It was much later when Wulfric was summoned to Sapphire’s office.

“I believe this is yours.” She leaned over the desk, and set his signet ring on the edge. Her demeanor was distant and rushed.

He moved slowly to retrieve the ring, betraying none of his relief. “Thank you,” he murmured. Now his freedom was assured.

She spun her chair to the side and waved him away in a dismissive gesture. She seemed distracted, lost in thought.

Wulf knew he should leave. Not just the room as she had indicated, but the entire country. The ring she returned to him was by itself just a ring and even close examination would reveal nothing suspicious. But when the talgorite was in contact with his body, it worked in conjunction with the nanotach. Together, they could transfer him instantly to his palace in D’Ashier, as long as the signal wasn’t blocked.

In the blink of an eye, this could all be over. One or more of his concubines could assuage the lust that weighed heavily between his legs. He’d been on patrol too long. He was a man of healthy sexual appetite and his powerful desire for Sapphire was due only to his long abstinence. Surely, that was the only reason…

“I want you,” he said before he could stop himself.

Sapphire tensed visibly at the sound of his voice, low and throbbing with desire. He watched her closely, noting the exact moment her eyes softened and her lips parted in response to his hunger. They had an undeniable affinity, despite the many things that stood between them.

“I should release you,” she whispered.

“You should, but you won’t. You’ve gone to too much trouble to keep me.”

“You need a woman.” She looked away. “All the mästares do. I’ve arranged for some of the fourth-year Sensual Arts students to visit a few days a week. They will arrive this evening. I think you’ll be pleased. They’re—”

“I don’t want someone else. I want you.”

Resignation crossed her lovely features. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Being inside you is all I can think about.” And when he was thinking about her, he wasn’t thinking about the cave. No other woman could do that. Maybe later, but not now.

“Sex between us would only complicate matters, Wulf, not make them easier. If you started thinking with your head rather than your cock, you’d admit I’m right.”

“You’re an insolent creature.” Something he wouldn’t have thought he’d find arousing. But did.

“And you’re not ruler here. If you want to command, go home.”

Wulfric drew air deep into his lungs. No one ever spoke to him as she did. She had no fear and refused to display the respect that was due a man of his station. All that fire and passion… He wanted to sink into it and forget everything else.

As he strode toward her, Sapphire remained still, relaxed in her chair.

“One time will never be enough,” she warned softly.

He stopped.

“Already, you no longer desire other women. Do you really believe that will change once you’ve bedded me?”

“You’re vain,” he said without heat. “Don’t confuse me with your besotted king.”

“That would be impossible.” She laughed and the throaty sound rippled down his spine. “I’m not speaking out of vanity, and you know it. You think I don’t feel the attraction between us? If you’re even half as good in bed as you look, I’ll want more. And I’m not without skills of my own. You would enjoy me immensely. You suspect how good it could be, that’s why the thought of other women is so unappealing. When was the last time you desired a woman who wasn’t interchangeable with another?”

His cock hardened further. Her bold challenge excited him. “Never,” he admitted. Staring at her, he felt as if she was some new, previously undiscovered species. “Do you ever not say exactly what’s on your mind?”

“I’ve spent the last five years never saying what I thought. I didn’t like it and vowed never to do it again.”

His smile was predatory. “Then allow me to be as honest with you. Unless you refuse me outright, I will have you.”

“You have another life to return to.”

“I’d say let’s hurry, but I have no intention of doing that.”

She rubbed at the space between her brows. “This is crazy.”

“Isn’t it?” He was glad that it was, and grateful that his heart raced and his stomach was clenched tight in anticipation. He was alive. A miracle in itself and he wanted to celebrate that with her.

“Arrogant bastard.” She glared at him.

Wulf moved around the desk and growled when she spread her legs, revealing her glistening sex beneath the short hem of her dress. She was as ready as he was. He reached for the drawstring at his waist.

“No.”

His fingers stilled.

She pointed to the floor at her feet. “On your knees, Prince Wulfric. If you’re so eager, you may pleasure me with your mouth.”

Frozen mid-step, he stared at her. Sapphire was going to fight him every step of the way. He searched her face, judging the strength of her resolve. He groaned inwardly at the obstinate set of her jaw and the defiant gleam in her eyes.

The prince in him was affronted at being ordered to forgo his own pleasure to service hers. But the part of him that was pure primitive male smelled her arousal and knew it was his to take. The two sides battled for only a moment.

A war of wills—it was a new and highly intriguing situation for him, a man who’d never had his will challenged in his lifetime.

After years of war and months on patrol, Wulf knew how to deny his baser needs, but he seemed unable to do so now. His ego chafed at the loss of control; his body ignored it in favor of the animal attraction that flowed thick and hot through his veins.

He decided then to use all of his considerable skill, charm, and physical attributes to make Sapphire burn as he did.

Lifting his gaze from between her legs, Wulf met her dark eyes with a raised brow. “So intimate an introduction should be preceded by a kiss, don’t you think?”

Her face clouded with uncertainty for just a moment before she hid her emotions behind a cool mask of indifference. She rose from her chair with a mysterious smile.

“What a lovely idea.” Her tone set him on edge. He was left wondering if he’d won the engagement or lost it.

They moved toward each other, every step increasing the sharp awareness between them. When she reached him, she placed her palms against the rippled ridges of his abdomen, then slid them slowly around to caress the corded length of his back.

Her touch was electric, her scent intoxicating. In the days since the ambush, he’d avoided any contact with the other mästares, making a wide berth when passing to avoid even a fleeting contact. The thought of anyone touching his skin made his stomach knot, but Sapphire’s touch was like warm silk—healing and soothing.

He drew her to him, holding his breath as her full breasts flattened against his chest and the heavy weight of his erection pressed into the softness of her belly. His nostrils filled with the scent of Draxian lilies and he buried his face in her hair to catch more of it.

Despite the many hours he’d spent looking forward to this moment, Wulf still wasn’t prepared. A shiver moved down his spine and coursed the length of his cock. He stared at her upturned face and knew in his gut that his next move was pure madness. Still, unable to do otherwise, he lowered his head and took her mouth, groaning.

The instant her lips softened under his, raw need flooded his senses in a rush so powerful he was almost dizzy with it. Sapphire moved with him, giving as good as she got, her tongue gliding along his, stroking against his. Her head tilted to take more, her lush body surging into him with a hunger he knew because he ached with it.

Shuddering at the fervor of her response, Wulf hugged her closer. He cupped her nape and gripped her waist, mantling her, sheltering her body with the size and power of his own.

It was heady, the combination of her obvious skill and his own. He had a dozen women at his palace who were more beautiful, and every bit as knowledgeable, yet no woman in his memory had ever aroused him as Sapphire did. Her kiss alone rivaled his most heated coupling. He could kiss her for days. Everywhere.

Wulf realized she had been far wiser than he.

Once wouldn’t be enough.

He groaned, knowing it was true, knowing they didn’t have near enough time to slake this depth of craving.