Free Defying Destiny by Olivia Downing

kitchen. He
    knew he must seem feral to her, but rather
    than looking afraid, she seemed intrigued
    by his dominating behavior. He turned her
    around and bent her over the table,
    pressing her face and torso against the
    unyielding wood with one large hand. He
    dropped to his knees behind her and
    pressed his face between her legs,
    inhaling the intoxicating scent of her
    woman’s flesh. Sweet heaven, her scent
    awakened his lust.
    “Nash?” she squeaked.
    His fingers dug into her hips and he
    held her still to nuzzle her through the
    fabric of her pants. She shuddered but
    didn’t try to stop his invasion. He hoped it
    wasn’t because she was afraid of him. He
    could honestly say he had never wanted
    anything more in his life. As his arousal
    intensified, he became aware of his human
    male part lengthening, thickening, and
    growing hard with need. He touched
    himself with a trembling hand and backed
    away from her at once. The thing was huge
    and unyielding. No matter how much he
    wanted to mount her, he couldn’t force that
    thing into her body. It would rip her apart.
    “I—I apologize,” he gasped, retreating
    from kitchen. He sprinted to his room and
    closed the door, leaning against it and
    panting in the darkness. He doubted he’d
    ever be able to face her again.

CHAPTER 7

    Maralee pushed herself up from the table.
    The throbbing, achy moistness between
    her thighs confused her. Nash confused
    her. Her own behavior confused her even
    more. She glanced at the doorway he’d
    disappeared through. What exactly had he
    been doing to her? And more importantly,
    why had he stopped? Every nerve ending
    in her body tingled with an unusual
    awareness.
    As her frustration mounted, her anger
    intensified. How dare he take such
    liberties with her body without asking! He
    must know how upset she would be. That
    must be why he was hiding from her.
    Well, she wasn’t about to let him off the
    hook so easily. A man couldn’t just nuzzle
    a woman’s private areas that way. Right?
    She wasn’t well-versed in such things, so
    she wasn’t sure what went on between a
    man and a woman, but surely that wasn’t
    acceptable. They scarcely knew each
    other. He had taken advantage of her. And
    what was worse, she’d allowed it.
    Maralee took the glowing candle stub
    and marched through the house, eyes
    narrowed dangerously, free hand balled
    into a righteous fist. She stopped outside
    his bedroom door, and pounded on it
    furiously.
    “I know you’re in there,” she called to
    him, her voice raised in anger. “Just what
    did you think you were doing?”
    He didn’t answer her. She pounded on
    the door again and then pressed her ear up
    against it, listening. She could hear his
    ragged breathing.
    “What are you doing in there?”
    “N-nothing,” he replied breathlessly.
    There was a long pause, during which,
    neither of them made a sound. “Go away!”
    he demanded finally.
    “I’m not going away until you
    apologize.”
    “I already apologized.”
    “That wasn’t a proper apology.”
    The door burst open and he glared at
    her angrily, his eyes glowing gold in the
    candlelight. “I’m sorry,” he bellowed, and
    then slammed the door in her face.
    She made an exasperated sound and
    stormed away from the door and back to
    the kitchen. She’d been about to prepare
    dinner before she had been so rudely
    — blissfully —distracted. To hell with him
    and his contradictory behaviors, she was
    hungry. As soon as she ate, she would
    demand repossession of her sword. And
    then she was going back to Sarbough and
    hoped she never saw the man again.
    A small door in the kitchen led to a
    cold room. Inside, she found every kind of
    game meat imaginable and selected two
    large venison steaks from his abundant
    stock. With a little more searching
    Maralee discovered there was absolutely
    nothing in the kitchen to round off the
    meal. It was as if the man was a
    carnivore. Hadn’t he ever heard of a
    potato? She lit a fire