Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64: A Kind of Rapport

Flora had already laid out breakfast on the wide deck table by the time they returned from their run. Fresh fruit, warm bread, eggs, and a pot of strong coffee waited under a light muslin cloth to keep the sea breeze from stealing the warmth. Kira and Derek went upstairs to freshen up.

Derek finished first and came down in a simple black shirt and trousers, hair still damp, and stepped out onto the deck. The morning sun was climbing higher, turning the sea into glittering shards of light. He saw Flora, but Alistar was nowhere in sight.

It was quite surprising that the old loyal dog wasn’t hovering for once.

"Where’s Alistar?" he asked Flora as he pulled out a chair.

Flora wiped her hands on her apron. "He’s gone into town to fetch some medicine for Maya."

Derek remembered the little girl vividly. "How is she?"

Flora let out a weary sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly before she managed a nod. "We are still trying our best, Your Grace."

Before he could press further, the sliding door slid open, and Kira walked, now dressed in simple denim shorts and an off-shoulder blouse. Her hair was tied in a loose bun on top of her head, with tiny strands falling over her face. She had caught the tail end of the conversation and slid into the seat opposite Derek, curiosity bright in her eyes.

"Who’s Maya?" she asked, reaching for the coffee pot.

Derek’s nostrils flared instantly as her scent hit him—warm skin, faint lavender from her soap, and that sweet jasmine that was purely her. He had a sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to lean across the table, bury his face in her neck or her hair, and draw in a deep lungful. Heat surged low in his belly, blood rushing south so fast it made his cock twitch hard against the fabric of his trousers.

What the hell is wrong with me? he thought, jaw tightening as he shifted in his seat, trying to discreetly adjust the problem rising beneath the table. Leo stirred deep inside, rumbling with sudden, insistent need for closeness. He forced his expression to remain blank, fingers curling around his coffee mug a fraction too tightly.

He couldn’t fathom what was going on. He was a man who knew how to control his urges; it came naturally to most Lycans. Werewolves might act on every primal instinct, but Lycans were more sophisticated and more disciplined. The mate craze was none of their business. True, Lycan hormone was always at its peak during their teenage years. But Derek was no teenage boy with a pulse in his throat, yet here he was, a grown adult, fighting an urge that had no right to exist for the daughter of his enemy.

He hadn’t married her out of affection, only political expediency and his own selfish plans. She came wrapped in very mysterious circumstances, which he was still trying to unravel. With Rolf’s blood running through her veins. He knew exactly where her loyalties lay, and it wasn’t with him. Her answer to his question on the beach had proven that.

"I’m loyal to no one. Only to myself," she had said.

He wasn’t a fool. If he let his guard down, she would use his desire just as Sandra had.

"Maya is our granddaughter," Flora’s voice pulled him back from the edge of his thoughts. The woman was smiling softly, though her eyes held a shadow of sadness. "Both her parents... they died during the war. She’s been quite... special ever since."

Kira paused, her mug halfway to her mouth. Her brow furrowed in genuine concern. "Special? What’s wrong with her? Is she ill?"

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