by Jaci Burton
"Come to me, Roarke. Make me yours."
Chapter Fourteen
Roarke paused, waiting for the guilt to wash over him, the sense of hesitancy that had held him back before.
This time, it didn't come. Only a drive to finish what they had started before. Being here with Solara felt right, as if he'd finally found light in a darkened cavern.
She was his freedom, and his heart soared.
Her nipples were already puckered, thrusting outward like the peaks at the top of a mountain, waiting for his hands, his mouth, to claim them.
"This time, there is no dream, there will be no stopping before we consummate. Tell me now that you do not want this, and I will leave."
Without hesitation, she answered. "You know what I want, Roarke. What I've wanted since the first day we met. I want you to make love to me, in every way possible. I am yours for as long as we can be together."
Relief washed over him, as he had feared he was already too late. He slipped off his breeches and shirt, then climbed into the bed, gathering her against him. Her skin was silken, her legs long, her breasts small and perfectly shaped. She was his magic, his fantasy, and the only woman he would ever give his heart to.
"I want to touch you everywhere tonight, kiss you, take you in every way you can imagine, and even some you can't. Are you ready for this, my faerie?" Her encouraging smile was all he needed to see. He dragged her on top of him, loving the freedom to stroke her back, her buttocks. Her hair spilled over his chest, the scent of her like wild summer roses.
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known." She traced his bottom lip with the tip of her finger. "And you are the most beautiful man my eyes have ever beheld." She nipped at his lip with her teeth, tugging lightly. His cock surged against her pussy, her juices seeping over his balls.
"You are wet. Have you been thinking of me?"
"Aye. I think often of your heavy cock, how hot it feels in my hand, how it pulses in my mouth. Sadly, I have yet to feel it inside me."
Rolling her over onto her back, he grinned down at her. "Oh you will feel me inside you this night, my princess. But not yet."
He captured her mouth and she met his fervor with an equality that never ceased to amaze him. He had been with many women, and yet never one as passionate as Solara. Her breasts brushed his chest, her hardened nipples teasing him. He shifted and took one globe in his mouth, laving the crest with his tongue.
She whimpered and moved her hips against him. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, and he slipped down between her legs, nestling his nose against her soft, red fur.
"Roarke." She breathed his name in a throaty whisper, winding her hands into his hair to direct him. He let out a low chuckle and took a long swipe of her swollen nether lips. Her nectar was sweet, musky, the scent of her never failing to make his cock pulse with need.
He lapped her juices, alternating tugging on her clit with his mouth and thrusting his tongue deep inside her slit. She bucked off the bed, tearing at his hair and shaking her head from side to side.
"Roarke, please, now," she begged.
He ignored her pleas, swirling his tongue over her sex, taking in the juices pouring from her. When he inserted his finger inside her and captured her clit between his lips, she tensed, cried out and flooded his hand with her climax.
Barely giving her time to catch her breath, he slipped two fingers inside her soaked pussy, gently at first, then harder as she recovered. He watched her face, the way she wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes when she was in the throes of ecstasy. He took her close to the edge again until she was crying out, begging him to fuck her.
He wanted to take her over the cliff so many times tonight that by morning she wouldn't be able to move. He wanted to delay the moment when he plunged inside her, not because he felt any semblance of guilt, but because he wanted to arouse her past the point of reason.
Trouble was, he could not wait. It had been too long already.
"Aye, my princess. Now I will give you what we have both wanted for so long." He rose over her, nudging her legs further apart with his knee and settling against her.
This was the moment, the point at which he could not return things to the way they were. Solara watched him, waiting, not saying a word, as if she knew how much he struggled with his decision.
Only this time there was no hesitation. He knew exactly what he wanted, what he had to have, and nothing would change his mind.
He eased the head of his shaft between her slit, watching the flecks in her green eyes turn a molten gold.
He poised, waiting, his cock pulsing as her cunt grabbed onto it, drawing it deeper.
Solara's lips curled into a sensual smile. He leaned down, captured her mouth and plunged inside her, drinking in her gasp. Her legs wrapped around his waist and held tight against his back as her body fit itself around him.
Always and forever, she would be his.
She was so tight, hot, wet, that he feared completion before he even had a chance to move within her.
Why had he waited so long for this? Her body was made for his, accommodating his length and width perfectly.
Roarke's eyes drifted shut and he tilted his head back, letting out a sigh. "Ah, yes, this is how I knew it would be."
He moved against her, gently at first, pulling out and sliding deeply inside once again. She began to move with him, lifting her hips and meeting his thrusts until they developed a rhythm, a sweet dance with the only partner he would ever need.
Small sounds escaped Solara's throat. Whimpers, whispered cries of delight, the love song of pleasure that took him ever higher on the climb to fulfillment.
He was lost inside her, this magical faerie that he loved with all his heart. Pleasuring her became as paramount, as necessary as his next breath.
He slipped his hands underneath her, cradling her buttocks and drawing her closer. When he moved, he brushed her sensitive clit, and she moaned into his shoulder, nipping lightly with her teeth, then harder as he thrust deeper.
"Roarke, I cannot...I'm going to..."
Her words trailed off into unintelligible comments. But he knew. She did not have to speak the words for him to know what was happening. Her cunt tightened around him, squeezing, coaxing the seed from his knotted balls. She let out a keening wail as her climax washed over her. He took her mouth, driving his tongue inside in the same way he drove his cock into her pussy. With a groan against her lips, he poured his release into her.
They lay there for awhile afterward, panting, stroking each other's skin, murmuring soft words to each other.
"I do not know what to say," she whispered against his ear.
He leaned back and smiled at her. Her hair was disheveled, a wild array of scarlet spread over the pillow. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen from his deep kisses. Truly, he had never seen anything more erotic in his life.
"There is nothing you need to say, faerie."
"I want to thank you, Roarke. I know that you struggled with this, that you--" His finger against her lips silenced her. "Nay, do not speak the words. Tonight is only about the two of us. Nothing else exists. And we are not nearly finished yet." She arched a brow. "Is that so?"
"Aye. I told you that this night I would have you every way imaginable." Trailing a fingertip around his shoulder, she said, "I can imagine many ways, my elvin warrior."
"Would you care to tell me about them?"
She shook her head and grinned. "Oh no. I am but an inexperienced maid. I will rely upon you to teach me all that there is to know."
He kneeled on the bed and drew her up against him, her breasts flattening against his chest as he crushed her tightly to him. "Then you will not rest tonight, my faerie, as I have much to teach you."
"I do not require any sleep," she said, drawing his face to hers and licking his lips.
He pressed his mouth to hers, reveling in her heated passion. Again his cock stirred, ready to take her.
Would he ever
tire of this magical faerie? Would he ever survive losing her?
No. That he refused to think about. He turned her away from him and pushed her down until she was on her hands and knees on the bed, then backed away, taking his cock in his hand and stroking it as he admired her backside. Her slit was open to his view, juices seeping from her, and he caressed the swollen tender flesh, drawing some of her nectar onto his fingers, then spreading it between the twin globes of her buttocks.
She gasped, then leaned forward onto her elbows. His breath caught at the sight of her puckered rosette.
"Do you know what I want, Solara?"
Her answer was a panting breath of excitement. "Aye." He caressed the hole with his moistened fingers, his other hand reaching underneath her to stroke her silken flesh. She shuddered.
"Is this something you do not wish me to do?"
"I want you to possess all of me, Roarke."
Her willingness to accept him astounded him.
"Then relax. I will not hurt you." He caressed the entrance to her ass, then slipped one finger partly inside, waiting for her body to accustom itself to the invasion. All the while he stroked her clit and petted her pussy until she was writhing against his hand.
Her movements drove him to the brink. If he did not take her soon he would explode. He positioned himself behind her, taking his cock in hand and guiding it to her slit. He teased her pussy, rubbing his cockhead back and forth until she squirmed and cried out. Then he dipped his shaft inside her cunt. She tightened around him immediately, pouring more of her nectar over his cock and balls.
Immediately he withdrew and positioned his shaft at her puckered entrance, slowly forcing it past the tight barrier.
"Tell me to stop at any time and I will."
"Just fuck me Roarke, please."
He laughed, his wicked faerie proving an equal match for his desires. Gently, he pushed the head of his cock further, holding still when Solara gasped.
By all that was magic she was tight! His balls drew up against his body, and he knew he was ready to shoot come deep inside her. But he waited, easing inch by inch deeper inside her until he was buried to the hilt. Then he leaned forward and caressed her clit, moving gently back and forth.
"Stars, Roarke," she cried, backing her buttocks against him as he thrust inside her. Her clit swelled against his questing fingers, her juices running down her legs when he caressed her slit. "Please make me come again."
"Your wish is my command, princess," he murmured, kissing her slender back and driving hard against her buttocks. He increased his movements against her clit, feeling her tense against him.
"Yes, like that!" she cried, his faerie now a fierce wildcat. She arched her back and slammed her ass against him. He met her thrusts with equal fervor, driving so deep his balls slapped against her cunt. She mewled a whimper and tilted her head back, her wild hair tantalizing him. Winding it around his fist, he tugged until she groaned, then rode her hard and fast until she screamed with her climax.
He followed her into the abyss, emptying his seed into her tiny hole, then collapsed on top of her. Rolling off, he pulled her against his chest, sweeping her hair away from her face and kissing the fast-pounding pulse at her throat.
He held her and stroked her, memorizing every inch of her. He knew that no matter what they both wanted, come tomorrow they would separate, never to be together again.
The thought kept him up the remainder of the night. He did not close his eyes until the first light of dawn sent its rays pouring into the bedchamber's window.
Chapter Fifteen
"Solara, wake up. Garick is arriving!"
Solara blinked, forcing one eye open, the voice barely registering in her sleep-foggy mind. "What?" A hand shook her shoulder. She tried to throw it off, but it persisted.
"Solara! Wake up now!"
The voice was louder, finally pulling her into reality. She turned and pushed the hair from her face to see Elise frowning down at her.
"It is midday, lazy faerie. Time to be up! Garick and Trista are returning!" She quickly looked to the other side of the bed, not surprised and yet disappointed to realize that Roarke was no longer there.
And Garick was returning. Her heart fell, realization dawning that she had spent her last moments of freedom in Roarke's arms, but they would never be together again.
"Aye. Give me a few moments to dress and I will be down." After Elise left, she climbed out of bed, stretching and releasing her wings. A pleasurable stiffness permeated her muscles, and she allowed a smile, remembering the time she spent with Roarke last night.
Another soreness presented itself between her legs. She was no longer a virgin, having freely given her gift to Roarke.
Tears pooled but she forced them aside, splashing water on her face and brushing her hair back. She dressed and went downstairs, joining the crowds gathering in the courtyard as the drawbridge was lowered.
She searched for Roarke, but did not see him among the assembled guards.
If only he had woken her this morning before he left. She wanted...
What? To hold him one more time, taste his lips upon her own, tell him that she loved him and never wanted to be apart?
What good would any of that have done? 'Twould change nothing of their fate.
She spied Roarke just as the drawbridge was lowered. He rode in with Garick, his face set in a grim line. He must have gone out to greet the king upon seeing his approach.
Garick led the procession, immediately dismounting and reaching for Noele, who stood near the drawbridge. Gathering her close, he pressed a warm kiss upon her lips and held her tight to his side as he motioned for Roarke to follow him. Noele beamed up at her husband, and Solara's heart swelled at the palpable love between the two of them.
The crowds milled about welcoming back the rest of the guards. Amidst all the confusion, she was jostled in the melee and lost sight of Roarke and Garick. And where was Trista? She did not recall seeing her sister ride in.
By the time the crowds had dispersed, she could not find Noele, either. Perhaps she had followed Trista to her bedchamber? Deciding to meet them, she headed up the steps, but stopped short when one of Roarke's captains motioned to her.
"King Garick wishes to speak with you in his office." A cold dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She wished she could find Noele and Trista. She had a feeling she would need her sisters' support.
She knocked on the door to Garick's office. His gruff reply gave her permission to enter. When she stepped in, Garick's angry face greeted her.
Roarke and Noele were also in the room. Roarke's face was grim and Noele could not even look her in the eye.
They knew. They all knew what had happened.
Panic addled her mind and she could not think. She forced herself to clear her head, for the one thing she knew for certain was that Roarke would not suffer because of this. She would not let him lose his honor, knowing how much it meant to him, nor did she wish to be the cause of altering his standing with his king.
"Come in Solara. Be seated. I need to have a word with you." What could she do to stop this before it happened? How could she make Garick understand that none of this was Roarke's doing?
"I need to speak with you, Garick. Alone, if I may." Garick cast her a puzzled look, then shook his head. "Not right now. I have something important to discuss with all of you."
"This is important too, Garick."
Noele moved to her side. "Not now, Solara," she whispered, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
Roarke looked at her and shook his head. He knew she wanted to say something about the two of them.
This could not wait! She had to find a way to speak. Could she defy a king to be heard?
"This is about Trista."
Garick's statement stopped her panicked thoughts. "Trista? Where is she?"
"If you'll sit down, I will explain to you what happened at Greenbriar." His words filled her with dread. She sat in the chair and reached f
or Noele's hand, a sense of foreboding make her shiver.
"Upon our arrival in Greenbriar, Trista asked for Solara to be released from her betrothal to Braedon."
"She did what?" Solara could not believe she heard Garick right. "Why would she do that?"
"Because it's Trista, and she has her own mind about things. You and I know how she is, Solara." Noele was right. Trista always had a scheme, but for her to be bold enough to ask the southern king to release her was unthinkable. She could only imagine Braedon's reaction.
"So? Are you going to keep us in suspense or are you going to tell us what happened?" Noele asked.
Garick smiled at his wife. "Braedon indicated he did not care which faerie princess he married, so he chose Trista instead."
Solara stopped breathing, her gaze flitting to Roarke. His expression did not change except for the lifting of his brows.
What did all this mean? In an instant her entire fate had been changed. "Did Trista accept?" A smile curved Garick's lips. "She was not given much choice considering she finally admitted to manipulating the whole situation with your disappearance. She took the note you gave her and hid it away instead of giving it to Noele as you had instructed."
"That explains much," Noele said.
Garick nodded. "Your father had accompanied us, and he accepted the betrothal of Braedon to Trista.
The wedding will take place in one month's time."
"Poor Trista," Solara said, more to herself than anyone else. "I wish I had just gone to Greenbriar as I was destined to. Then none of this would have happened." She refused to look at Roarke as she said it, knowing he wished the same thing.
"Does not matter," Garick explained. "As far as Trista, what's done is done. As for you, another king will be chosen for you to wed."
Solara fought the trembling of her lower lip, the thought of going through this charade again more than she could bear. "I cannot marry anyone," she said, keeping her eyes focused in her lap.
"Why is that?" Garick asked.
"Because I have compromised her and taken her virginity." Her head snapped up at the sound of Roarke's voice. Roarke stood, his face like stone, his lips set in a grim line. He looked directly at Garick.
"You did what?"
"I took Solara's virginity."