He leans down, sucking gently at my throat, my neck, and lower to my chest. My breath catches, deepening into a gasp as I say, “I could never adjust to calling you Morris. King Kieran Ashcroft it is, then.”
He rumbles against my skin. “Yes, despite my best efforts, you’ve done a terrible job of calling me Morris—or Mr. Blackwell.”
I let out a laugh, knowing how utterly I’ve failed at hiding his true identity. “You’ve always been Kieran. I couldn’t change that if I wanted.”
There isn’t the same desperation between us as before. Kieran huffs a soft laugh against my hair before gingerly undoing my coiffure, loose tangles of waves falling across my shoulders and down my back. “Princess, I’ve always wanted to have you in your glasshouse. Now that I’m to be your king, will you give me that piece of you?”
His hands settle at my hips, waiting for me to grant permission to take me in my most guarded place. “Yes. I’ve dreamed of making love to you here since before I should have been thinking such things.”
The moan against my skin makes me burn with desire as his hands travel to the rows of buttons down my spine. “You’re like a gift, Gen. A gift only for me to enjoy.”
“I’m forever your gift now, Kieran,” I whisper as I reach for his cravat, untying the binding at his throat just as he finishes the long row of buttons on my gown. He takes his time undressing my many layers, and in between I do the same, until we’re bared to each other, nothing but the steam to shield us from the world outside.
But in here, in my safe haven, it feels as though the world no longer matters—like the two of us could sustain ourselves on slow, deliberate lovemaking and let everything else slip from memory.
Kieran lifts me onto the shelf, and I part my thighs for him. He fills the space between us with his firm, rigid body before he begins to slowly, reverently press kisses across my skin, tilting me back until I’m flat on my spine and splayed open before him.
“I thought I lost you again, Kieran. I couldn’t—” He hushes me with his mouth, a moan replacing the words left unspoken. There’s no space here for the uncertainty we nearly faced today. For how close I was to losing him once again, and I understand why he doesn’t want me to remind him of that fear.
It will take a long time for us to forgive ourselves for the ways we’ve hurt each other, for how we almost let it happen again. But for now, we can allow ourselves the elation of knowing we’ve made it—that despite all the years apart, all the childhood doubts that we belonged together, we are once again wrapped in each other’s embrace.
This time I swear I will never let him go.
“You’re mine, Gen. You’ll be mine forever. I won’t let anyone take you from me,” he murmurs against my thigh, his tongue tracing a trail upward. I feel myself rocking closer, urging him to put his lips on my center, but he ignores my growing urgency.
“Yes, love, I’m yours, and you’re mine,” I say. He rewards me with a swipe of his tongue across my center.
“Always,” I breathe, and he answers with another lick that sends me spiraling into euphoric pleasure. “You’re mine,” I echo, the words tumbling out again and again until I’m breathless, teetering on the edge of my release.
Just as I’m about to fall, Kieran pulls away. “You’re mine,” he growls, voice thick with possessiveness, as he lines his hard cock against my center and slams home in one fierce thrust. His thick length stretches me, the sweet ache of taking him while I’m already so close threatening to unravel me completely.
Our movements together are fluid, full of promise, and leave me certain I’ll never be without Kieran’s love again.
“I’m yours, forever, Kieran. Always.” I gasp as the orgasm crashes through me. My walls clench around his cock, dragging a guttural sound from his throat. He loses control completely, hips slamming deep one last time, pulsing hot inside me as he follows me over the edge.
Afterward, our heated skin feels melded together, and I meet Kieran’s steady gaze.
“You never needed to ruin me, you know. I’ve always been yours, Kieran,” I say.
“Princess,” he murmurs, his hands at my back as he gently lifts me from the shelf, keeping me steady on my feet. “I’ve been ruined for anyone but you since I was eight.”
He wraps his body around mine, and I can still feel the possessive claiming in his movements. I’m where I belong—finally home, in the arms of the man I’ve spent a lifetime loving.
52
Kieran
Idon’t wake with the nightmares that have plagued my sleep for years. Rolling to my side, I wrap my arm around Gen, pulling her close and feeling the way her lax body settles so neatly against mine. She’s still sleeping soundly, and I want to savor the feel of her in my arms, safe and nestled close.
“I’ll never let anything separate us again, Princess,” I whisper, twirling her rose-gold hair through my fingers, the cascading softness of it like spun silk. She lets out a tiny sigh and shifts, her hand landing on my chest, resting over my thrumming heart.
I feel whole and happy in a way I never imagined possible. This happiness is hard-earned, and there will always be forces that threaten it. But it’s my deepest hope that we can preserve this peace here in these rooms, a sacred space where I will worship Gen.
A knock sounds on the outer door. Probably a servant coming to light the fire. Gen stirs but doesn’t open her eyes, so I loom in the bed,a dragon hoarding his treasure, as—not a servant but Gabriel—barges in.
Once again interrupting our peaceful morning. “Dammit, man, will I never be free of seeing you in bed with my sister?” Gabriel says with mock reproof.
“Get used to it. We’re to be married in one day.”
