Page 3 of Clash of Kingdoms
I wanted to kiss her hard, but it came out soft, because every time I touched her, my heart ached. Everything was different now. The moment I’d given in to my weakness and said those three little words, my life had changed. I could have lied to myself forever—but I couldn’t lie to her.
So now everything was slow and purposeful. Instead of fucking her until those sparkling tears streaked down her cheeks, I wanted to touch her heart with mine, wanted to savor every kiss and every touch, to make every moment feel like an eternity.
Her fingers moved into my damp hair, and she kissed me, squeezing me anxiously with her thighs, desperate to feel me inside her.
I guided myself into her, and my tip instantly felt just how soaked she was, like she’d been thinking about me long before I’d walked through the door. I pushed inside, the tight fit easy when she was wet like this. I sank all the way, losing my breath for a second because it felt so damn good.
Her mouth ravaged mine as she started to rock her hips with me, her nails slicing down my back.
I moved with her, our quiet breaths accompanied by the sound of the crackling fire. It’d been so long since I’d done this with someone I cared about that I’d forgotten how it felt, how vulnerable it forced me to be. I couldn’t hide behind my anger or my coldness. It was all there for her to see. It was also easier to keep control over my body, because whenever we fucked, I just wanted to come the entire time. But when we made love…it was different. My mind and body didn’t want it to end. Wanted it to last forever.
She came right away, moaning against my lips, her hand gripping my ass and tugging me hard inside her.
I ended our kiss to watch, watch her hit her high and get stars in her eyes. The tears came a second later, beautiful diamonds that reflected the firelight before they fell down her cheeks.
I caught each of them with my lips and kissed her, wanting her to taste the salt of her desire. Sweat drenched my body and the muscles in my body ached, but I couldn’t feel either of those things when I was locked in this embrace.
We hadn’t spoken since our conversation by the fire, when I’d explained to her exactly why this would end. Instead of getting angry with me for not sacrificing my immortality, she calmly accepted it and then dragged me to bed, asking me to make love to her…as if that would make us both forget.
There was no hesitation before I spoke, the walls of my restraint crumbled. I’d dedicated my life to this woman, but now I dedicated my heart. “I love you, baby.” I fisted her hair and kissed her hard, falling deeper into the cocoon we made together. “I love you so fucking much.”
She squeezed my hips as she dug her hand into my hair. She said it breathlessly, her nails sharp on my flesh, her hips anxious to take more of me. “I love you too.”
I lay with her, her thigh hiked over my hip, her lips swollen from my kiss, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. Her hair stuck to her neck because of the sweat, even though I’d done all the work. No complaints.
Her fingers played with my jawline, feeling the coarse hair of my stubble, moving against the growth so she could feel the sharpness against her fingertips. She liked to touch me, always had her hands on me whenever we were in the same room together.
I watched her stare at my jawline, looking at her stunning blue eyes. I’d never appreciated a woman’s eye color before, but hers…I could look at them forever. Their depths were endless. Her kindness had its own light. And her soul…I could see that too. I could see what she couldn’t see in me.
“You were gone all day.” Her hand moved to my chest.
“I did some things for your mother.”
She nodded slightly.
“What did you do?”
“I never left the room.” Her eyes weren’t on mine as she said that, like she wanted to hide from me.
I knew she was depressed for a lot of reasons. She feared her father wouldn’t return, and she knew we would never be more than what we were right now. Combined, it was enough to keep her in bed all day. Her mother had been at the table this morning, but it was clear she didn’t want to be there, that her life was on hold until her husband returned.
“It was just one of those days, you know.”
The last time I’d had a day like that was a long time ago, and it had been more than a couple of days.
Her eyes eventually came back to me. “It feels like the first time I actually get to be with you.” Her blue eyes were emotional, shining with her love for me. “I get to sleep with you. You come home to me at the end of a long day. It’s nice.”
It was nice. I’d never been so happy and so sad simultaneously.
She continued to rub my hard chest. “Can I ask you something?”
I knew what her question was because I could feel it, feel the curiosity that had never waned. “Just because I love you and we’re in domestic bliss doesn’t mean I ever want to discuss what you’re about to ask me. Don’t take it personally—and don’t ask me again.”
She had no reaction, but inside, I could feel her jerk away. “May I ask why?”
I restrained my anger because the last time I’d failed to do so, she’d stormed out into the cold and cried…and that made me feel like shit. She was in my arms that very moment, our lives at peace, and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin that. “Because it hurts.”
Her eyes softened, and then her heart clenched. “How long ago was this?”