While other courtesans considered the crimson tassel a mark of pride, I saw it as a stain on my waist.
“Do you know why I chose to gift you another one so soon?” the prince asked casually, his fingers idly toying with the tassel at my waist.
“You were pleased with my last performance, Your Highness.”
With a playful click of his tongue, he began unfastening the gold chain from my waist.
“Today is a special day, Odessa. It marks one year since you began serving me in Hyrall.”
I smiled, masking the tight knot forming in my stomach. “Of course, how could I forget?”
The prince’s eyes gleamed as he cupped my chin with a possessivetouch, drawing me in for a kiss. His lips were gentle, lingering briefly before parting. As he held my face, he traced my lips with his thumb.
“You are mine, Odessa.”
“Yes.” I lowered my gaze to his lips, eyes half-lidded.
The gold chain at my waist came undone with a faint clink as the prince tossed it onto a nearby chaise. He began unfastening the remaining closures of my robe, each string falling away until the plum-colored fabric hung open. With a wandering hand, he brushed it off one shoulder, letting it flutter to the floor.
Mesmerized, he inhaled sharply, his gaze lingering on my bare body. He approached slowly, his face nearly brushing mine, though he kept his composure. Our eyes remained locked as he reached behind me, his breath warm against my skin, and gathered the newly gifted robe in his hands. The cream-colored silk draped gracefully as he unfolded it.
With a soft kiss to the side of my neck, he guided one arm into the robe, then the other.
As the robe settled around me, he secured the laces at my waist. I paused, studying his hands, my lip caught between my teeth as my eyes followed the line of his arms to his sculpted chest. Beneath the white tunic was a layer of lean muscle, exactly to my liking.
The prince’s eyes were locked on my breasts, desire radiating off him.
Through the sheer fabric, the peaks of my breasts stiffened. At the sight, his eyes darkened, and he lifted a hand to graze it. I quivered at the touch, and he smiled as he noticed. Palming my aching chest, a breathy moan escaped me, and it only made him more unchaste, his jaw tightening with restraint.
He gripped my waist with his free hand and drew me closer.
The prince’s lips claimed mine as his finger circled the bud of my breast, then pinched it between his thumb and forefinger. With pressure, he squeezed, and another moan slipped from me. I couldfeel myself growing slick, and in return, feel the hard press of his length against my navel.
Reflexively, I started to reach for him, but he caught my wrist and held it in place.
“Not yet, Odessa,” he said, his voice rough as he pulled back.
My breaths came shallow. “As you wish, Gadriel.”
Hearing his name on my lips only deepened his hunger. He had confessed more than once how he relished it, how my voice seemed to carry his name like a whisper drawn out.
He loved the way I said it. Moaned it. Breathed it.
I suppose it gave him a sense of power, to feel so deeply desired. That was precisely why I gave him just enough to believe it. It made him arrogant. It made him reckless.
I looked up at him, my lips still parted. Seeing that look in my eyes, Gadriel crushed his mouth to mine. In three swift strides, he had me pinned against the wall with one arm, both wrists locked above my head in his grip.
“Tell me what you want, Odessa,” he whispered in my ear, his breath warm as he kissed the edge of it.
Gadriel was an excellent lover, that I can attest. My body was reeling from the yearning. I wanted his hands on me, I needed it. Gadriel and I had spent every night together for the last year learning one another’s sensual hungers and thirsts. Without a shadow of a doubt, Gadriel knew my carnalities just as well as I knew his.
I nearly writhed as he pressed his body against mine, leaving me no choice but to feel just how much he wanted me.
“Please…”
Gadriel drew in a breath and whispered, “Please what, Odessa?”
He pressed himself firmly against me.
