“I need you,” I breathed, feeling him smile against my ear.
One of his hands still pinned my wrists to the wall while the other trailed up my waist, gliding around the curve of my breast. He slippedhis hand beneath the robe, grasping it in his palm, and began circling the peak with his thumb in slow, sensual motions.
He began kissing down my throat, hunger in every press of his mouth.
“You taste like sin and silk,” he murmured.
His grip tightened as he held me, and my breath hitched with pleasure. My lips searched for his, but he pulled away before I could reach him.
“Not yet,” Gadriel chastised, low and amused. “I still have things I want to touch.”
I parted my lips as his eyes swept over me. The cream-colored robe had slipped loose at my chest, undone by his hand. He leaned down to kiss me again, and I tilted my mouth toward his, only for him to withdraw once more, teasing.
“You’re impatient tonight, Odessa,” Gadriel tutted.
His fingers drifted down my waist, brushing aside a fold of silk. My knees threatened to give as he traced along the curve of my thigh, stopping just shy of where I ached for him. He leaned down to press a kiss against my chest, and my back arched in response.
“You certainly are insatiable,” he whispered.
Then, without warning, he slid a finger inside me and I gasped. Gadriel groaned, his mouth claiming the peak of my breast as he flicked it with his tongue. My body began to writhe, and he pressed me harder into the wall to keep me still.
He used his knee to part my legs, kissing me deeply as his fingers worked in steady rhythm. I could only moan, helpless to stop the sharp pull of release building inside me.
Gadriel knew the patterns of my release well, and he sensed how close I was, just seconds from the edge. Without hesitation, he quickened his pace, and the world slipped into white as I unraveled.
A cry tore from my lips as my hips trembled beneath him, wetness spilling over his hand.
He didn’t give me a moment to recover. Instead, he silenced my moan with a kiss, his fingers moving lower to find the tender crest between my thighs. The sensation jolted through me, too much, too soon, and my knees buckled, held upright only by the strength of his chest.
Still, he kept going, circling with relentless intent. Heat bloomed again, smoldering to life inside me, and I begged for more as his fingers worked faster, more urgently.
I felt my hips tremble, my legs unsteady, as Gadriel coaxed another release from me. He only grinned, his fingers slick with my pleasure. I slumped forward, unable to hold myself upright, but he caught me easily, keeping me steady as he basked in my unraveling.
With a surprising tenderness, he leaned in to kiss me, then wrapped my legs around his waist. I folded my thighs around him as best I could, while his hands gripped the curve of my backside and lifted me into his arms.
He carried me to the bed and laid me at its center, settling above me as he pulled off his tunic. My eyes traveled over his torso, and I reached for the waistband of his trousers. This time, he didn’t stop me.
Gadriel looked down at me, eyes dark with desire, as my fingers moved to unfasten his belt. I undid the clasp and helped slide the fabric down to his thighs.
I sat up slightly and wrapped my fingers around him gently. Gadriel groaned as I began to stroke him, slow and steady, my grip firm but controlled. His back arched, and he leaned forward, bracing himself with both arms.
I reclined into the mattress, letting it support me as I increased my rhythm, guided by his reactions. By every subtle shift in his breath, every shudder of pleasure.
Just as he delighted in my responses to his touch, I too relished the quiet power in this. Watching him unravel beneath my hands, made helpless by the sensual hold I had over him.
For a moment, I nearly reached for his shoulders, ready to draw him down to my lips, to straddle him and take what I wanted, but I stopped myself. I couldn’t move on desire alone.
I had to remember what this was. A contract. A performance. One I was expected to deliver with precision.
My desires had to be whatever the prince’s were. And Gadriel favored subservience.
I hadn’t become his favored consort by chance. Every expression I wore, every word I spoke, every motion I made was deliberate, crafted to secure my place. Each night, I performed to ensure he would choose me again the next day.
Above me, Gadriel was still groaning with pleasure, but as I shifted my hips, his attention dipped to the warmth waiting between my thighs.
At the sight of it, he became undone.
He shed the last of his trousers and positioned himself over me. His lips crashed into mine before he pulled back, lowering himself just enough to glide the head of his length along my slickness, taunting me.
