Page 102 of Her Royal Houseguest

‘Deva!’ she gasped. ‘Please!’

Slow, he reminded himself. He must go slow.

He rocked against her. She arched, her breasts quivering with her breath.

He couldn’t resist. He had to taste them again. And so he tongued her nipples as she writhed beneath him.

And then she surprised him again. She gripped his hips with her legs and drew him powerfully forwards. She impaled herself on him, and the feel of her channel surrounding him shredded his control.

He was halfway in. She was arched in ecstasy. And so he finished it. He thrust into her. He took her as his own and he did it over and over and over again.

She cried out. That beautiful sound she made when pleasure overcame her.

And his mind whited out as he poured himself into her. Every thrusting drop. Every throbbing breath.

Hers.

All of him.

Hers.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Anna stretched, feeling the glorious shift of her skin against his. Odd how she wasn’t sleepy. It was well past midnight and, of course, she’d rested after…oh so many glorious things. He murmured something as she moved against him. She felt his muscles flex as his arm came around her. And she nestled close, smelling his scent as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

‘Anna,’ he said, his voice low. ‘I would like to speak with you.’

‘So formal,’ she teased. ‘Don’t you want to sleep?’ She said the words but she punctuated them with kisses along his torso. Oh, how she loved his chest!

He touched her chin, tilting her head up until she looked into his eyes. Her smile faded as she saw his serious expression.

Damn. He was going to end this moment. He was going to talk to her about the future and she would have to face all the uncertainties ahead.

‘No,’ she whispered, as she straightened up in bed. She let the sheet pool at her waist, exposing her upper body to his gaze. She loved it when he looked at her, his nostrils flaring and his gaze hot. But instead of shifting up to claim her again, he slowly stroked across her near thigh.

‘Yes. Anna, we must talk.’ He would not be deterred.

‘I spoke with the abbot yesterday. He told me about the pressures on a prince. The things needed to be effective. He told me that whatever you might promise me now, reality will make you change it.’

He straightened, his expression darkening as he rose to face her. ‘You doubt my word?’

‘I…’ What did she mean? ‘I mean that I wanted tonight. No matter what happens today, I made my choice. And I do not regret it.’

‘And do you love me?’ he pressed.

Her heart constricted and, unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears. She turned away from him, pulling the coverlet up around her shoulders. Of course she loved him. And she wanted everything he offered but she could not bring herself to believe it. She knew she wasn’t cursed but deep inside, she did not believe she could have everything she wanted.

‘Anna,’ he said. ‘I love you.’

She jolted, her gaze jumping to his. He had never said those words to her. No one had ever said those words to her but that it was him made her heart beat painfully in her throat. And when he saw the shock on her face, his lips twisted in a self-mocking grin.

‘I see I should have said so earlier.’

She swallowed. ‘You… Deva…’ She didn’t know what to say.

‘Do you know what it is for a prince of Siam to swear his love? It is his bond. His promise.’

‘I love you,’ she whispered, unable to match the force of his words. Her love felt tragic because she knew the truth of a Siamese marriage. He might love her now but in ten years? Twenty? There would be a dozen new wives. A dozen new girls to tempt him away from her.