*Ella*
Ryatt’s tongue drags over my core. He trembles with a low, satisfied growl that fills the room and blurs my senses. He grips my thighs–hard. Hard enough that I’d thrust back to reality and there’s nothing but the feel of his mouth on my skin and his tongue slowly, so achingly slowly, sliding up and done my entrance.
My heart is racing. I feel it will burst out of my chest. No one has ever done this to me before. Even in college, during those crazy parties I’d attended with my sorority sisters and roommates, I’d never done more than kiss someone. I’d always backed out, or the guy would get nervous about going any further with the royal princess.
But Ryatt… he’s not going to stop until I’m a writhing mess in his hands, and I can’t take it anymore.
Ripples of pure pleasure erupt over my skin. My toes curl, and I close my eyes and bury my fingers in his hair, giving him the green light to do what he wants.
Another low growl breaks through the still night air in the room as he grazes his teeth over my clit. Oh, Goddess! I arch my head back and grit my teeth, trembling as my body reacts to his ministrations. Every swipe of his tongue is slow, teasing, and testing. It’s like he knows how good this feels for me and is doing everything in his power to draw this out just to see me squirm. Just to hear me beg, I realize.
“Please!” I cry out, my voice husky and unrecognizable.
His devilish laugh dusts over my inner thighs as he presses a kiss to my mound. “Are you in a hurry, Princess?”
“Oh, my Goddess, I can’t–” I’m mumbling like an idiot, unable to form the words to tell him what I want, what I need from him. “Ryatt–”
I arch off the mattress when he slides a finger inside of me. “Ryatt!” I let go of his hair and grip the sheets. I can't stop myself from writhing against his hand, sliding up and down his finger while his thumb circles my clit, chasing my own pleasure.
“That’s it,” he rasps, his voice breathy and full of smoke. He leans forward so we’re nose to nose and kisses me deeply, stealing the whimpered moan that escapes my lips.
“Please,” I beg. “I want you so badly. I need you–”
He kisses me hard, drawing his tongue along my lower lip until I open for him. His tongue glides over mine. “You’re mine,” he says.
The dream of us on that balcony overlooking that mysterious city floods my mind. He’d said that to me in my dream, reminding me who my heart belongs to. How many times had I had that same dream and woke up trembling and sweating, my hand drifting between my thighs to chase the pleasure I’d been robbed of?
The thought must have drifted between us down the bond because he groans and presses his forehead to mine before reaching between us to unclasp his pants.
Am I crazy for allowing this to happen? I’ve heard whispers about what happens between mates once the bond is confirmed. I remember my own brother being a defensive, brooding mess when Maddy walked into his life. He’d been ready to shred any man who even looked in his mate’s direction.
With some much at risk in Ryatt’s kingdom, is this even fair to him?
I open my eyes to find him looking down at me. He releases his grip on me, withdrawing his finger and places a hand on my lower belly.
“Are you reading my thoughts?” I whisper into the dark.
He runs his tongue over his lower lip, his expression shifting to something edged with concern. “I could hurt you, Ella. I could hurt you more than it’s possible for me to hurt anyone else.”
“I don’t believe you.”
His eyes light on mine as gray morning light drifts through the curtains, sending tendrils of silver creeping over the bed, over his skin. I reach between us and unbutton his shirt, my fingers lingering on his muscled chest and abdomen. When I look up again, I say as gently and softly as possible, “I trust you.”
That breaks something in him. The possessive, feral look in his eyes shifts to something softer. Heat still flares between us as I trail my fingers over his skin until I reach his waist.
I reach further, the heel of my hand pressing down the length of his cock. Oh, Goddess. Maybe I’ve bit off more than I can chew.
But knowing this man is going to fill me, to stretch me, to claim me as his own has wetness pooling between my thighs again. I rub them together, needing the friction it causes as I draw in a breath and run my hand up his length, pressing harder this time.
He exhales through gritted teeth and closes his eyes.
Knowing what I’m about to say next will pull him from his internal debate and back into the heated frenzy I need, I whisper, “I want you inside of me.”
He grips the sheets on either side of my hips.
“I want you to claim me, Alpha,” I continue in a purr that brushes over his skin as I press a kiss to his chest, then his neck. “Take me. I’m yours. Mate.”
He’s undressed before I can fill my lungs again, the head of his cock pressing against my entrance. He’s huge, but I expected this. Somewhere in my filthy mind, I knew this would be true. Already over a foot taller than me and broader than any man I’d ever seen, I imagined he’d be absolutely enormous in other areas.
But I’m unprepared for the stretch as he presses deeper, my walls squeezing him tight. I place my hand on his chest as my body goes rigid with sudden pain. He stops, panting, and pulls out.
“This is what I meant,” he rasps, but the heat and desire behind his eyes is undeniable as he thrust back in again, hitting home.
I arch my hips into his and wrap my legs around his waist despite the sting and cry out his name like a prayer as he hits that barrier, and then I am his, and he is mine, and the room around us spins until it’s nothing but silver moonlight.
Every thrust is trained on my pleasure. He’s going slow now, pressing as deep as he can and pulling out to just the tip. He bites down on his lip and grunts with effort as he drives his cock into me again. “Goddess, you’re paradise.”
My eyes flutter closed as the pain gives way to an exquisite fullness that leaves me utterly breathless. He hooks his arms under my shoulders, his face buried in my neck as he thrusts into me again, his hips grinding against mine in a way that hits that spot that sends prickles of pleasure dancing through my body. I lock my ankles together around his lower back and cant my hips, allowing him deeper access.
“You,” he growls, nipping my ear, “are so fucking tight. You are–” he grunts with satisfaction as a mewling moan escapes my lips. “You are so good, Ella. Such a good girl.” His teeth graze my jaw, then his lips are on mine.
Pressure builds between us. His cock glides out of me slowly, like he’s savoring the feel of me around him.
“I want to feel you come on my cock, Princess,” he growls, biting my lower lip.
His tone is enough to make me quake as he reaches between us to circle his thumb over my swollen, throbbing clit.
Ryatt’s thrusts echo the movements of his thumb until I’m shaking, and my muscles are going taunt, my heels digging into his back. White-hot pleasure erupts through my lower belly and thighs, and then I’m falling headfirst over the edge of oblivion, dragging him down with me.
“Oh, Ryatt!” I scream, my muscles clamping down around him and spasming. My climax tears through my body like a tidal wave.
He grips my hip with one hand and roars loud enough for the glass panes in the window to tremble.
He spills himself inside of me as I come undone around him, a warmth spreading through my belly. My tender, aching breasts are pressed against his chest as I grab either side of his face and kiss him hard, our teeth clashing.
He’s still inside of me when he flips us over so I’m straddling him now.
I plant my hands on his chest and look down at him. We’re both slick with sweat, and panting. I can feel his heart racing under my hands. His palms are on my waist, his cock still buried deep within me.
I look into his eyes and feel nothing but desire.
He’s still hard when I start moving my hips back and forth, the base of his shaft rubbing against my clit.
“Ella,” he grunts, his grip tightening.
My lips part and sweat beads along my brow as I pick up the pace, gliding up and down and loving the feel of every sweet inch of his cock stretching me even further from this new position. I’m sore, but it only adds to the pleasure building in my lower belly once more.
“Ella,” he says again, but eyes close, and his hands drift to my breasts, cupping them roughly. I can tell he’s loving how they bounce as I ride him.
My hair falls around us as I lean down to kiss him.
The sun rises while we explore each other with our mouths, and our fingers, and his cock buried inside of me. His skin is bathed in gold when we finally fall into each other's arms and fall asleep before our heads hit the pillows.
I wake to midday sun baking the room in a warmth I haven’t felt since I arrived in this strange world. I reach my hand across the bed and find it empty. Sitting up, I blink into the sunlight streaming through the window, which is open a crack to let in the fresh, autumn air.
New scents hit me and momentarily blur my senses. Flowers, spices, and smoke fill the room. Lifted chatter and music drift through the air.
I slide out of bed, wincing at the soreness between my legs, and walk to the window. Sunlight bathes my naked body in shimmering gold as I look down at the lake.
“There’s a lunar eclipse tonight,” Ryatt says, and I turn around to find him leaning on the bedroom door frame, fully dressed, holding a tray of food. His eyes rove down the length of my naked body and back up to my face. Hunger flashes behind his eyes. “They’re setting up for the party tonight.”
I clutch the windowsill behind me and watch as he enters the room and sets the tray on a side table. He starts stalking toward me, clenching and unclenching his fists as his gaze travels from my face to my neck, then to my breasts. My heart quickens as his scent hits me. I can sense his arousal, I can see it in his eyes as he cages me against the window.
“Are you hungry, Princess?”
My heart is in my throat as his fingers drift through my hair, his hand cupping the back of my head. He tilts my face to the side and presses a kiss to my neck, suckling and biting the tender, sensitive skin behind my ear. I grip his waist and press my naked hips against his, silently cursing the fact he’s fully clothed.
“Later,” he whispers. “I mean to show you everything I’ve been dreaming of doing to you, of every way I want to fuck you, Ella. But right now, we have an issue that needs to be addressed.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask breathlessly, pulling away from him.
He rolls his lower lip between his teeth and tilts his head to the side, looking slightly annoyed, and more than surprised.
“Granger and Amanda… have been chosen for the Rite.”
I furrow my brow. “What the hell is the Rite?”