Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Chapter 44: 0044

Lorelei POV

"No—"

The corner of Kaelen’s lips curled as he took several steps back. Then he reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping his hand clean slowly and deliberately while I stood there trembling, my chest heaving. My whole body screamed for something I could not name.

He watched me fall apart from across the room, his amber eyes dark with satisfaction.

"Why did you stop?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and shame immediately flooded through me. But how could I not ask? I had been so close.

Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you say no?"

I bit down hard on my lip.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I continued after you said no?"

I scoffed internally. Gentleman. My foot.

He had trapped me against his desk, flooded the room with his pheromones, and pushed me to the edge of madness, only to stop at the last possible second.

There was nothing gentlemanly about any of this. He was a ruthless, calculating sadist who knew exactly how to dismantle my defenses piece by piece.

"You did this on purpose," I wheezed, gripping the edge of the desk to keep my trembling legs from giving out entirely. "You can’t just start something like that and then not—"

"Do you agree to my terms?" he cut in, his voice calm, measured, and utterly infuriating.

"That’s not—"

"It’s a simple question, Ella." He crossed his arms.

My jaw tightened as I stared at him, completely at a loss for words. This had to be some form of blackmail, and the worst part was that it was working flawlessly. No matter which option I picked, I would be the one losing.

"Well?" Kaelen prompted, looking like a man who had all the time in the world, while every second that passed felt like absolute agony for my aching body.

But if I was going to do this, it had to be on my terms. At least that would save a little of my dignity.

"What’s in it for me?" I asked, forcing myself to raise my chin.

His head tilted slightly, clearly caught off guard by the question.

"I thought you said you weren’t a hooker," he said, throwing my own words right back at me. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

That bruised my ego a little.

But I sucked in a breath and forced my chin to remain high.

"I’ll be sleeping with you anyway. It’s better than doing all that for free." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Hearing that, his lips curled into a full smirk, which still low-key creeped me out.

"What do you want, then?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment. I knew I couldn’t ask him to let me go. That would directly contradict the entire reason we were having this conversation. He might as well hand me back over to Hawke and the executioners himself.

"I want to stop working as a maid and have access to better food."

If I wanted to properly plan my escape, I needed the hours I spent cleaning his massive estate back. I also needed my strength, and the miserable scraps they fed the servants were not going to cut it anymore.

He went quiet as he considered it, and part of me thought he would refuse. He was the Alpha King, after all. Why would he negotiate with a maid when he already had me completely cornered?

"Okay," he said, and my eyes widened.

Okay? Just like that?

"And my roommate too," I rushed to add.

If I couldn’t get Skye out of here, the least I could do was make sure she lived comfortably too.

But the smile vanished from his face the very next moment.

"Don’t push your luck," he said in a cold voice, forcing me to press my lips tightly together.

I guess it was worth a shot.

"Now that that’s all settled," he said, stepping closer again.

My face immediately began to heat up as his face ended up only inches from mine.

"Should we go on or not?"

He stared directly into my eyes as he asked the question, knowing full well I was already completely undone. Maybe it was his scent. Yes, I was going to continue blaming it on his scent.

Slowly, I raised my right hand and reached for his face. It wasn’t every day someone got the chance to touch the Alpha King like this. My fingers brushed against his jaw as I admired his god-like features. The fact that he wasn’t moving and was simply letting me do whatever I wanted wasn’t helping.

My gaze slowly drifted to his lips, and I swallowed hard before leaning toward him.

The distance between us disappeared, and before my brain could scream at me to stop, my lips brushed against his.

He let me take the lead at first as I kissed him softly, tentative and almost shy. My lips moved against his in a gentle, questioning way.

But that control only lasted a few seconds.

The moment a soft gasp escaped my mouth, Kaelen took over completely. The kiss instantly became more demanding, stealing whatever air I had left in my lungs. His hand moved to my waist, and before I knew it, I was being effortlessly lifted and placed on the edge of the desk.

Papers scattered beneath me. Something made of glass tipped over and rolled across the carpet.

But the second his body pressed between my thighs, I froze when I felt how hard he already was, even through the fabric of his sweatpants.

"Wait..." I said, turning my head to the side and breaking the kiss. "Are we really going all the way right here?"

My face was already heating up again just thinking about it.

"Isn’t this what you wanted?" he asked.

But I had only wanted to reach my climax, which I had assumed was going to happen with his fingers.

"What if someone walks in on us?" I asked in a breathless whisper as my hands pressed against the hard planes of his chest.

Since he was wearing a loose shirt, I could practically feel the scorching heat of his body and the definition of his muscles beneath the fabric. I couldn’t resist pressing a little harder, because why not?

"No one enters without my permission," he said, though his voice sounded slightly frustrated.

"Okay then," I whispered, choosing to believe him.

"Spread your legs," he commanded.

I hesitated for only a second before parting my thighs wider, making room for him.

Without breaking eye contact, Kaelen reached into his pants and pulled out his already rock-hard length.

My breath hitched sharply at the sight.

I knew he was big. I had felt every thick inch of him that first night.

But seeing it now in the soft morning light, this close, with veins pulsing along the heavy length and the swollen head already glistening, it was completely different.

"I’m going to put it inside you," he said, and for some reason, it suddenly felt less like a statement and more like a threat.

With that, he stroked himself once with a low grunt before reaching for my panties and sliding them slowly down until they rested around my thighs, cold air hitting my soaked folds once more.

Taking a deep breath, I bit down on my lip as I felt him moving against me, making my entire body tense in anticipation.

But before he could even start to push in, the door suddenly swung open.

"Kaelen, the financial audits are ready for your review, and you need to—"

The male voice startled me so badly that I immediately curled into Kaelen, hiding my face against his chest.

So much for no one barging in.

I knew I shouldn’t have taken his word for it.