“I suppose,” she said with another shrug of her slim, elegant shoulders. “Very soon you’ll release me to a very different life. I can’t help that you can’t forget that.”
“It’s my lack of resolve that’s the error? Because you’re wholly committed to this adventure?”
“Yes, with two conditions.”
“Which are?”
“I have to be returned intact for marriage. You know I’ll eventually be examined. I must still be able to pass inspection.”
He knew it was true, but of course his body wanted something else. “What’s the second condition?”
“My body mustn’t suffer permanent damage or marks.”
“That’s not a hardship. I’d never desire it.”
“Then show me and tell me more about your hidden life as a pet owner.”
Her tone was teasing, but when he spoke next, his wasn’t.
“You’ll experience things no one of royal blood ever has or will again.”
She licked her lips, her nipples tight. The very thought of forbidden knowledge was exciting to her. He would use that boundless curiosity to indulge a fantasy he’d had for a long time.
He picked her up and carried her to the bedchamber. “It’s time to teach you something you’ll enjoy.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he said, setting her down on the mattress.
“Will you enjoy it?”
“Yes, but not in the way you will. Lie back and spread your legs.”
“What will you do?”
“Nothing that will change you irrevocably,” he promised.
* * *
When his mouth descendedon her, she nearly screamed from the thrill of it. How did he know where that secret nub was? And how could he find it in the dark without her to guide him?
It didn’t matter. Nothing did.
He licked and sucked until she ached and had a deep desire to take him inside her.
He reached under her and cupped her sore buttocks. It made her cry out, but also coiled the spring tighter. The pain added to the excitement, all the darkness feeding the desire.
“Please don’t stop. Please,” she begged.
Then that powerful release gripped her, wrung into knots, and shook her out.
In the privacy of her room, she would have stopped, but the lord between her legs did not. He continued until the tension built again, just as high, and exploded all over.
It was so intense, it ripped through her. Belatedly she screamed and crawled up and away.
“Wait. Please.”
He crawled up the bed and looked down at her, licking his lips.
