“I don’t want to think about that now.” He laid his hand on top of hers, his fingers lacing with hers. “It feels so damn good when you touch me this way.”
She straightened then climbed over his body and straddled his torso. His cock felt good—incredibly good—warm and rigid, yet velvety soft where it nudged her swollen cunt lips. “Touch me, too,” she said, watching his expression change to one of wonder—of lust—when he looked up and finally met her gaze. “And let me fuck my Master.”
“Untie me and I will.”
Emerald slipped the silk scarf down over his large hand. “I believe I’ll leave your legs tied so I can have my way with you.”
Arik’s balls tightened. His cock throbbed. Once his hand was free he wasted not one moment before impaling his mate, his beautiful Emerald whose wet, swollen cunt told him better than words how much she wanted him.
She wanted him as he was now, not as he’d once been before his father had commanded his death. And he wanted her. His only regret as he stroked her satin skin and took her nipples between his teeth was that he couldn’t turn back time, be the perfect lover for his perfect love.
But he could. Somehow it no longer seemed important to Arik that he continue making his father pay on a daily basis for having tried to kill him. He’d seek out Pak Song and let the surgeons and the cyborg maker remake him.
Later. Blood slammed into his groin when Emerald leaned over and laid soft kisses on his ravaged cheek. Her plump ass cheek filled his hand, firm but woman-soft. Steadying her with his stump while she fucked his cock, he slipped two fingers up her ass and gently fucked her there. When she took his mouth and sucked his tongue between her lips, her tight, wet cunt contracted around his cock.
He swallowed her little scream, answering with a harsh bellow when his climax slammed into him. Gods but he loved her. He even loved his father for having contracted the match between them. Without thinking, he cradled her to his body with his naked stump—an act he’d never imagined he would do.
Chapter Six
At first he stayed in his chamber with Emerald, sharing meals with her when previously he’d dined in solitary splendor, enjoying her companionship as well as her gorgeous body, but gradually he started venturing into his father’s court.
With his princess at his side, accepting him as he was, Arik began to venture out of the shadows. Not all at once, for he’d spent too much time in darkness and despair. During the next weeks he shed the all-encompassing leather in favor of an opaque, hooded robe that left most of his face visible but allowed him to hide the ravaged side from impressionable women and children.
His impulsive resolve to restore himself as much as possible had weakened with the realization that his mate accepted him as he was, for he dreaded the months of recuperation from surgeries he’d been told were so complex they couldn’t be performed using modern laser techniques. Though he’d softened toward his father, Arik still felt a bit of satisfaction that the king was paying emotionally for having caused his ruined face and broken body.
That afternoon, after they ate lunch in the palace dining room and retired to their tower, Emerald took Arik’s hand. “My lord, I would like to go to the city and visit my father and sisters. I want you to meet them since the king refused to allow them to attend our mating. Would you…”
His first reaction was to refuse, for he cringed at the idea of leaving the palace now that she’d become his constant companion. He didn’t want his father’s subjects to gawk at him but couldn’t imagine himself going out without being covered.
I would be a beast to refuse her time with her family. I can’t expect my princess to live in the isolation I crave. He hated hearing the hesitation in her voice. “If you wish it, although I’d prefer that they come here. Do you truly want them to see the monster who is your Master?”
“You are no monster. You’re my Master, a lover beyond what I hoped for in my wildest fantasies. And you’re my friend as well.”
“As you are mine.” The look she gave him warmed his heart. She had given him back a life he’d thought was over. He could do no less for her. “I have decided to do what I can to remedy this.” Lifting his arm with its wicked-looking hook, he gestured toward his face. “You deserve better than to spend your life confined within the palace walls because of my affliction. I will tell my father I’ve decided to see the surgeons and the cyborg maker, and listen to their recommendations.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “You’ve suffered too much already. Please don’t do this for me.”