Free Aftermath by Jaci Burton Page A

against him, did not push him away as he expected. She lay there, limp in his arms, refusing to open her mouth or even fight against him. After a few useless seconds of attempting to garner a reaction from her, he let go of her and took a step away from the bed.
    Her scent clung to him, like the forest wildflowers of D’Naath. And she was not unaffected, no matter how much she hung in his arms like a limp rag. Her skin was flushed, the golden flecks more prominent, but her eyes were dark and pained as if he had hurt her.
    “I do not understand you.”
    “Good,” she said, anger and hurt mingling in her husky voice. “Because I do not understand you either. Leave me be, Braedon. You confuse me and I do not wish to be more confused than you have already made me.”
    Instead, he pulled up a chair beside the bed. “Explain how I have confused you.”
    “No.”
    Arching a brow, he said, “Now who acts like the petulant child?”
    “Fine. The other night in the forest, after we made love, you became angry when I asked of your family.
    You practically ran out of there and left me standing alone.”
    “Ah. I have heard women like to talk after sex.” He should have known that was the case.
    She rolled her eyes. “You are such an idiot. It is not that at all. It is that you do not share your life with me and I am to be your wife.”
    “I do not discuss my family. With anyone.”
    “So I noticed. Not even with Erin and Donny.”
    “Trista, I warned you before of this—”
    She scrambled to her knees and faced him, leaning forward, her palms resting on the mattress. “Do not warn me like I am one of your subjects. I do not fear you and I shall not cower in a corner just because you frown at me! If you expect me to marry you and become your queen, then you had better get used to me asking questions and wanting to know of you and your family. I am not going away and I will not be pushed aside when a subject comes up you do not want to talk about. You can answer me or I will ask others, but I will know of your family, Braedon!” By all that was holy she was a sexy vixen when she was riled. And in her current position on her knees, her breasts swayed back and forth, tantalizing him and making his mouth water. His irritation fled and his mind and body focused on other things, like positioning himself behind her and impaling her with his steely hard cock.
    He stood and said, “My father died when the wizards invaded unexpectedly during a celebration party at the castle. There was not enough time to amass the guards into action and we lost many that evening.”
    “Oh. I am so sorry—” Her eyes widened when she saw him unfastening his breeches. “What…what are you doing, Braedon?”
    “I need you, Trista. My cock is hard and my balls ache. I have missed you. But I am telling you what you want to know. My mother died not long after giving birth to Donny. There is not much more to tell. The only family I have are Aunt Nadine and Erin and Donny. After my father died, I became king and have worked hard to protect the castle.”
    He removed his jerkin and slid his breeches down, but when she moved to switch positions, he said, “Do not move. I want you just like that.”
    He stepped toward her, the front of his thighs brushing the mattress as he picked up a tendril of her hair and wrapped it around his fingers. She tilted her head back to look into his eyes, desire and curiosity mingling together.
    “Wrap your sweet lips around my cock, faerie. Touch me with your mouth.” Trista knew she had been manipulated, that he had merely told her what she already knew of his family, but her desire for him won out over her displeasure at his trickery. Besides, she had wanted to taste him since that night in the forest when she had watched him pleasure himself. Perhaps it was she who had manipulated him this evening. After all, she was about to get exactly what she wanted. Though she really should not even be speaking to him.
    Then