Mated to the Diphallic Snake Prince

Excerpt:

This job was a pity, a true pity. She was a model piece from a museum—enough breast to suck, padded hips to grab, a comfortable belly, sculpted legs and thighs. Any man would have his head turned.
“What brought you up this way?” she asked, genuinely curious. Though she hadn't expected to see anyone, these mountains were considered excelling hiking, fishing, and even as a bypass for congested trading routes. Although the man before her, she had to admit, did not appear to be a traveling merchant.
“I'm in search of botanicals for my master. He's an old git, but he knows his way around fevers and broken bones.”
“You are his apprentice?”
“I am, and his gardener, his cook, his housekeeper, and whatever else he needs done.”
Ellie smiled, completely disarming him just with the happy gleam in her eyes. “What mysterious plants are you searching for today?”
“Nothing too mysterious. Mallow, feverfew, chamomile, self-heal.” Calder leaned inward conspiratorially. “The house next to his had a litter of puppies, and they decimated our poor garden.”
“Oh, no!”
“Yes, but we salvaged some plants. I'm out to harvest as much as I can, and to try to preserve bare roots and seeds for new starts.”
Ellie smiled again, then it slowly faded. She sighed, examining him from head to foot with evident disappointment.
“What is wrong?” Calder asked.
“You may have been a healer's apprentice once, but you aren't one any longer. A healer's hands aren't broken and roughened from swordplay, and his pack isn't so full. What are you really?”
The smile left his face, now, too, he hadn't known how crushed he would be to be found out. He gazed into the distance at an orange tanager in quest for her food. “A man who wishes he was anything else.”
She nodded. The bird sang from her limb, chattering back and forth with his mate. Calder tried again.
"What are you doing all the way up here?" he asked.
She wiped her lips, took her time putting the cap back on the flask. A bit of color touched her cheeks, making them go all rose and peach-hued. "My father sent me away for my heat cycle. Said that no man would find me here."
She blinked big eyes at him.
"What do you say, Calder? Want to prove him wrong?"
He opened his mouth to speak.
No words came out.
Suddenly embarrassed, Ellie slapped a hand over her mouth and gazed at him with wide, astonished eyes.
Before she could apologize or take back the words, Calder grinned so large his fangs showed.
"I'd love to. If you would?"
Speechless, Ellie hesitated.
There was no doubt in her mind who he really was—one of King Selder's men. Nor did she doubt he had come to claim her life—at least, initially. Soldiers often regretted the will of their monarch. She knew this all too well from witnessing the aftermath of her father's decisions. Some men grumbled, but did their duty. Others silently disapproved, and found excuses to avoid or botch the orders.
What sort of a man was Calder?
Still, there was another fact to consider: how she'd spend her final hours, if she were indeed in her final hours. She could refuse, he may kill her. She could accept his offer, he may still take her life. So how to cherish these final moments?
The smile came back to her lips. Her cheeks bloomed with a blush.
“Promise to stay with me till the end of my cycle?” she asked, unintentionally batting her eyelashes. It was a nervous habit, one she'd tried to break several times with no success.
Calder's breath caught. She was stunning. A mixture of innocence, anticipation, and need. He thought back to what Jasper had said. A week. He could have a full week with this beauty.
“It will be an honor,” he said.
She let out a long breath, her spirits rising.