Chapter Twelve
Rain stopped movingand held her breath when Daric’s hand drifted between her legs and he touched her where they would soon connect. She knew the basics about coupling. She’d seen animals mate—dogs and horses didn’t care about privacy—and she’d seen servants kissing when they thought no one was looking. She hadn’t known, though, that a man stroked a woman like he was playing aninstrument, and that it was fantastic.
Rain gasped and quivered at his light, exploring touches and then moaned and sought firmer contact when his fingers turned bolder and more adept. Heat coursed through her body, increasing with every kiss and caress. She ground against his hand, tension gathering like a whirlwind inside her.
A deep groan resonated in Daric’s chest. His tongue tangled withhers, and Rain thought she might fly apart under the mounting pressure. Every movement they made was instinctual. She knew the steps without thinking. It was the hottest, wildest dance of her existence, and she wanted it to last forever.
Daric stroked her inside and out and then slipped and slid his fingers over a spot that made bright bolts of pleasure arc through her like lightning.
“Am Idoing this right?” he asked, sipping kisses from her lips and drinking her breath in.
Rain arched off the bed, clutching his shoulders. “Yes! Don’t stop!”
He kept going, and Rain shattered apart. Her cry was silent, or perhaps deafening. She tensed as a breathtaking climax pulsed through her in waves and then sank into the bedding, boneless and floating.
Daric moved over her, and she felt hishard tip gently prod her opening. She tilted toward him. Daric closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were as dark as the night sky and stark with intensity.
He brushed a warm, coaxing hand down her body before guiding her knees higher around him. In a strained whisper, he rasped, “Steady, darling. This may not be comfortable.”
Rain nodded. “I know it’s only the first time, andonly for a moment.” She was well aware of rumors concerning lovemaking, especially for virgins, but so far, everything she’d heard had underrated the act tremendously.
Daric’s expression held a wealth of tenderness and the promise of scorching encounters for years to come. Rain wanted nothing more. Her prince. A lifetime together. Children. Love. If only that were possible.
She blocked thosethoughts, refusing to give them power. Their future heartbreak had no place here—not when Daric was slowly pushing inside her. Sensations rioted through her, some pleasant, some not. She inhaled deeply, trying to relax. She wasn’t afraid, but her muscles stayed taut.
Daric took her head in his hands, holding her steady. As he looked down at her, the discomfort gradually faded.
Rain gave himan encouraging smile. “I’m fine, Daric. It’s all right.”
“This won’t last long.” He kissed her before he started moving. “Next time, I’ll do better.”
Rain nodded. She understood, and she was ready.
Daric’s measured movements quickly became unsteady. He thrust faster, harder, and then he shuddered. He groaned her name as he stiffened all over, the sound seeming to tear straight from the centerof his body.
Rain clung to him, so close she could feel the heavy thud of his heartbeat. They stayed joined, Daric surrounding her. Their lips brushed and pressed, and she wrapped herself around him, as elated as she was devastated. She wanted to remember the feel of him. His weight. The love in his eyes. The way he kissed and touched her. Memories to take on a journey into eternity.
“Again,”she murmured, her voice nearly breaking.
Daric gazed down at her, already hardening once more inside her. Locking eyes with her, he began moving, and what started as gentle worshipping slowly turned into fierce possession—and both were exactly what she needed.
