Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) by Hayley Faiman (the gingerbread man read aloud txt) 📗

His words send a wave of sadness throughout my entire body. The wolves begin to howl and I turn back around to face them.

“Can you speak to them, telepathically?”

Pinching my eyes closed, I try to talk to them, to ask them why they are here, in my head, but nothing happens.

“I don’t think so,” I whisper.

“It matters not, they listen when you speak. Call them off, tell them you are home and safe. They have been worried, however, they make the people nervous.”

I can’t even fathom any of this shit happening, but then again, I am in a parallel universe, so who knows what’s even real anymore, nothing is unbelievable at this point.

There are witches, magic, gods, and apparently, I am the queen of the wolves, too. It’s insane is what it is, all of it, but I believe it all, mainly because everything has fallen into place so far.

“I am safe, you beautiful beings. I am home and I am safe, go and rest. Thank you for worrying over me and I will call to you when I am in need of you,” I call out of the window.

The majority of them leave, all but one. He sits and watches me, then he walks over to the side of the building and curls up into a ball.

“What does it mean?” I ask Tiberius.

“It means that he is your guard, he and possibly a couple others will take turns, but they will not leave you.”

Clearing my throat, I turn to Tiberius and face him. “I thought that last time, when they came, I thought it was just some coincidence. I know I was told differently, but I didn’t really believe any of it. I still wasn’t convinced this place was even real, that I would stay here.”

“And now?” he asks.

It’s my turn to smile as I look up at him. My lips curve up as I watch him and there is no looking away. His eyes have captured me, his heart and soul have done the same, and I’m afraid to admit out loud that I am falling nearer and nearer and am so close to landing.

“I believe everything,” I rasp.

He chuckles, his deep laugh filling the room. “Come to bed, lie with me and tell me about you and your world so that I may understand you better, melculum.”

TIBERIUS

I want to take her, to show her just how much I missed her. To give her the pleasure that I know she needs and that I crave. I don’t. I could see the pain in her eyes at the thought of Decima and I together, then I felt the anguish she felt when we discussed oral pleasure in my country.

Gathering her in my arms, I make no move to take things between us any farther and Drucilla seems to eventually relax into me. I think that she’s fallen asleep when she rolls over, pressing her front against my side, and tilts her head back, her face looking directly into mine.

“I don’t know what the future holds. I feel like we’re just getting to know one another, even though we’re married. I feel a mix of different things and I’m trying to understand why things have happened the way that they have,” she whispers.

Sliding my hand up her back, I twist my fingers in her hair, tugging her head back a bit farther, my eyes focused on hers. There is nowhere else I would look except in those pools of violet. The glow from the fire and candlelight is just enough that I can see all of her and not miss a single moment.

“What do you need?” I ask.

She licks her lips, her eyes searching mine. “Time,” she murmurs.

“I do not have this to give freely. You have me, melculum.”

She presses her lips together, her eyes widening for a moment, then she asks me a question that I don’t think she meant to say aloud.

“Do I?”

Gripping the back of her head, I hold her close as I roll her onto her back and nestle my hips between her thighs. I try not to groan at the feel of her warm center against my length, but it is inevitable.

The sound spills from me immediately.

When she wraps her arms and legs around me, I let out a grunt, wishing to slide inside of her warm body, to feel her again, after weeks of not having her.

“You have me, mulier. I am devoted and committed to you.”

“But you will allow someone else to take you in their mouth, what about other acts?”

Physical relations are important to her. I see this, but I do not understand it. Brutus and his mulier are similar for the most part. They do not partake in physical pleasures with others, unless Brutus is gone in battle. He will enjoy the spoils of war, but nothing more.

“Physical pleasures are just that, Drucilla. They have nothing to do with matters of the heart, with respect, or love. With commitment or devotion.”

She shakes her head from side to side, pinching her eyelids closed as she inhales a deep breath, then lets it out before she opens her eyes and finds my gaze with her own again. I watch as she bites the corner of her lip, then finally she speaks.

“Physical pleasures are everything, Tiberius. To me, they are what binds a couple. If you share that beauty, that part of you, with anyone else, it marks me in a way that I can never recover.”

“Have I marked you?” I ask, truly wishing to understand what she is thinking.

She nods her head, though she does not look away from me. Instead, she shows me everything that she is feeling, she shows me everything. I do not know how to fix what I have broken, if there is even a way to do it. Instead of trying, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers.

“I will try, Drucilla,” I