisoners and slaves in the past, but they'd been relics of wars past. Never in peacetime.
And never alone like this one was.
I pushed the stormy thoughts as far back as I could and assumed the most kinglike demeanor I could. As much as the female intrigued me, she needed to know her place first and foremost. She may have gotten away with it for now, but I was still a king and still had a reputation -- and a village -- to protect.
If she meant us harm, I could have no mercy.
When I reached the central tree trunk I dismissed the guards and slotted the key into the lock the way I had so many times before. This time, I would not return to an empty bedchamber.
There would be someone there waiting for me.
My thrall. My prize.
My little prisoner.
Cock jumping at the thought, I huffed out a breath and pushed my way inside, locking the door behind me.
The palace looked as it ever did, but the moment I stepped inside her smell assaulted me. It touched everything, clinging to every surface like a thick, cloying fog. One that could very well muddle my thoughts and judgment were I not careful.
I followed my nose and the thudding of my heart down the main corridor and up the spiraling steps to the top floor where I slept. The door was closed, but I didn't need to open it to know she was in there. I could feel her.
Could she feel me, too?
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. No longer willing to hesitate, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
She lay in bed, facing away from me. Her long hair cascaded over the pillow, and she wore nothing but a thin white shift. The moonlight spilled in through the window, bathing her pale skin in silver.
I sucked in a short breath despite myself. The very picture of innocence, sprawled on the bed before me. It would be easy -- all too easy -- to take her right then and there. To give in for once to my primal instincts to mate, devour, and claim.
But I held back. Not yet.
When I took her at last, there would be no question about who she belonged to. She would be wrapped in my arms, breathless except for the sound of my name on her lips. She would beg to be mine.
Careful not to wake her, I began to remove my various layers of clothing and armor. Cloak first, I unclasped it and hung it over a hook on the door. My belt came next, and with it my drinking flask and coin pouch. I lay them carefully over the nightstand before unstrapping the axe at my waist.