I licked my lips as my heart hammered away in my rib cage. Had I simply imagined her there? My palm was sweaty in Gage’s big hand.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, just loud enough for me to hear.
Forcing a smile, I shook my head and waved with my free hand. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
After we were seated and the high priest blessed the meal, I turned to Gage with a forkful of roasted pheasant.
“I saw Nerissa.”
His eyes bulged. “What? Here?”
“Yes, here! But she disappeared so quickly I’m half convinced that I imagined it.”
Gage’s keen eyes swept the entire room three or four times before he shook his head and turned back to me. “I believe you, but I don’t see her anywhere.”
I bit my lip. “What could she have possibly wanted?”
Gage scoffed. “Nothing good, that’s for sure.”
“Just help me keep an eye out for her, yeah?”
He brought my hand to his lips. “Whatever you want, my queen.”
A devilish smile crept onto my lips. I could get used to a phrase like that....
Before long our plates were empty and Laken had a microphone in her quavering hands.
She brushed her wavy brown hair behind a shoulder and smiled nervously. “Hello, I’m Laken, as you all well know. Something you may not know is that I’m incredibly blunt most of the time, so I’m gonna just put this out there in true fashion.” She raised a glass of champagne into the air. “Here’s to hoping I don’t royally fuck this up.”
And then she downed the whole thing.
Everyone chuckled before joining her in the toast.
Then it was my turn.
I stood and smiled brightly, still scanning the crowd for any signs of my older sister, but I came up empty.
“Earning the title of Queen Witch was not easy by any means. It was hard. Extremely hard. And that’s how I plan on approaching my job for the next ten years—by working extremely hard to make sure light and goodness prevail in the face of whatever darkness and evil throw at us.” I lifted my glass in the air. “To the era of light.”
“To the era of light!” everyone repeated before finishing off their glasses.
We royals then took to the ballroom floor and danced to an orchestral version of a currently popular song. It was odd hearing it played by strings and woodwinds, but the familiarity of the tune was comforting.
I curled into Gage’s broad chest and rested there, listening to the sound of his heart as we danced. I could stay that way forever, my body pressed into his, without a care in the world.
The song ended far too soon.
“Do you want to dance another?” I asked into his chest.
He didn’t reply right away, just lifted my chin and stared into my eyes. “We have permission to leave the ball now, right?”
My smile faded slightly. “Yes, but do you want to? This has been kind of... nice.”
A wildfire caught behind his eyes. “I don’t want nice right now, Eliza. I have something a little more... naughty... in mind.”
My eyes widened. My breathing shallowed. I could practically feel my pupils dilating as hot heat washed through my body.
“Is that so, Mr. Smith?” I said in an inadvertently husky tone.
He growled and shot me a devious smile. “It is. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
We ran through the streets, even though the rain had stopped. We held hands, laughing, as we sprinted through the breezy archways of the palace. I even slipped my high heels off to give us more speed.
But when we reached my room, Gage shook his head.
“The pool room. I’ve been having fantasies about taking you in the water since the day we first went there.”
More heat rushed through my veins as my anticipation heightened.
I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be a dragon, filled to the brim with molten heat that could overflow and overtake you at any moment.
Inside, Gage slowly shut the door behind us. The quiet darkness only intensified my desire. Moonlight streamed in from the now-cloudless sky, making the water shimmer like fluid glass. A rain-chilled breeze caressed the air, making me long for the heat of his body.
He moved to the front of me and nuzzled his face into my neck. “I am so proud of you.”
I smiled and burst into a fit of giggles. “That’s not exactly how I imagined your seduction starting out.”
“Me either,” he said, grinning as his hands found my cheeks.
He stroked my skin before curling a finger under my chin. I could tell he wanted to kiss me. I just couldn’t figure out why he was holding back.
I licked my lips and left them slightly parted. The motion lit a fresh spark in his eyes.
“Eliza,” he began quietly, “I don’t know how to tell you this. I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but....”
He pulled back just far enough to gaze into my eyes, and a slow grin crept onto his lips, allowing those sexy dimples to peek through.
“I love you, Eliza,” he muttered against my lips. “I can’t hold it back anymore. I want to fucking shout it at the top of my lungs, so loud the dragons back in my realm can hear. And more than that...” He brought his lips back to my neck and trailed hot kisses up to my ear. “…I want to make you shout. I want to make you scream my name until everyone in the entire kingdom knows who your king is.”
My breath caught as my heart hammered.
“Jesus, Gage,” I mumbled in a heavy daze of lust.
I’d been waiting for this moment since the day I met the gorgeous shifter.
“I definitely want that too,” I said in a breathless whisper. Then, realizing I’d forgotten the most important part, I added, “And I love you, too. I think I loved you before I even met you.”
Taking my confession as an immediate invitation, he tugged off his shirt, captivating me with the shadowed ripples of his arms and abs.
“Wanna skinny-dip?”
I nodded silently, turning around so he could unzip the elegant silk of my gown.
His fingers grazed my skin, hot as fire, and sent goose bumps skittering up my spine. The dress pooled to the floor like a waterfall, leaving me in a strapless bra and a seamless pair of matching undies.
He unzipped his dress pants, and tossed them to the side. Then he dropped his boxers and waded into the water, giving me an incredible view of his ass and back muscles.
I took a deep breath, unhooked my bra and slid off my panties, then tossed them in a pile next to his. His gaze met mine as I entered the pool, boring a flaming hot wake across my skin. It was sultry enough to make me pant.
He continued eyeing me intently as he bit his lip. “Take your hair down.”
Smirking, I removed a few carefully placed pins and my brunette waves cascaded down around my shoulders and dipped into the water.
He groaned, moving closer to me and gliding his wet hands across my body. Then he kissed me again, grabbing my ass and pulling me closer.
“You have no idea how bad I’ve wanted this,” he muttered against my mouth.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and rolled my hips. “Then take it.”
And God, he did. For hours....
Late that night, curled in Gage’s strong arms as he slept, I contemplated the future.
Being Queen Witch would no doubt come with an ass-load of stress, responsibility, and decision making. The choices might sometimes feel impossible. The commitment to choose light over dark might one day overwhelm me. But it was the best feeling in the world to know that this man would be with me through it all. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I ever fell, he’d catch me before I hit the bottom—he’d literally done that already.
And with that reassuring thought, I drifted asleep...
...to nightmares of the undead lighting the whole world on fire.
THE END
Get ready! Laken’s story is coming next!
Acknowledgments<
br />
Brent, you and our kids are my biggest fans! Without you guys, this dream would feel hollow. Thank you for loving and supporting me no matter what! I love you bunches!
Family and friends (you know who you are lol) I can’t thank you enough for standing behind me on this journey. With every new book that comes out, you guys are right there cheering me on! I appreciate that more than you know!
To every wonderful reader who has ever picked up one of my books...you guys ROCK! I love hearing how much you enjoy my novels! It lights a fire in my heart like no other. It’s people just like YOU that encourage me to keep writing, to keep putting better and better books out there. So thank you!
To the lovely ladies at Hot Tree Editing, especially Olivia, Becky, and Aria – thank you for your feedback! I’m still thrilled that you loved this book so much! I appreciate all the hours of hard work in helping me polish this rough story into a sparkling gem!
To Lori at Cover Reveal Designs, what on earth can I possibly say? This cover is PHENOMENAL! You took my idea and turned it into something more beautiful than I could imagine! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series will look like!
And last but not least, thank you Rene for your lovely formatting work! My books would just look bland without your finishing touches!
About Elle Middaugh
Elle Middaugh is a USA Today bestselling author living in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania with her wonderful husband and three beautiful children. She spends most of her time raising kids, writing stories, playing video games, reading, and attempting to keep a clean house.
She’s a proud Navy wife, a frazzle-brained mother, a fan of health and fitness, a lover of hot tea and iced tea, and a believer in happily ever afters.
Sassy. Seductive. Spellbinding.
www.ellemiddaugh.com
Newsletter
www.subscribepage.com/ellemiddaugh
Also by Elle Middaugh
Standalone Books
Siren Awakened
Enchanted Royals Series
Book One: A Crown of Blood and Ashes
Book Two: A Sword of Scales and Song (coming soon)
The Queen Witch Trials Series
Book One: Queen Witch
Book Two: Alpha Witch (coming soon)
The Essential Elements Trilogy
Book One: Elemental Secrets
Book Two: Elemental Lies
Book Three: Elemental Betrayal (coming soon)
Queen Witch Page 17
