He looks toward the fire, his jaw ticking, before turning back to me. His hand caresses the scar with a tenderness I never believed possible from Kieran. “I should have never left you, Gen. Forgive me.”
“Of course I do. Forgiveme. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I should have known it was my mother all along who broke us apart.”
He dips his head to the scar, pressing his lips to the old wound. “If I hadn’t left you, your gift might have become something entirely different. You wouldn’t have these memories.”
He presses me down onto the carpet, his cheek resting against my soft flesh. “I’m so sorry, Gen. Thinking about what you’ve been through—and I’ve always blamed you for my own suffering—but we were both hurt. We hurt each other just as much as your mother did.”
I slide my fingers through his hair. “We have a chance at a new beginning now. Let’s not waste it dwelling on what could have been. All I want is to make up for those lost years.”
He begins pressing soft kisses to my belly, the faint scratch of his stubble leaving a trail of desire. “Never again, Gen. I’ll never see you hurt again.”
His hand explores up the inside of my thigh again, heat rising as he stokes an endless flame inside me. “Gen, you’re perfect,” he whispers before lavishing my breasts with kisses. “All of you—every curve, every change. I want to memorize and devour them.”
The tip of his finger circles my entrance, firm and deliberate, before he dips inside me. A groan scorches both our lips as I shift to accommodate him. My core clenches around him as he begins to stroke inand out, and all I can think about is keeping him close—clinging to him, hungry for the promise of more of him to come.
Kieran continues kissing and sucking my breasts, my nipples tightening into rigid peaks as he slides another finger inside me, filling me and deepening his exploring touches.
I can’t stop the whimper that spills from my lips as tension coils deep in my belly. A delicious heat—Kieran’s body pressed against mine, the hard length of his cock at my hip, the rhythmic pulse of his fingers inside me—drives me to a quivering desperation. When he presses the flat of his palm to my clit, the tension crests like a firestorm, breaking as I’m consumed by pleasure.
It isn’t like yesterday, when the rush of emotion—of realizing I could receive pleasure at all—was so overwhelming that I felt as if I’d gained a part of myself and lost myself in the same breath. No, this is an endless flame, leaving me desperate formore, more, more.
Slowly, I come down from the pleasure searing through me and pull Kieran close, our mouths pressing together, tongues tangling in a language beyond words.
I spread my thighs, letting him settle between them. The blunt tip of his cock presses at my entrance, and I shift my hips, welcoming him in. The slight burn of his thick length stretching me is a satisfying ache I’m desperate for.
His eyes meet mine, and as he fills me completely, I’m just as wholly certain I love this man and cannot imagine a life without him at my side again.
“I’ve yearned for this for so long, Gen,” he says, pulling back until I’m nearly empty before he drives into me again.
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted. I’ll never let you go now.” His pace settles into a rhythm that has me arching my back, lifting my hipsto take him deeper. He’s everywhere—surrounding me, consuming me—as our breaths mingle and our moans entwine.
Our words become promises, in harmony with the vow our joined bodies make.
“I’ll never leave you, I promise,” I murmur, my voice catching as pleasure expands and ripples through me again—and then we’re both plummeting into our shared release.
Kieran’s body slumps against mine, his weight a heavy comfort. “I love you, Kieran. I’ll never stop loving you,” I whisper, our sweat-streaked skin fused together. He presses a kiss to my temple, down my jawline, and finally to my lips.
“I love you too, Gen. We’ve lost years together, but we’ll have them back—and more.”
He slips away from me, moving to a pitcher where he wets a cloth before returning to wash my sensitive skin.
“Bed?” he asks.
A small gurgle from my stomach interrupts us.
“Supper in bed?” I offer.
He laughs as he scoops up my soaked clothing.
“Even better. No point in trying to put these back on.” Kieran crosses to a side closet and retrieves two blankets, wrapping me in soft wool before doing the same for himself.
“Do you actually intend for us to walk through the house like this?” I ask. Making love on the parlor rug is one thing, but traipsing through the manor nude beneath a blanket is where I draw the line.
Kieran laughs again—and it’s the best sound in the world, bright and teasing. “Princess, don’t be shy now. The servants are very well aware of what we did in here.”
I want to protest, to think of the scandal that would erupt if word spread that the crown princess wandered a manor wrapped only in ablanket. But then I look at Kieran, at the playful expression softening his features, and I can’t bear to dim it.
“Alright then. Supper in bed under the blankets sounds just the thing.”
