Destined for a King by Ashlyn Macnamara Read Free Book Online Page A

forced a woman, and I do not intend to begin with you. But I
will
have my heir.” Just as he would have his castle—he’d marched in and taken it. His very confidence made something inside her quiver dangerously.
    Great beyond, where was this reaction coming from? The man was well made, certainly, but so were any number of his followers—as were the king’s guards, for that matter. Young men in their prime, chosen for their brawn. A maid could admire, but to melt so quickly?
    On top of that, he’d been out cold for most of their acquaintance. If anything, Torch’s arrogance ought to tweak at her last nerve. She ought to hate him for the position in which he’d placed her entire family.
    Yet, he’d shown them more mercy than she’d expected. The order may have come through his second in command, but he’d done nothing to countermand the dictates. The first time he’d wakened, he could have demanded all the Thornes’ heads.
    Based on what she’d learned of the king’s treatment of his enemies, Magnus would have done just that.
    “I know nothing of you. Nothing of the man you are. Only…” Dare she say it? “Only your reputation.”
    “Ah, but which reputation is that?”
    When Torch cast such easy verbal darts with her, she had difficulty believing the more brutal tales. His charm might prove a more dangerous weapon than his sword. “The one that earned you your name.”
    “Again, which one is that? The one where I put innocent villages to the torch, or the one where highborn lady and serving wench alike carry a torch for me?” He leaned his head against her shoulder and nuzzled at her neck. The week’s growth of beard on his face prickled, but so did something else.
    Whatever that hot, melty feeling inside her was, it was beginning to cause her discomfort, an odd sort of ache that made her want to squirm where she sat. It made her want to move closer to him. It made her want to beg him not to stop whatever he was doing.
    From her shoulder, he added, “I like to believe only one is true, but they may both be lies.”
    She ought to push him away, but for some reason the arm she’d used to support him tightened about his shoulder, unbidden, clutching at him, keeping him right where he was. Steely muscle bunched beneath her fingers. She felt something more against her neck, something warm and damp. His lips or his tongue? By all the gods, was this what her mother had warned her against?
    She tried to duck away. “I believe I’d like you better if you shaved.”
    “Are you volunteering for that duty?” He said it low and soft, his breath wafting warm against her neck.
    “You’d allow me near your throat with a blade? After you forced my maid to act as your taster the last time you were awake?”
    “Kestrel wouldn’t, that’s certain.” He laughed, the bark somehow strong despite the way he lay so boneless against her. “Owl would have my head. That’s even more certain. But what better way to prove some trust might exist between us? You’ve had me at your mercy for days now. I have to believe you wouldn’t do me any intentional harm.” How wicked he made it all sound. Wicked and tempting.
    “Kestrel’s still got my father locked up as a gauge of my good behavior,” she reminded him. She had to keep him at a distance somehow, even if she didn’t wish it. If she allowed him free rein, he would seduce her all too easily. She could sense that much. “You don’t know what I’ll be capable of after his release.”
    “Hmm…” He pressed his lips to her neck, just below her ear. Right at the point where her pulse was pounding out of control. “I’d dearly like to find out what you’re capable of. I’m more and more certain we’ll both enjoy it. I know I will.”
    Gods. “And I’m more and more certain you say that to all the ladies.”
    He raised his head and captured her gaze. “No.” A single word, but so solid. So sure. “Only you. I’ve seen you.”
    “Seen me? On the walls,