Amid Clouds and Bones

by Ella Fields

Rejecting love when I’d had so little of it was nearly as impossible as accepting it. No matter how much it darkened with each passing year, my soul hungered for tastes of affection.

“I look forward to showing you just how confidently repugnant I can be.” Peering at the filigreed ceiling, I sighed. “Life can be so dull here in this vast and beautiful castle.” Then I fluttered my lashes and sipped my wine. “In time, you’ll learn that threats only give me something to amuse myself with, Prince.”

The only way to survive Atakan the heartless was to play this game of hunter versus prey—even if it drew blood.

If he wanted to play venomous games, then he now knew that I wouldn’t surrender and play dead. Surrendering was where true danger lurked.

Painstakingly slow, his last two fingers curled with his thumb, leaving the index and middle finger standing straight toward the curtained canopy of the bed. “Sit on them.”

“Give in, defiant creature.”

He muttered a myriad of wonderful curses as he settled upon the floor. “Don’t think it’s escaped my notice that you won twice just now.”

The trepidation caused by my betrothed had settled into a low simmer. So much so that I almost missed the heat of it boiling. Almost missed him.

“Enough to make me miss the creature I loathe the most.”

“I want you. I want you as much as I loathe you—so much, it feels like I can’t breathe.” His parted lips dragged across my cheek, his whisper scathing near my ear. “Give me back my fucking breath.”

“But I live to keep your heart galloping because of me.” He lived.

I made to stand until he said, “Do not run. I will only frighten you more by hunting you.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want.” His wings lifted, splaying slightly as he turned and paced toward the doors he’d left ajar. “Good food, good literature, good housing, and good sex…” He spread his hands. “I will give you everything a female wants. All you need to do is let me.”

“You’re not what I expected.” “And that amuses you?” “I find your defiance and feline attitude amusing.”

“What difference does it make if I’m miserable there or here?” His response was instant. “You won’t be alone. You’ll be right where I can see you.”

This was nothing but another challenge. I thrived within the bounds of uncertainty. I came alive under the scrutiny of those who anticipated my weakness. I found freedom while trapped.

His upper lip curled. A low growl that induced a shiver rolled through the dining room. Between gritted teeth, he warned, “Better run, dread. If I reach you before you make it to my chambers, I’ll take your surrender wherever I find you.”

“Can’t stand how making you come feels like the only victory I’ll ever need.”

“I didn’t know he was my mate.” “But he knew you were his.”

“Unless you wish to wear your entrails as a crown when I chain you in iron and bury you alive, remove yourself from my bed and my mate.”

“I’m not your lover.” “Fated foe, then.” At that, I looked up to find him grinning wolfishly.

“You’re right. You’re not my lover. You’re now my wife, yet that doesn’t seem quite enough either.” I nearly swayed when I rose, and he went on. “What do you call the only creature you want to watch and touch endlessly?”

He whispered in my ear, “You can take it, dread.” He pulled me down again, pressing so deep, I whimpered. “You were made to handle me.” He placed a single kiss at my jaw. “To take me.”

“How does someone forget words that made them who they are?” Atakan blinked, but rather than show an inkling of remorse, the monster I’d married just grinned. “Made for me indeed.”

His eyes closed. “I want your unyielding defiance, your mischievous curiosity, your ceaseless muttering in your sleep.” His eyes opened. “Your buttery hair in my hands.”

“I might not care for much of anything outside of my desires, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely heartless.” Her hand settled on my hip, and my clinical tone roughened. “That doesn’t mean I cannot love you.” I clasped her chin, my head lowering. “That doesn’t mean I don’t need you to be as obsessively in love with me as I am with you.”

“For you, I would stay on my knees until they bled your name.”