Anwen
Estrella never comes back to my side. At first, I'm worried-did something happen? Has Floyd moved from murder to kidnapping? But I would feel her pain, and I know she wasn't having a good time. Plus, I'm used to running these events on my own. It's easier to float through unattached, saying whatever each person needs to hear without worrying about another person keeping up. And Baz needs someone to cart his sorry ass out before he throws up in the punch bowl.
When I'm done depositing him in his room, I hesitate in the hallway. If I turn right, I can head straight for my room and pass out before the meeting about the archery tournament I have tomorrow morning. King Andri's going to be there, so I have to be on top of it. But if I turn left, the hall will take me to Estrella's room...
The ball went damn well. We're making progress, and King Andri seemed about as pleasant as he ever is. I deserve a reward. And to make sure Estrella really is just tired. I take off to the left.
A little walking, and I knock on her door. No response. But we agreed, since customs in Solberg Castle dictate we can't actually share a bed until we're married, that I could just walk in whenever I wanted to see her. She has nothing to hide from me anymore. So I pull out the key, unlock it, and stride in.
Her front room holds nothing more than the usual furniture and a fireplace burning low to keep just warm enough overnight. She's already asleep? Her scent is thick enough in here that I'm not worried she's anywhere else, but the ball is still ongoing downstairs. I just wanted to leave before people started pairing off. How is she already asleep?
I creep into her bedroom. Here, too, the lights are low, the curtains drawn. But her canopy isn't pulled tight around her mattress, so I can see her, wearing only a nightgown with her hair loose around her shoulders, staring down at a book in her hands.
"I lost you out there," I say.
"You seemed to have it well in hand," she replies cryptically.
"You didn't want to say good night?"
She turns a page in her book. "Good night, Anwen."
Fuck, what I wouldn't give for a mind-link right now!
I perch on the edge of her bed. "It seems like something is wrong."
"Really?" she replies acidly.
"Really." My temper bubbles under the surface of my skin. Why the hell am I putting in all this effort if she's just going to freeze me out?
"I'm surprised you noticed, through your crowd of admirers," she says.
Clarity dawns. "Are you jealous?"
"No."
I slide along the bed toward her, trying to catch her eye. "You are. You didn't like seeing me dance with other women. If you'd said something-"
"Saying things was working so terribly well for me, after all." Hot color rises on her cheeks.
"What?"
She daggers me with her glare. "Prince Hollis thinks me an idiot."
"I'll set him straight." I crack my knuckles. Hollis has always been cocky for my taste.
She grabs my hands as I do, utterly unromantic. "I do not want you to fight my battles for me."
Something in my chest aches. Maybe it's my newly discovered protective instinct. "Right."
"I mean-" She shakes her head. "I do not know what I mean. You should go. I'm in a foul mood."
"I don't think so. We're doing this the hard way." I cross my arms. "You have to talk to me."
"I do not have to do anything." She tries to draw herself up, which only makes her nipples poke against the thin front of her nightgown.
My mouth waters. Between my cock and my frustration, my patience for doing things properly is quickly fading.
"Fine," I growl. "We'll do it the really hard way."
I lunge for her. She tries to scramble away, but as always, I'm faster. I grab her wrists, pin them to the wall overhead, and toss her book aside. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, and her pupils grow.
"Tell me why you're upset," I repeat.
She eyes me for a moment. "No."
A true growl tears from my lips, but I recognize the small sparkle of amusement in her gaze. She's toying with me.
I'll show her what it means to be toyed with.
I shred her nightgown down to her waist and don't even let her finish gasping before my mouth is on her. The skin of her breasts is warm and soft, obviously perfumed from a bath. How long has she been up here? Did I really forget about her for that long? She'd be right to be pissed, if so. But right now, I can barely think about anything beyond the taste of her, the kisses I'm brushing against her skin.
Estrella arches up into me. She rotates her wrists in my grasp, struggling to escape, but I hold fast. Clearly, she wants my touch just as much as I want hers. I circle one nipple with my tongue, scrape my teeth across it, pluck the other like harp string. Groans tumble from her lips. She'll tell me the truth eventually.
Abruptly, I pull back. "Why were you upset?"
"Were?" She barks a laugh, a real smile on her lips. "I still am. Release me!"
I believe she's still upset. But I also feel her grinding against my leg, desperate for any kind of friction. It's always stubbornness and pride with her. I grin hungrily.
"I will when you talk to me." I rip the covers off her and loosen my grasp on her wrists just enough to spin her around until her face is in the pillow and her ass in the air. The fire turns her nightgown sheer, the dark shadows of her legs clearly visible through the white fabric. Just as visible as the wet spot she left on it, right between her legs. I drag my tongue across it, making her moan, then destroy the rest of the dress.
"Nothing to hide anymore, right?" I grip her ass to watch the flesh jiggle.
She jerks back into my palm, begging for more. "Yes!"
"Then tell me." I press kisses along the line of her back and palm myself through my pants like I'm not already rock fucking hard.
"I-can't!" she groans. "It is ridiculous."
"Never to me." I sink my lips into her ass cheek and pull another moan from her lips.
"Liar," she hisses.
She always needs more. Luckily, I'm happy to provide. I shove my pants down to my knees, line up my cock with her weeping entrance, and shove inside. Estrella nearly screams with pleasure, but her body accepts me easily. I fuck her hard, bend over her back, and palm one of her swaying breasts. She is so perfect, so beautiful underneath me like this. Exactly how the Goddess wanted us to be. How fucking stupid to have waited this long.
Estrella clenches around me, a sure sign she's approaching orgasm. I gather all the willpower I've ever had and pull out.
She keens, high and pitiful. "What are you doing?"
"Incentivizing you." I grin even though she can't see me. "Tell me, and I'll fuck you."
She fights my hold on her wrists harder, which I didn't expect. Stupid. Of course she'd choose to fight before giving in. She manages to slip a single hand out and shoves it between her legs, furiously chasing the orgasm I denied her.
By the Goddess, I almost let her. I've never seen anything sexier in my life than my mate, wet and panting, trying to finish herself. But that's the easy way, and I'm not supposed to be doing that anymore.
Tonight, I'm fucking loving her the hard way.
I rip her wrist away, one in each hand now, and flatten my whole body over hers so she can't reach anything else. Our harsh breathing rings in my ears, mingled, thwarted want. My cock rests against the curve of her ass.
"I made a fool of myself," she murmurs. "I had no idea how many rules there were and... and you abandoned me."
"Abandoned you?"
She rolls over beneath me so we lay chest to chest. "I said I needed air, then asked if you wanted any. You said no. You never came looking for me."
Memories filter back in proving every word she's saying. I wince. "I didn't realize that meant you wanted me to leave with you. I was talking to-"
"The tall, beautiful redhead?" She frowns. "Or was it one of the many brunettes?"
"I'm not going to lie about my past." I kiss the corner of her mouth. "I had a lot of women before you. But they're all that-the past."
She studies me for a long moment. "You are not marrying me to become Alpha?"
I laugh. "I don't know if I can handle the job."
"At the next ball, I will ask you for a walk around the garden when I want you to leave with me."
"I will teach you everything I know about the court." I drop kisses along her jaw. "And send out a public announcement that I'm a one-woman man."
She sucks a deep bruise into my neck. "Perhaps that announcement is unnecessary."
I shudder. "Deal."
Together, we line back up, and I slip into the warm heat of her again. Estrella seems determined to cover me in so many bruises no one will see my skin again, but the pace is slower, less frantic. I don't have to force anything anymore. We careen over the edge together, each other's names on our lips.