He continued as if he hadn’t heard me, “And in the morning I’m having you moved to rooms closer to mine.”
My hand stilled. “Why’s that?”
He interlaced our fingers. “If I’m going to be sneaking into your bed every night, I’d rather not have to cross half the castle to get to you.”
“Why do you have to sneak? And let’s not get ahead of ourselves; I don’t even know if you snore yet.”
He scoffed. “I do not snore, thank you very much. And wehave to be discreet. It’s not deemed appropriate for me to share your bed. At least not until we’re wed.”
My heart tripped at his words. I had never entertained the idea of marriage before and yet here he was, casually dropping it into the conversation.“Until we’re wed. Why does that sound like a promise?”
“Because maybe it is.” He brought our interlaced hands to his lips and softly kissed the back of my hand.
My mouth was dry as I said, “That’s very bold of you, Your Highness.”
“I told you, I’ve never been more sure of anything before,” he said, holding my gaze.
“Is this your indirect way of asking me?” I tried to joke. Of course, it wouldn’t be my first proposal, but I truly hoped that wasn’t what this was—it would only complicate things further.
“No darling, when I propose there will be no mistaking it.”
“When I propose.”My stomach twisted at his words. Tarben thought he was going to marry me when, instead, I was going to shatter his heart into tiny shards. The thought made my own heart ache, but what else could I do? Love was fleeting, my freedom would be forever.
“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ears. Taking a deep breath, he started, “Alara, I—”
Before he could finish his sentence, I did something unbelievably stupid. I pulled his face to mine and swallowed up his words with a kiss. For some reason, I wasn’t ready to hear those words yet. Let him speak them tomorrow. Tonight, I wanted to pretend, just for a little longer.
The kiss itself was unrushed. So unlike the fervor from before, yet, strangely more intimate because into the kiss, I poured everything that would have to remain unspoken.
His hands roamed down my body, finally settling on myhips. With his lips and tongue, he explored my throat, sending a shiver of goosebumps across my skin. I could only imagine what it would feel like between my thighs.
I pressed myself against him, desperate to eliminate any space between us. Feeling the hard length of him against my core, I couldn’t resist—I slowly rolled my hips against his. A groan reverberated from deep within his throat.
As if he couldn’t hold back any longer, he gripped my ass and ground his hips against mine. My center ached, craving more.
My hands ventured lower, slowly tracing the outline of his rock-hard cock. He groaned at my touch, and returned the favor by slowly dragging his fingers to the place between my thighs.
“Flames of Erasure,” he cursed at the wetness of my underwear. “You will be the death of me,” he murmured against my lips.
“Do you still want to wait?” I asked before I slid my tongue along his rugged jawline. His fingers dug into my hips in response; I could tell he was on the brink of losing control.
“Yes. No.” His face scrunched in agony. “I want to touch you so badly,” he said, sounding strangled.
“Then do it,” I said, my voice laced with challenge.
In one smooth motion, he was on top of me, then his mouth was against mine. He kissed me like a starving man invited to feast. The prince was gone, replaced by an animal of pure hunger. My body was quick to respond to his heady kiss, hyper-aware of every place his hard form pressed into me.
Anchoring one hand in my hair, his other hand quickly found my breast. Rolling my nipple through the thin fabric of my nightgown, he sent little shockwaves of pleasure down my body.
He marked my neck with hot kisses as though he couldn’t get enough of me. When he reached my nipple, he sucked it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the sensitive flesh. Mybreathing became shallow; I was aching to be touched.
He hooked his fingers under the waistband of my underwear. “Do you want me to stop?” I never wanted this to stop—not with him. And that was what scared me.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
No—I was being silly. I never let emotions get tangled up in the physical. Sex was just a release.
I shook my head. He released a shaky breath. “Tell me if I’m going too fast.” His hands trembled slightly as he slowly pulled down my soaking undergarments.
