A Royal World Apart(24)

“This is like a movie,” she said. “Only I doubt it will fade to black at the important part.”

“It better not,” he said, opening the door to her room and setting her on the bed.

He put his knee down on the soft mattress and bent to kiss her, she arched against him, returning the kiss eagerly, her tongue soft and slick against his.

Just the thought of where it would lead, of how it would feel to have her soft, bare body pressed against his, of what it would be like to slide into her tight, wet heat, made him shake.

As the image entered his mind, so did another concern. He swore.

“What?” she asked.

“Protection. I haven’t got any, for obvious reasons.”

“I … I saw some,” she said, her voice small.

“You did?”

“In my bathroom.”

It took him a moment to remember he’d let Jiminez, one of the most trusted men on his staff, stay in the chalet last summer when he’d had some heat put on him by opposing factions. He hadn’t given him permission to bring a woman, but he’d never been so grateful for someone to breach protocol in his life. “One of my operatives,” he said.

“I believe what you said to me,” she said. “If I didn’t …” she looked up at the ceiling, then around. “Well, if I didn’t we shouldn’t be here. This might be temporary, but … we do have a connection. At least I feel one with you.”

In all honesty, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt connected with anything. Anything beyond vague, cold concepts of honor, of right and wrong. He’d cut off the flow to his heart and dwelt in his head.

But Eva forced him back to his body, back to feelings and passion and desire. Caring. Things he’d been certain he’d lost.

“This is beyond my experience,” he said, knowing he owed her honesty. No empty promises. “And you are the most amazing woman.”

She smiled faintly. “You say the nicest things.”

Nice. He’d never been accused of being nice. “I’ll get the condoms.”

Eva was there, waiting for him, her mouth curved up, resting on the pillows, her breasts bare. She was a temptress, every fantasy, every desire he’d ever had come to life.

He curled his hand into a fist, felt the hard bite of his wedding ring. He paused for a moment, lifting his hand to examine it. He pulled it off and set it on the dresser.

Tonight, in this bed, there would be no ghosts from the past. There would be nothing but Eva and Mak. Nothing but their desire. Their pleasure. He would make sure of that.

He unbuttoned his shirt and discarded it before working at his belt. She was watching him, her eyes rapt on him. He pushed his jeans down his hips, discarding his underwear with them, before joining her on the bed.

He lay across from her, on his side, facing her, and she rolled so that she was facing him, the indent of her waist and flare of her hip even more dramatic and provocative in that pose. She reached out and touched his arm, her fingertips drifting from his bicep to his chest, her light touch skimming over his nipples. His muscles jerked beneath her hand and his erection hardened even more, so hard it was nearly painful now.

He pushed her dress down her hips, taking her panties with it, leaving her completely naked. He couldn’t stop looking at her. At her utter perfection. The smoothness of her skin, the roundness of her curves, the dark shadow at the apex of her thighs, her lush breasts.

“You are everything a woman should be,” he said.

She reached out and put her hand on his chest. “You’re everything, more, than I imagined a man could be, so … maybe we’re even?”

“Not even close,” he said. “I am outmatched.”

She kissed him and for a moment, he was lost in it. He pulled her to him, every bare inch of her against every bare inch of him. She put her leg over his, exposing the heart of her more fully to him, bringing her in even closer.

He moved his hands over her skin, over and over, cupping her butt, relishing every bit of her feminine perfection. She moaned into his mouth and he flipped her to her back, holding himself over her.

Her eyes widened and he dipped his head to kiss the valley between her breasts. “You have to bear with me, printzyessa,” he said, trying to disguise the tremor in his voice, “because I have had a lot of years to think about this moment. And there are things I desire … and I must take my time so I can have all of them.”

“I don’t … is there time?” she asked. Her voice shook.

“We have all night. Days.” He kissed her ribs, her stomach, her hipbone.

“Oh … Mak.”

“I like that,” he said, smiling against her skin. “My name on your lips. I’ll work very hard to make sure I hear it often.”

He touched her inner thigh and she parted her legs for him. He pressed a kiss to the tender skin and she shivered. “Mak.”

“Like that,” he said, kissing her thigh again, closer to her core. “Just like that.” He slid his finger over her wetness, as he’d longed to do. He moved his fingers over her clitoris. She responded with a low moan, and he repeated the motion.

Then he dipped his head and tasted her, roaring heat firing through him, igniting his smoldering desire into an inferno. Her hips bucked and he stilled them, using his mouth and fingers on her, his stomach tight with longing.

The need to keep pleasuring her like that forever, the need to take everything with no finesse and no thought for anything but his own desire—they warred with each other, the lusts of his flesh at odds, in ecstasy.

He felt her tense beneath his touch, her body pulsing around his fingers as he continued to lavish attention on her with his tongue. She gripped his shoulders and cried out his name, her voice hoarse, her fingernails biting his skin.

Pride, pleasure so acute it was almost pain, flooded him. He had brought her to the peak, had make her lose herself in her release. He had given Eva all she deserved. And he intended to give her more, even as he took for himself.

He lifted his head, keeping his fingers inside her tight wet body, establishing a rhythm, making sure she stayed ready. He reached beside him with his other hand and picked up the condom strip, abandoning Eva’s pleasure for a moment while he tore off a packet and opened it.

“May I?” She extended her hand, and he gave her the packet. She took the condom out. “First things first,” she whispered, wrapping her hand around his naked shaft, squeezing him tightly.

He sucked in a sharp breath, pleasure piercing him.

“Good?” she asked.

“Good doesn’t cover it,” he said, echoing her earlier words.

She rolled the condom onto his length, her movements slow, methodical, achingly arousing. “Just perfect,” she said, a smile on her lips.

He drew her to him and kissed her, lying her back down on the soft bed. She parted her thighs for him, one hand on his back, the other sliding to his butt, urging him on, urging him home. He slid into her slowly, pausing when her breath hitched, letting her grow accustomed to having him inside her. Letting himself acclimate to the feeling of her heat around him.

He gritted his teeth, every muscle in his body so tense it quivered, his arms and thighs shaking as he tried to keep from thrusting into her, hard and fast. When she arched into him, he would give them both more, and when she tensed, he stopped again, giving them both a moment to breathe.

Finally, he was buried inside her, her legs locked around him, a sweet sigh on her lips. He kissed it away, catching the noises of pleasure that escaped, claiming them for himself. Calling his name up from her again and again as he moved inside of her.

The intimacy of it jarred him, the reality of being inside Eva’s body far surpassing any fantasy, any depiction on screen or in books. She was surrounding him. Her breath, her voice, her softness, her scent. His world was reduced to her. Was dependent on her.

She stiffened beneath him, her full breasts pushed against his chest, and he felt the pulse of her orgasm around his erection. Deep, raw need overtook him, his thrusts losing all measure of control, all rhythm, as his mind lost its connection with time and space.

There was nothing but Eva. Nothing but her body, their connection.

He let go of everything, everything but the intense feelings rolling through his body. It was like going over the edge of a cliff, release roaring through him as he fell into ultimate, uncontrolled sensation. His chest burned, sensation bursting through him as he found his pleasure.

In the aftermath, he pulled her to him, resting his forehead on hers. She moved her hands over his chest, murmuring words so tender, so sweet, they were like balm, spreading healing over his soul.

He held her as his heart quieted, until his muscles stopped shaking. Until his hands stopped trembling.

In the morning, they might regret it. He would find his way back to his controlled, careful path. There would be recriminations.

But that was for the morning. Tonight he would allow himself to stay lost. Lost in Eva.

It felt better than being found ever had.





CHAPTER TEN


EVA had woken up that morning feeling the same. Turning twenty-one hadn’t made her feel any different. But she felt different now.

She turned and looked at Mak. He was on his back, his eyes closed, the lines in his face more shallow as he slept, his expression relaxed. His chest was bare, the hard, cut lines of his muscles exposed, tempting. She traced the ridge that ran down the center of his abs, down to the point covered by the sheet. The bit of fabric rode tantalizingly low, giving her a tease, a taste of the rest of his body without giving it all away.