Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition by Melodie Campbell

My hair whipped around my face. I put my face into the sea breeze and closed my eyes, drinking in the energy.
    "Rowena, I mean to take you and I want to discuss terms."
    I was so shocked I stumbled. "Terms?"
    "You will submit." He shrugged. "I am the king and I hold power over those you love." His eyes gleamed with danger. "I can have your husband killed if you have scruples."
    "No," I squeaked. "Not necessary."
    Dear God, he would kill a man to make me feel okay about this betrayal?
    He walked to the very edge of the cliff. It was a cool and arrogant thing to do. For one wild moment, I thought I could rush him and he would plummet over the edge. But I couldn't kill a man. Not even Sargon.
    "You will submit," he said, eyeing me, "but will you respond to me? I don't know."
    Respond?
    A choking sound erupted from my throat. I turned away.
    This was real. This was not a dream I could hide behind. Sargon would kill my husband if that's what it took to have me.
    Would he kill me as well if I refused to cooperate? Could that strangled laugh be coming from my mouth?
    I could hear the hysteria rising.
    "Rowena!"
    He grabbed my arm and swung me around. Then his arms were around me, his mouth on mine and there was madness. I clung to him like a drowning swimmer fighting to stay above water. His fingers twi sted in my hair, pulling me closer. I fell into him, his coal black eyes, his strong embrace, the fire in his body, in his kiss.
    He laughed when we broke apart. "It's as I thought."
    He put his mouth to the place where my neck meets my shoulder. And then―dear God―he bit down hard. I cried out in shock. His hands ripped my dress from the neckline, yanking it down my arms, frantic to get it off my hips.
    My breath came in gasps. "Wait, I―"
    We were on the bare ground. His mouth found my breast, taking as much of it as he could. His right hand cupped the other one, kneading it, rolling the nipple between his thumb and finger. Then his lips latched onto that breast and I roiled beneath him, my legs already apart.
    His mouth was on mine again, demanding more, and I felt him moving against me. Heat surged over me, through me. He raised his face, looked into my eyes and then arched over me. He took me swiftly, his control slipping, changing to frenzy.
    This was no dream, but something more sinister, wild and frightening. I fell into a world of ghostly images, envisioning the pounding of waves and the roaring of men in battle. A broadsword appeared in my hand.
    Then I heard the growling, savage need of the man inside me.
    I cried out.
    He yelled a triumphant, haunting roar. Then the ground melted away from me. The only thing keeping me from sinking down into the bowels of the earth were his arms around me.
    I slept.
     
    When I awoke, Sargon stood over me, fully dressed, his eyes smoldering. "I'll have to kill Ivan now."
    We argued all the way back to the castle.
    "It's not your choice," he said. "You can't ignore the customs of our land. They have governed us for a thousand years."
    "You and I were together only one time. Can't you pay him off?"
    He gave a derisive laugh. "One time? You think that?"
    Sargon reined in and I did the same. Leaning over, he pulled me from Lightning's back and gathered me close. His mouth sought mine and I was plunged into the madness once more. I clung to him as a strange and unwanted lust built up inside.
    When he released me, I slid to the ground, my legs shaking as I remounted Lightning.
    Sargon's eyes narrowed. "Not one time, I think. Not one lifetime either."
    We rode at a calm walk.
    "I know him," Sargon said. "Huel is a man of honor, if somewhat simple. I've been with his wife and will do so again. Honor demands this to be settled."
    "Settled," I repeated in a faint voice.
    A pause.
    "We've been destined for this from that first night at Huel. You know it. I may have settled for one night then, but not now. There is no going back. I don't want to go back."
    Was there nothing I could say to stop