Norelia,
Imperial heir and zealous second-in-command of the Endless Army, is
cornered by a wager against her father, the Emperor.
The
stakes? To marry the winner of the next Summer Games in order to
ensure the continuation of the Imperial line. Confident she will win,
she is devastated when a mysterious contender named Reoth defeats her
and claims not only the title of Champion, but claims Norelia as
well. A misplaced note reveals Reoth and her father placed wagers on
Reoth's ability to "tame" her, proving it was all a game
after all.
When
her father is killed in a surprise invasion, the Empire stands on the
brink of war and Norelia is thrust into the center of it with Reoth,
a man she'd sooner kill than trust. As Reoth admits knowledge
regarding who is behind this invasion, can Norelia determine where
his true allegiance lies before the Empire, and her heart, are
destroyed forever?
Warning:
This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains
explicit sex scenes (including BDSM) and/or situations and adult
language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.
For the tenth time that afternoon,
Norelia landed facedown in the dirt. She felt more than heard the
guttural scream of frustration tear from her throat. “You want the
impossible!”
Reoth just laughed. He always
laughed at her. “The 'impossible' is what landed you on your pretty
rump during our match at the Games. Do you wish to call it
impossible, or do you wish to learn it and finally kill me?”
She spat sand out of her mouth,
ignoring her skinned cheek and other numerous aches and stings. “I'll
shove your mocking smile into the dirt.”
He laughed. “Then come get me,
Princess.” He beckoned her with a mocking grin.
She came in low.
He dodged, smacking her rump as
she flew past him. Squealing at the indignity, Norelia spun and
hooked his foot with hers. He went face down. She caught one of his
hands and feet, and trussed him with a move he'd shown her earlier.
“You begin to understand.”
The excitement and pride in his
eyes was evident. Norelia found herself smiling back, and her hand
lingered in his a moment longer as she helped him up.
For a moment it seemed he would
use the physical contact to pull her close, and she felt the
unmistakable power in the tension between wanting to pull away...and
wanting to stay, wanting him to pull her close.
“So let's try this again.” All
focused instructor once more, he turned away and Norelia felt her
smile deflate. Sometimes he looked at her after a match and it did
things to her. Something had happened in the last week to turn the
shudder of revulsion in her middle into a quiver of...something else.
It pulled her, made her tremble,
and there were times the nameless yearning made her physically ache
inside. Three days now, she'd found herself asking for “just one
more round.” Reoth's reply was always, “You may practice more
with me, if that is what you want.”
She soon was giving almost as good
as she got. A few of the bruises he sported were from her, she was
proud to see. Sometimes when he pinned her, he would run his hand
slowly up her shoulder to wrap around her throat. His hazel eyes held
her immobile more than his holds did, which she now knew how to
escape.
Knew how, but didn't.
When he let go of her, Norelia
continued to lie where she was, staring up at him. “When your enemy
is already defeated in their minds, it is a simple matter to make it
come true. You can read it in their eyes, feel it in the passion of
their fight. The harder they fight at the end, the more they are
fighting their own fear of defeat.”
“And me?” she murmured. “Was
I so easily defeated?”
Reoth looked down at her. His eyes
traced the contours of her face. Finally, he shook his head. “No
man could ever hope to truly defeat you.”
She allowed him this kind lie.
“Then why did you come here?” Norelia trailed her fingertips down
the sides of his face, across his brow, down his slightly crooked
nose, across his lips. “I can't imagine you fearing anything.” It
was a whisper.
He choked on a breath, then ripped
her hands away from his face and pinned them back down above her
head. His face was inches from hers. Time seemed to stretch into
infinity. She no longer felt the hot, packed dirt beneath her, didn't
hear the sounds of the stable yard in the distance, or the workers
and servants and guards contributing to the ever-present din of the
palace grounds. She didn't see the clouds above them, didn't notice
the pain as Reoth held her wrists too tight in his hands. There was
only his gaze, fighting something down within himself that struggled
for release.
Again, something moved her. Unable
to reach out to him, she lifted her face up to meet his. They touched
noses, and he hissed a sharp intake of breath. Norelia could feel his
breath, his lips so close to her own. All at once she was aware of
just how big Reoth really was, how wide his shoulders compared to
hers. How strong he was; so much stronger than she. He was an
undeniable weight pinning her, pressing down atop her so she couldn't
breathe. Every tight breath was filled with the scent of him and
Norelia was soon intoxicated. Her bumps and scrapes and bruises from
their fighting smarted, but she welcomed the pain. For some reason,
every ache and throb made her even more aware of him.
He shifted his grip so he pinned
her by the upper arms. His breath was hot against her ear and she
gasped at the delicious chills that coursed through her. His arms
felt like iron pinning her against him. Not that she was unwilling,
strange as that was. She reached up just enough and ran her fingers
along his forearms, feeling the hard strength of his muscles, so
unyielding beneath soft fingertips.
“You're toying with me.” His
voice was hard, coiled as taught as the rest of him. She could hear
the slight strain in his voice, the strain that spoke of the primal
male in him fighting to come to the fore. It was a familiar sound,
but it took her completely by surprise to hear it in Reoth. From the
way he'd been behaving toward her, she had believed he was unaffected
by her and had taken it for granted he was like any other of her
soldiers.
Wasn't he still her enemy? He
wanted to possess her. They all did.
Reoth tightened his hold on her
and she gasped. But not in fear, or surprise. This was excitement. By
the gods, if only he could hold her against him like this! She closed
her eyes and pressed into him, letting her head fall back.
What was wrong with
her?
When she felt his lips softly
brushing up and down her neck, her breath caught and she tilted her
head to bare more skin for him. Her heart was slamming against her
ribcage, and there was an ache deep inside her so strong it brought
her close to whimpering.
So much for hard self-discipline.
“Is this what you wanted?” His
sultry voice was a purr that melted her inside. He pressed himself
against her, slowly rubbing until there was no denying his tension.
The hard heat she felt was undeniable. Suddenly, violently, every
part of her body from the palms of her hands to the place deep within
ached to touch him. She pressed back against him, meeting the
insistent pressure of his hips with insistence of her own. A
throbbing heat polled in her groin, and it spread to the damp heat
between her thighs.
Her heart was racing. No! No
no no...
“Right here in the dirt,
Princess? You never struck me as common.” His voice was tense, low.
Yet even as her body trembled with
a sudden need against which she had believed herself immune, panic
began to build in her chest. It was hard to breathe, and harder still
with Reoth so close. He ground his hips into hers and the hardness of
him made her groan. Dear gods, what had she done?
What was happening to her?
He clutched her at her, and she
winced. His voice darkened. “This will be my only warning. Don't
ever entice me with your lies unless you're willing to deal with the
consequences. I know you still call me your enemy.” And just like
that, he was gone, and it was over. She felt cold without his
strength and heat, and she felt strangely vulnerable without him
there.
What was happening?
But onto the story now, this book started out with a huge BANG and that continued throughout the whole course of the book. There was excitement, drama, murder, sex. Everything that a person could want its in this book, at least in my opinion. Norelia's character is a strong woman, and I'm not just talking about having thighs of steel (which she does have in case you were wondering!). She has survived more in her life than most people will ever have to do.
Reoth's character was just strange to me, throughout the whole book I couldn't really get a read on him, but I think that added to the mystic of him. He had his funny parts and the parts where I was just like “wtf” (I think I had the look on my face while reading it). It was amazing to watch as he tried his best to tame the Devil's Bitch. That made the book a worth while read for me!
There is a lot of action during the course of this book, and while usually I don't like books that are that action packed, this one ended up working out for me. The only thing that bugged me about this book was it seemed like even with all the action, the ending left me wanting more. It felt like the ending didn't have as much as the rest of the book. Even with that though, I would still recommend this book to friends!
For
as long as she can remember, Delena Silverfox has always loved
writing more than anything. When she was three she taught herself how
to read with alphabet magnets and her trusty Speak n' Spell, but it
was when she realized she could use those same words to share what
was in her imagination that the magic took hold.
She
pursued an English/Creative Writing degree in college, but after
seeing so many friends lose their passion in school, she changed her
major to Psychology and pursued writing on her own. At 21, she moved
to Portland, OR where she spent the next eleven years, and considers
that the city where she truly "grew up," as it influenced
so much of who she is today as a person and an author.
She
discovered an affinity for erotic romance after getting to know the
underground BDSM community and trying her hand at adding a few
elements into her romance writing. What she encountered was, to her,
overwhelming encouragement to seek publication. Without that support,
she would still be writing serial installments on BDSM forums.
Delena
lives in Indianapolis, IN with her daughter, husband, and a klutzy
cat named Pícaro. When she's not writing, she's working on finishing
up her Psych degree, cooking, making crafts with her daughter, or
sewing and crocheting.
Click Above for Schedule!
Thank you so much for hosting me, Crystal! I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and thank you for your review!
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