*Ainslee*
The bedroom door is unlocked. Zoey didn’t leave it that way when she cleared my dinner tray and said goodnight about an hour ago, but as soon as I was certain she’d disappeared from the hallway, I went over and unlocked it. I know that Prince Rafe has a key, but I want him to feel invited in.
He already knows that I wouldn’t deny him entry, and I mean that in every way possible.
Standing in front of the window in a slinky satin nightgown I found in one of the drawers and put on after Zoey departed, I stare out at the moonlight, watching the beams color the garden in an ethereal blue. It looks heavenly, like something out of a painting. I’ve never had a view like this before. Back home, everything is gray, and moonlight only makes it grayer. Here, everything is full of color and life, even though the people walking around in the castle my kind considered to be already dead.
But when I kiss Rafe, when I touch him, it’s impossible for me to think of him that way. I don’t see him as just a soulless creature that died hundreds of years ago. I see him as a vibrant man with emotions and cravings, very much like myself.
I’ve never asked him about his human life or how long he’s been this way, but none of that matters to me. I just want to be with him.
The lies he’s told me, the half-truths, the fact that he may or may not be engaged to Riley, the possibility that he may sell me or trade me to another kingdom, I can’t make any of it become more important in my mind than the fact that I long for his touch.
It seems silly, really, to be so irrational and impulsive. Back home, I could never be so impractical. I had to worry about my family first, my future. Here, the present is all consuming. I have time to slow down and pay attention to my needs.
And I need him.
When the door creaks open, I don’t have to turn to know it’s him. Not only does his scent announce his arrival long before he enters the room, I can feel him. It’s as if my soul is connected to his, the one he’s not supposed to have, and they call to one another in a way my mind isn’t capable of comprehending.
He comes up behind me and wraps one arm around my waist, the other resting on my hip as he pulls me against him. I take a deep breath and lean back, my eyes closing as I savor his touch. Tipping my head back on his shoulder, I know I am exposing my neck to him, but I’m not afraid, not even when I feel his lips brush against my throat, feel a slight nip from his teeth as he explores that sensitive area.
Part of me wants to feel his teeth sink into my flesh. I want to know how it feels to have my life blood flowing into him. I’ve heard vampires tend to bite when they’re having sex, but I say nothing to him about it, letting him take the lead. As long as he doesn’t release any venom into my bloodstream, he can’t turn me into one of those nasty hybrids. So why not let him have a taste?
His hand slides down my inner thigh, and I find myself instinctively spreading my legs for him. He gathers my nightgown out of the way and then slips his fingers beneath it so that he’s touching my skin only inches away from my aching core. I’m wearing a thin strip of lace beneath the gown, and I can feel it soaking through. Every movement of his hand leaves me gasping for air as I long for him to calm the ache inside of me.
Unable to stand the teasing anymore, I move my hand on top of his and urge him to ease the burning sensation between my legs. He lets me move his hand, though he keeps it on the outside of my thong. Still, having him touch me there, feeling the pressure of his fingertips against my slit, sends a wave of passion through me. “Goddess, Rafe,” I moan, begging him to do more.
He keeps his hand there, kneading me through my sopping wet panties, but his other one glides up my side to the thin strap holding my nightgown in place. Rather than moving it down my arm, he snaps it, and my gown falls down on one side, exposing my breast.
Taking me in his hand, he cups my mound, squeezing lightly, sending another wave of heat through my body. When is fingers move to my nipple, I let out a soft moan. He works my hardened peak between his thumb and first finger, kissing my cheek and the side of my face.
I turn to him, and he captures my mouth in an intense kiss that leave me breathless. His fingers slide between the lacy edges of my thong, and now his cool fingers are exploring my heated slit. He doesn’t push inside of me, but I find myself rocking against his hand, my body pleading with him to enter me.
I feel his erection against my bottom and back. I have no idea how I will ever fit all of that inside of me, but I’m longing to find out. While his fingers slide along my slick folds, I move against him whimpering slightly as I imagine how good he will fill buried deep within me.
Rafe releases my breast to break my other strap, and then when my gown is free and pooling around my waist, he moves his hands for a moment to let it fall to the ground. I turn around to face him now, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his neck. I want his hands back on me—I want them inside of me—but I want to feel him with my fingertips.
He doesn’t leave me waiting for long. It takes him just an instant to break through the lacy thong. Both sides destroyed, it joins my gown on the floor. Then, he reaches around behind me, and I spread my legs for him, craving his fingers on my sex again. His touch from behind me makes me feel vulnerable in a way I can’t explain, but I also find myself leaning back into his hand, still begging him silently to enter me.
He moves his hand away and grabs my ass with one hand, moving the other back to one breast while his mouth clamps down on my nipple. My head tips back, and I lift a leg to his hip, the pleasure is so intense. I’m about to come undone from the simple feeling of his tongue swirling around my nipple, and he’s still fully dressed.
Realizing this isn’t fair, I begin to unbutton his shirt. He chuckles under his breath, probably wondering when I was going to notice he was still wearing his suit. I get his shirt about halfway unbuttoned when he decides he’s done waiting, too. Rafe lifts me off the floor and drops me on the bed.
In the moonlight, he stands before me, peeling off his jacket, and unbuttoning his shirt. I scoot back on the bed, biting down on my lip as I lean up on my elbow, panting with desire for him.
His chest glistens, ripples of muscle just as I’d imagined revealed to me as he kicks off his shoes and socks and makes short work of his belt. Everything about him is perfect from his strong shoulders to his biceps to his pecs and abs.
When he drops his pants, I see he’s not wearing any underwear and wonder if he’s been thinking about me all night to. That thought, and all other conscious ideas, leave my mind for a moment as I focus on his enormous cock. I knew it was huge when I felt it before, but seeing it now, I begin to wonder how this will work.
He drops down on the bed, and I spread my legs for him, thinking he will dive right in. Again, he chuckles at me, but then he says the first words either of us have spoken since he entered the room. “Not quite yet, baby. You’re not ready.”
“I’m ready,” I insist, thinking if he makes me wait much longer, I may come undone all by myself.
“You might think you are, but you’re not. I’m a big guy, and you’re a tiny woman. Besides, this is your first time, isn’t it?”
I only nod, wondering how he knows that but too breathless to ask. He is positioned between my legs, hovering over me slightly, and when I feel his fingers begin their exploration again, I close my eyes and concentrate on the feel of him.
I touch his skin, trailing my fingertips along his chest and lower, then around his sides to his back. He feels exactly the way I expected him to, and with each pass of my fingers over his flesh, I become wetter. His fingers are coated in my juices, and I am rocking again, wishing he’d push inside.
When he does, it’s with only one finger at first. It doesn’t hurt. In fact, it feels so good, I whimper a bit. He is stretching me, trying to prepare my body for his, so he adds another finger, which is a little uncomfortable at first, but after a moment, I am ready for more.
Rafe takes his time working to prepare me for what is to come. It all feels so good, my body is vibrating beneath him. When he touches my most sensitive area, I gasp and grab his wrist, holding it in place.
“You like that?” He kisses me by my ear, and I nod, which makes him swirl harder.
I truly think I could lose it just by him touching me, but I want all of him. “Please, my Prince, I’m ready,” I say, being extra submissive. “I want you so bad.”
“I want you, too,” he whispers. “Ever since that day I first saw you outside the bakery, I’ve wondered what you felt like, what you taste like.” I feel his tip brushing against my entryway and move my hips down as if I can somehow force him inside of me.
He continues to talk to me. “Your copper hair glistens like the sun. Your eyes are so deep and blue, your skin so soft.”
I’m captivated by his words and drunk on the feeling of him so much so that when he moves his hips and pushes inside of me, I hardly notice at first.
“You’re as intelligent as you are beautiful. Clever and kind….”
He pushes deeper, and I feel it now. My mouth drops open in a silent scream, but then, it lessons, and I can breathe again.
“You’re incredible, Ainslee,” Rafe tells me as he begins to move inside of me. “And now you’re mine.”
I’m not sure if that’s all of him yet or only most, but I don’t care. He feel so good, I feel tears spring to my eyes. We begin to move together, my body craving every inch of him and instinctively reacting to him as he sets the rhythm.
My fingers roam free over his body, our lips and tongues meeting in kisses, wandering away to lick and suck. I feel the graze of his teeth, but he never bites me. I would let him, though, if he wanted to.
After what seems like both an eternity and only a few moments, my body begins to tighten and a sensation I’ve never felt before has me gasping as I cry out for more. It feels so good, my mind is unable to comprehend it. I know that this is what all those older kids were always snickering about back in the village, what I’d been waiting for and saving for someone special, and when I feel my muscles tighten around him and my mind go blank, I know I’m tumbling over the edge.
Rafe keeps me there, panting and pleading with him, swearing, calling on a goddess he doesn’t believe in, for so long my stomach muscles are beginning to ache. Then, he tightens up, too, and with only a small grunt, I feel him release inside of me.
When he’s done, he pulls back to look down at me. Smoothing a lock of hair away from my sweaty cheek, he asks, “Are you all right, Ainslee? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
I have a feeling I will be sore tomorrow, but for now, I am okay. “I’m fine,” I assure him.
He bends down and presses his lips to mine in a sweet, gentle kiss, and then moves off me.
Exhaustion replaces the longing I’ve felt for so long that my muscles ache from it. All I want is to sleep. Sensing this, Rafe moves me to a spot beneath the blankets and wraps me up. I reach for him, placing a hand on his chest. So many words are bottled up in my throat now. I heard every word he said to me, and I want to tell him how I feel about him, but exhaustion won’t let me.
I’m drifting off to sleep when I feel his cool lips to my forehead. I think I feel the bed shift just as I lose my fight to stay awake.
My last thought is that in the morning, everything will be different.
I won’t be wrong.