His shoulders were wide—so wide I swore he blocked out the forest behind him.
And even though he was fully dressed—a point that kind of had me feeling disappointment, seeing as I bet he looked incredible naked—it was very clear this man was ripped.
He was huge, in one word. Tall. Big. Muscular to the point I felt tiny. Double, maybe even triple my size.
And his face... good God... that face was rugged and handsome, with a square jaw, masculine hollows under his cheeks, a straight, perfect nose, and lips that were full and fit him perfectly. His hair was short and dark, the strands looking utterly soft, like silk, as they lay across his forehead.
He seemed too much male.
Too.
Much.
Everything.
Almost inhuman in his attractiveness, in the size of his body, the masculinity that poured from him.
My body reacted to his very presence instantly. Warming. Softening. Getting wet.
But despite all of those physical things I was currently shamelessly checking out, the one thing that struck me as monumental was the fact that I felt like I knew him.
He took another step, and although I should have felt fear, I didn’t feel anything but this strange calmness steal over me at his very presence.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to trespass,” I stammered out, feeling embarrassed that I’d been caught walking around someone’s property.
The man said nothing but stopped, closed his eyes, and I swore his big body swayed as if he were relishing the sound of my voice. The distance between us was great enough that I couldn’t quite make out every little detail of his face, but when he opened his eyes, I swore I saw his irises flash a brilliant blue before vanishing and being replaced by an amber color.
A blue that looked… exactly like my own eye color.
No. Not possible. A trick of the light.
“No need to apologize,” he finally said, his accent thick, his voice richly deep and almost hypnotic.
I instantly felt myself relaxing at the sound. It was now my turn to sway, the sound of his voice so deep and masculine that I could grasp why it affected me the way it was.
He kept his focus trained on me as he came closer, sweeping a massive arm out and swinging it to the side as if to show the land. “What’s mine is yours.”
I felt my brows pull down low. What an odd thing to say. I reasoned the language barrier may have contributed to his weird choice of words.
“This is your property, your home?” I looked behind me at the massive stone structure once again, in awe of it. When I faced forward once more, a startled gasp left me at the fact that he stood right before me. God, he was big... huge. I had to look up and up... and up some more just to look into his face.
“This is my home,” he rumbled out. His voice was smooth, yet I sensed sharp edges around it. The sound instantly had me warming.
“It’s beautiful.” The words were low, murmured in a very pleased manner. I instantly felt my face heat at the way I sounded.
“I agree. Very beautiful,” he responded, yet he was looking at me, staring into my eyes as if he most definitely was not speaking about his home.
I didn’t understand my very physical reaction to him, let alone his voice, but I didn’t care too much to try and fight it.
Because it made me feel good.
“Ren Lupineov,” he introduced himself, holding out his big hand for me to take.
I lifted mine and slipped it into his, his palm three times the size of mine as he engulfed my hand, his flesh warm, smooth, sending electricity slamming up my forearm and right to the center of my chest. I actually gasped from the contact and how instant it was.
This low rumble surrounded me, and I realized it came from Ren. He was… growling.
I couldn't move, let alone breathe as I stared into his eyes, and once again I swore I saw them flash blue before turning a warm amber color again. I slipped my hand from his, and for a moment, I felt his resistance in letting me go, but he did, and I didn’t miss how he curled his fingers inward as if to stop himself from reaching out again. I had no damn clue why I knew that, but I felt that truth in every part of me.
“Mikalina Poppet.” My voice was low, breathy, and I should have been embarrassed by the latter, but I didn't care enough to divert my feelings to anything else but this warmth Ren sent up and down my spine.
“Mikalina.”
Oh God. The way he said my name made this needy sound leave me, and humiliation immediately rose up inside me. I snapped my eyes open, not even realizing I closed them as he’d all but purred out the name I heard my entire life but had never reacted to hearing it like this before.
“Would you like a tour?” At my hesitation, he added, “Of the grounds?”
I was a little frozen in that moment, my mind totally heightened yet relaxing because he was asking something as mundane as giving me a tour of his place. But was it really mundane? The way he asked it, the inclination of his voice, led me to believe my answer was pretty damn important. And I realized… he was holding his breath as he waited for me to respond.
I licked my lips and knew I should feel some semblance of uneasiness, right? I mean, I didn't know this man, and I really shouldn’t be contemplating letting him show me around. For all I knew, he had prisoners chained up medieval style in the depths of his massive home.
Get a grip.
“I don’t have a lot of time. I’m supposed to be heading to the market for some things but got turned around, which is how I stumbled upon your home.” I looked around, knowing I was rambling, but I was really damn nervous. “And I need to get there and return to Dobravina before it gets dark.”
He said nothing, just smiled in a sexy aristocratic way and held his arm out for me to take, as if he came from another time.
And what do you know… I found myself slipping my arm through his as if it was the most natural thing in the whole world, like I hadn’t just made a shitload of excuses on why I couldn’t walk around his property with him.
Just like that, I let this sexy-as-sin male—not just a man, but very much male—walk me around his property, knowing there had to be something wrong with me to want this so. Damn. Much.
14
Ren
I’d shown her the exterior of the property and wanted to show her the inside, but in due time, I told myself. Little steps to get her used to me, to my presence. Things would move quickly once she was mine, and I wanted her to come to terms with all of this in her own way.
“Thank you for showing me around. It’s all so gorgeous.” She glanced over her shoulder at the estate again, this wistful expression on her face. “I do have to go though. Someone is waiting for me to bring back supplies they need.”
“Please.” I gestured for her to go ahead of me. “Let me take you there. It’s just a short walk through my property to the next town over, and I can’t in good conscience let you travel the woods alone.”
Because I have to be with you. I can’t leave you. It physically pains me.
She gave me the prettiest smile, and just as she nodded and was about to step onto the trail, the deep, rumbling roar of my brother gone mad sliced through the stone, as if shaking the very stone of the manor.
Mikalina whipped around to stare at the estate, her eyes wide, the scent of her fear coming through sharply.