Iona's reply relaxed him and a faint smile came on his lips. And that smile was lovely as midsummer morning. Once again, she found herself blushing.
They crested a hill. He took her hand to lead her to the edge as he kept her near him and came to stand beneath a willow tree. His touch was so hot and she felt that familiar electric jolt. She was sure that he even felt it. When she stood there, he wrapped his arms across her waist and she leaned back on his chest. When she looked at the scenery in front of them, Iona forgot how to breathe. In the far distance, right under the clear blue skies and fluffy clouds was a sprawling city. Nestled between a vast expanse of white snow-clad mountains, the city was on the plains in the center and it sloped upwards on the edges. All buildings were white, which meandered across the hills that surrounded the plains. A river with azure waters ribboned through the city.
"That's Galahar," he said with a shaky breath. "It's the best kept secret of the Lore."
"It is… mesmerizing," said Iona. She could feel how his body shuddered just by looking at the city. He was very close to his kingdom, to his people… a patriot in true sense. And she could understand why he was so attached to it.
As wind ruffled their hair, Rolfe said, "Galahar was able to stay hidden because of the Mountain of Tibris. No one knew where it was. Etaya found it because of her instincts."
"How is this possible?" asked Iona. "My great-grandfather lives here and he is the keeper of the inn. His pet Jun is the beast that roams in these lands and she knows everything."
"Tibris is an enchanted mountain because the head council is located on the highest peak. Too many spells are cast upon it by our ancestors to keep it like that. When the first demon king, Estelar was expelled from Vilinski by the first fae king, Faelar, he managed to find this place. Slowly over time, Tibris was chosen as the place for the high council to meet and they started covering it with spells. And in the process no one cared to look at Galahar. No one came to know that Galahar existed over here. And since then, the kings have made it mandatory to let Galahar remain hidden."
Iona's eyes drank in the whole vista—the buttery sunlight falling upon the beautiful city, which had numerous green fields.
"But the sad reality of the city comes to the forefront when you go there. My people are suffering a lot. I need to save them before my father pushes this place into darkness from which it would never come out."
"Does he know that Etaya is dead?" she asked, resting her head on his form chest planes.
"I don't know. But I hope he comes to know about it as soon as possible…"
"Hmm…" she hummed. "That would halt his plans and—"
"And?"
"And you will have time to get back at him."
He let out a light laugh. "You are so naïve, little one." She just didn't know anything about politics. If only it was easy to get back… He rested his head over hers on instinct and smelled her hair. It relaxed him. Her touch relaxed him. How would it be to wedge his hips between her legs and take her, plant his raging shaft in her? Wait, what? This undeniable lust was going to drive him mad. As if she understood his thoughts, she tipped her head back to look at him. He leaned in to kiss her. He wanted to cover her mouth with his.
He said, "Iona, I…" Wild cold winds touched her heated skin and she felt good. He turned her to face him. Her breath became ragged. His chest heaved, a rumble forming. She didn't how, but time got arrested when Rolfe lowered his mouth to press a kiss on her lips. He removed too quickly and she almost cried. He said, "Today I want to convince you that I am yours forever." His gaze traveled to the upper swells of her breasts and his shaft hardened.
Iona licked her lips and that little flick of tongue—
His muscles rippled out of lust. Why did he feel, no, why was he certain that if he pleasured her, she would yield to him? Over so many years of his life, he had been pleasured in so many ways, and in fact, he had developed a taste for being pleasured in a certain way, but he had never felt the need to pleasure women. Suddenly, for Iona the need to give her a simple orgasm made him antsy. And the thought of delving his tongue into her made his crazy hard. He didn't know but his grip on her became hard. One kiss wasn't enough. Rolfe lowered his face again.
"What if I still want to go?" Iona said as she looked at his lips, wanting to feel them again.
Her eyelashes were so thick that he wanted to kiss them at leisure.
"Then I will let you go," he replied. But only for five minutes. Then he would start his efforts to woo her again, fiercely.
Iona had never been wooed by men and this was her first experience. Who would have thought that right when she was free, she would meet this hulk and that her wolf was clamoring on the inside to stay with her mate… mate with her mate. Damn it. No, no. This can't be. Yes, yes. Her wolf growled back and the growl came like a purr. "Ah nice!" she said but the words sounded so wrong. Suddenly she found him licking his perfect bow-shaped, firm lips and she swallowed hard. "So how are you going to convince me?" she asked.
"You have to let me take care of you," he said gazing at her golden yellow irises, his warm breath fanning over her cheeks and lips. "And if by the end of it, you feel exactly how I feel about you, you are going to be convinced." He brushed his knuckles over her cheeks to trace that pale blush that was only for him. And he didn't know how happy he was on the inside that he was her first and would be her last lover. And that he would help her into the lovely world of making love.
Iona, on the other hand, was hoping that her wolf didn't take over her, for that would mean that she would end up shifting. Her wolf wanted to take him. A breath lodged in her throat only by thinking that. Did her eyes flicker black thinking all those dirty things? "How will you start?" she asked.
She looked so interested that his shaft pulsed to the point that it became painful. He leaned over her ear and said, "I would simply toss you on your belly, grab your hips up in the air and take you."
To her mortification, she purred again. His dirty talk was pooling heat in her belly, making her thighs clench.
And he knew that she was dying to be with him. He cupped her face and said—