Filed to story: My Kidnapper Is the Wolf King
I push my fingers into his mouth. He nips them playfully with his teeth. I giggle.
“You are very drunk, Princess.” He glances at the writhing mass of people on the dancefloor. “Let’s dance.”
“I don’t know the moves.”
Callum nods at a couples of Wolves, spinning around and causing mayhem as others dodge out of their path. “I don’t think many of them do, either.”
A grin spreads across my face, and I jump up. “Okay. Come on then.”
He takes a deep breath, giving me a sheepish smile. “Aye. Just. . . just give me a moment.”
He looks away from me, exhaling. I’m about to ask him what the problem is, but he adjusts his kilt, and gets up.
He puts an arm around my waist, smiles, and leads me to the dancefloor.
***
I’m happy.
The thought jolts through me like a silver bullet-unfamiliar and strange and certain.
My feet ache from dancing. Strands of my hair escape their pins and stick to my face. My chest hurts because I’m constricted by my corset, and I’m far too hot beneath my long lacy sleeves.
Yet I am happy.
I do not hide the smile on my face, or my squeal of glee as Callum spins me around-his eyes filled with wonder and delight. His hands are warm and firm around mine.
The joy that has washed over me seems to have flooded the entire Great Hall. The dancefloor has cleared a little since earlier, with some of the Wolves heading into the alcoves, but the nearby Wolves dance alongside us. They’re too caught up in the music and the alcohol and their own laughter to throw any ill-feeling my way.
I have attended many dances in my twenty years, but I’ve never cut loose and felt so free.
Callum laughs as I spread my arms and spin around. He pulls me close. “I’ve just seen Fi. I need to speak with her about something.” His warm breath tickles my ear and I giggle. “Come on, sit down for a moment. Let’s get you a glass of water. I fear the havoc you will cause if I leave you unattended.”
He grins as he leads me to one of the tables and sits me down on the bench.
“I’ll be back in a moment.” He kisses my forehead. “Be good, okay?”
He strides over to Fiona, who is standing by the oak doors dressed in her stable gear. It could be my imagination, but she looks a little tense.
I follow her gaze to the seat at the middle of the alpha table where James now sits. He is speaking with Robert, one hand on a tankard of ale.
As they’re speaking, Blake walks past them to the band. Nearby, Brodie is watching them play. The young male’s expression is a mixture of resentment and awe, and the corner of my lip twitches.
Blake whispers something to one of the band members. They change the tune they’re playing to something a little slower.
I sway on the bench. The melody is familiar to me, though I cannot place it. I reach for a beaker and pour myself a glass of water.
When I turn back to the dancefloor, Blake stands in front of me.
He holds out a slender hand.
“Would you care to dance?” he asks.
Chapter Forty-Nine
For a moment I am speechless.
My gaze travels up his black shirt, now buttoned up to the collar, and lands on his face. I cannot read his expression. He seems serious, yet his eyes glint in the torchlight as though they hold a thousand secrets.
The dancefloor blurs behind him as people slow their steps to the new melody that’s playing. Where have I heard this song before?
“You want to dance with me?” I ask.
“Yes.”
A giggle escapes my lips, and Blake tilts his head to the side-the movement almost catlike. “Does that amuse you, little rabbit?”
I lean back against the table and take a sip from my beaker-welcoming the coldness of the water as it travels down my throat. I am hot. Too hot. And my mind feels fuzzy from all the whisky.
Blake tracks my every movement as I brush a strand of hair out of my face.
“Do you think me a fool, Blake?”
“On the contrary. Dance with me.”
“If you mean to provoke Callum, he’s otherwise engaged.” I put down my beaker and raise an eyebrow. “You’re wasting your time.”
He smiles, dimples puncturing his cheeks. I could almost forget that he is a manipulative snake when he looks at me like that.
“I am not trying to provoke your master, little rabbit.
That would be a waste of my time.”
“What are you trying to do, then?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I frown. “Callum is not my master.”
“Prove it.” He glances at his hand, still outstretched. “Dance with me.”
The shadows in the Great Hall seem to gravitate toward him as the candles flicker, as though attracted to whatever darkness resides in his soul.
I laugh and shake my head. “Do you truly think me so easily manipulated?”
He smirks. “Oh, darling, I know exactly how to manipulate you.”
“I’m not dancing with you, am I?”
“No. But you will.”
“What makes you so sure?”
He steps forward, and places both hands on the table on either side of me. I breathe in sharply, inhaling his scent of the forest at night, as he dips his mouth to my ear.
“Because I’m playing a game, little rabbit.” His warm breath tickles my cheek. “And a part of you wants to play too-just to see if you can beat me.”
He turns his face toward mine, a challenge glinting in his eyes.
Then he steps back and I can breathe again.
“Why would I play a game with you when I am at a disadvantage?” I say. “I do not know the rules, nor the prize.”
“No. But don’t you want to find out?”
He holds out his hand.