How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

Shouts drew his attention to the drawbridge where all the people were spilling out of the castle. His wife and friends led the crowd, and Luciana collapsed onto her knees, crying, when she saw he was alive.

“Don’t cry.” He slipped his glove back on so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt anyone, then motioned toward the moat. “On tonight’s menu, fried duck.”

With a laugh, she ran toward him, and he caught her in his arms. “Leo!” She wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she pulled back and thumped him on the chest. “You scared me to death! Don’t you dare do that again!”

“I was scared, too, that you would be hurt. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She ran her hands over his chest and arms. “You’re not injured? The fall didn’t break anything?”

“I’m not that easy to kill.” With a grin, he patted his stomach. “This is pure muscle.”

Brody scoffed. “Where have I heard that before?”

Leo smiled at his friends. “Thank you for protecting her. Are you all right?”

“Aye,” Edmund answered, then bowed.

Beside him, Brody and Jensen also bowed, and behind them, the crowd of people knelt and curtsied.

Leo inhaled sharply as he realized the full import of his cousin’s death.

He was now the heir to the throne.





Chapter Thirty-four

Luciana woke to the sweet sensation of her husband caressing her breasts. Leo was curled against her back, nuzzling the back of her neck. She moaned softly as her nipples pebbled in response to his fingers.

“Are you awake?” he whispered against her ear before drawing her earlobe into his mouth.

“Barely.” She’d slept only a few hours for they’d made love half the night.

He rubbed the hardened tip of a nipple between his forefinger and thumb. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“Mmm.” After two and a half weeks of marriage, she knew that to be true. Her poor husband had grown up starved for touch. Not that she ever complained. The things he did with his fingers and mouth were magical. He seemed to know her body better than she did. He’d certainly explored every inch of her, and each time he brought her to climax, she screamed his name and begged for more.

She stretched, entwining her legs with his. He tugged gently on her nipple, and moisture pooled between her thighs. Good goddesses, she wanted him to touch her. She was as insatiable as he was. “Can we stay here for a few days?” And never leave the bed? “I’m so sore from all the riding.”

“Poor, pretty bottom.” He moved his hand to her buttocks and gently massaged. “I wish we could stay here, but we need to take my cousin’s body to court. If we don’t provide proof of his demise, then the Chameleon could impersonate Tedric again and claim that I’m lying about his death in order to inherit the throne. The king would probably believe him and try to have me executed.”

Luciana nodded. “I can see why the king would believe him. What father would want to admit his son is dead?”

“Right. So we’d better take the body to court before it deteriorates any more.”

“I’m so sorry about your cousin.” Luciana rolled onto her back to look at her husband. “Won’t you be safe once the king realizes you’re his only heir?”

“I should be.” His hand stroked her belly. “You should be safe, too, since you could be carrying a future king.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You mean future queen.”

With a smile, he patted her belly. “I think our firstborn should inherit the throne, then the second can be the next Duke of Vindalyn.”

“You mean Duchess.”

He gave her a wry look. “Are you intending to give me only daughters?”

“Is that a problem?”

His hand slipped down to play with the curls between her legs. “They would, no doubt, be as brave, clever, and beautiful as their mother, but I do foresee a problem.”

Her smile faded. “How so?”

“There would be no men anywhere on Aerthlan who would be good enough for them.”

“Ah.” Her smile returned. “Are you worried about becoming king someday?”

“Not as long as I have you.” He stroked her gently, and she opened her thighs so he could make her squirm.

“You will always have me.” She pressed herself against his hand. Already she was wet and eager to feel him inside her. “I love you, Leo.”

He moved between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around him. “And I will always love you.”

She reached for him as he slid inside.

*

An hour later, just after sunrise, they were dressed and ready to leave. Their party was larger now, Luciana noted, since her husband was taking a handful of castle guards with them to protect the deceased prince. A wooden casket was now carrying Tedric’s body, and it would be taken by cart to Ebton Palace. The guards would also serve as witnesses that the Chameleon had killed Tedric in case the king tried to pin the murder on Leo.

As the guards loaded the casket onto the cart, Luciana saw her sister floating toward her with a happy smile on her face. She moved to an isolated spot beside the stables so she could talk to Tatiana unnoticed.

“Are you excited that we’ll be at court in a few hours?” Luciana asked.

Tatiana gave her a sheepish look. “I’m not going.”

“What?”

“Tedric asked me to stay here with him! Can you believe it? A real prince!”

Luciana’s mouth fell open. “You and Tedric are…?”

“We’re just friends for now.” Tatiana clasped her hands together and whirled in a circle. “But I do believe I am falling for him. Do you know what we did last night? We sat on top of the battlements over there and he pointed out all the different stars and constellations. You wouldn’t believe how knowledgeable he is!”

Luciana smiled. “That sounds lovely.”

“And I made him laugh! Especially when I told him his favorite constellation looks like a man with an erection. Tedric said I made him laugh more last night than he’s ever laughed in his entire life.”