She released his cock, moaning, “Santiago…”
“You like?” He trailed his tongue around her belly button and popped the fruit into his mouth.
“Yes… you know I do…”
He licked his way lower still until he reached her sweet sex. “That makes two of us.” Santiago parted the silky blonde curls and pushed two fingers into her wet folds, driving them into her pussy while flicking his tongue over her clit.
Her hips bucked. “Feels sooooo good.”
“That’s it, Ilsa, let me get you off.” He added a third finger and drove in and out of her, sucking in her juices. She had a pussy begging for him to fuck it… sweet, wet, hot… and all his.
She grabbed his hair, twisting it as if she’d never let go. “I’m… oh my God… Santiago…”
He could feel the first waves of her orgasm spasming through her body and he drank in every bit of her release. Still moving his fingers in and out of her, he rose and knelt between her splayed legs.
He nudged his cock closer to her heat, pulled his fingers out of her, and guided his cock head into her wet folds. “You still trust me?” he asked, playing with her engorged clit and pushing in a little deeper, slowly, while watching her. Waiting for her body to adjust to his size.
She was beautiful, flushed with passion, her eyes dark and glazed. “Absolutely.” Ilsa wrapped her long legs around his waist, drawing him into her wet heat until he reached the barrier she’d saved her entire life.
He paused, drinking in the sight of Ilsa laying before him, desire blooming on her rosy skin and darkening her aquamarine eyes to midnight blue. No one else had ever been with her—his wife. The thought brought an incredible rush of emotion into his chest, squeezing his heart, making the world seem to tilt beneath him.
“This will hurt a bit,” he said and then he thrust all the way in, breaking through her virginity and claiming her completely.
She cried his name, and he stilled his movement, waiting once again for her to accommodate his length. “Eres perfecta mi amor.” He kissed her cheeks as he spoke, then hovered his lips a breath away from her mouth. “You’re perfect for me. Only me.”
She clung to his shoulders and arched her back, drawing him deeper into her heat. “Yes,” Ilsa said. “You’re all I want… need…”
Her voice cracked with emotion and her luminous blue eyes gleamed. She closed them, but not before he read another hint of love in her gaze. Twin tears trailed down the sides of her face and the band around his chest tightened. His heart pounded behind his sternum. The air in his lungs bottled and the magnitude of her gift, of her trust in him, flashed through his brain.
“Don’t cry, mi amor.” He kissed her tears away, tasted the salt and began to move inside her again, wanting to obliterate the tangle of emotion balling in his throat. He’d done it. He’d found a way to reach his beautiful woman’s heart even if they hadn’t confessed their feelings them to each other.
He fused his mouth onto hers, kissing her with everything he felt for her driving him—passion, desire, and something more. He didn’t use words to show her how she made him feel, he only needed to give them both what they craved.
Losing himself to the incredible sensation of her hot pussy drawing him deeper still, he thrust in and out of her, faster… harder… She met him stroke for stroke, her lips eager, hungry on his. Skin to skin, body to body, they climbed higher together.
Her walls contracted around him, and his cock head filled, pulsed. Close, he was so fucking close to exploding in her. Her fingernails scraped his shoulders as she bucked beneath him and moaned into his mouth. He inhaled every gasp, increasing his pace until the first tremors of her orgasm shuddered through her body.
He wrenched his mouth from hers, stroked harder inside. “Mi amor, come with me.”
“Yes. Oh… Santiago… yes.”
He thrust into her one last time, the force of his release blinding him until he collapsed on her, spent. Weak, barely able to breathe. And, as he returned to himself, to the sensation of her caressing the length of his back and her light kisses on his shoulder, he caught sight of himself in her eyes once again.
Love definitely reflected in them. He wanted to be the man who deserved hers. But could he really live up to all the unspoken expectations, the belief she had in him now and in the future? Not just as her king, but as her man?
* * *
The weight of Santiago’s body felt comforting, not heavy. Ilsa loved having him on her, in her. She loved how his slick, naked skin trembled beneath her palms when she smoothed them down his back and cruised them over his muscular ass. She loved how he murmured Spanish words of endearment when he brought them over the edge.
She loved.
Her heart thudded against her ribcage, threatened to leap out of her chest and fly into the sea beyond the cabana. No. She couldn’t love him, but she did. Somehow, though their lives were still veiled in uncertainty, she’d lost her mind and fallen in love with Santiago.
She couldn’t tell him. Not yet.
Still, even before today, Santiago had been everything she’d wished for in a husband. A delicious charge of excitement moved through her.
He’d been everything she’d dreamed of having in a lover… his willingness to wait, the tenderness of his first entry into her, the powerful energy in his taking had been all she’d imagined and more. So much more.
He’d changed her, made her a woman in every way possible. And yet, though they’d been brought together by the most bizarre circumstances, and she’d had no choice really but to marry him or help bring ruin to their respective countries, somehow, being with him, this way… liberated her.
Her heart fluttered and bubbles as effervescent as the champagne she’d drank earlier traveled through her veins, making her head light, dizzy. Santiago was a powerful drug… one she’d easily become addicted to and right now her happiness quotient hovered in the intoxication zone.
“We’re good together,” she said. “Is it wrong for me to be a little happy about it?”
Santiago propped himself up on his elbows to look at her. “No, mi amor. We both deserve a little happiness even when the world is a crazy place.” He moved inside her. “Dios, I can’t believe we managed to hold off for so long. You’re amazing. I love the way you feel around me. So hot. So incredibly wet. I can’t get enough of you.”
His cock lengthened and her clit pulsed in anticipation. “Ooh… I can tell.”
“You do this to me.” He slowly withdrew halfway, then plunged into her again. “No one else has ever made me this fucking insatiable.”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” she said, holding his ass and keeping him right where she wanted him.
“Ilsa, what am I going to do with you? I’ve turned you into a sex addict.”
“Yes. But you’re the only one who can give me my fix.” She hitched her hips and met his next thrust. “You’ve ruined me for other men. Not that I want another man.”
“Bueno, because you’re mine.”
She loved hearing the possessiveness in his voice as he drove all the way into her. “Yes. And you’re mine.”
Every inch of her was on fire… the heat he’d unleashed burned low, tugged her clit and sent waves of pleasure through her.
“I could get used to doing this all the time.”
“I’m a man, not a machine, but trust me. We’ll be doing it a lot.”
He fused his mouth to hers and she lost herself to the incredible sensations of him stroking in her faster, deeper, harder. Over and over, he plunged into her, the length of his cock filling her completely. The waves building at her core pulsed and fired electrical charges into all her erogenous zones.
She held onto him, urging him with her hands to increase the intensity of his cock ramming into her.
He caressed her breast, playing with her nipple, squeezing the bud and more lightning fired through her. “Santiago… please…” she cried, wrenching her mouth from his, the sensations spi
raling inside her almost overwhelming.
“Ilsa,” he groaned, ramming into her again and again. “You’re so close. Come with me.”
“I can’t… but I want to…”
He plunged into her all the way to the hilt, then pulled out a bit, teasing her with his length while he cruised his hand away from her breast to reach between them. “You will.” He swept her juices over her engorged clit and drove into her at the same time.
The tension coiling at her core throbbed and lashed powerful tremors through her. “Yes. God, yes.” She held onto him, anchoring herself to Santiago as the waves whipping through her shattered her.
He grew rigid, called her name and rammed into her one last time, his release shooting into her. Her walls contracted around him, milking his hot pulses until he once again collapsed, his breath ragged.
Her heart pounded behind her breastbone, and she gulped in air, filling her lungs until her pulse decelerated to a normal beat. Caressing his awesome ass, then circling her way up his muscular back, she longed to stretch out this moment if only to pretend the real world didn’t exist.
That they’d remain safe in this incredible cabana without anyone or nothing to interfere with the feelings blooming in her heart… and maybe in his too.
A rumble sounded and a matching hunger pang in her stomach broke the spell. “We really do need to eat,” she said.
“Por supuesto,” he said as he rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. “Otherwise we won’t have any energy to do this again.”
“Agreed.” She snuggled in the crook of his arm, seeking his warmth. “But first, I’d like to clean up and get dressed.” A dull ache pulsed between her thighs and what had once been slick, sexy even, had turned sticky.
“The cabana has a private shower. There’s room for two.” He feathered his fingers over her skin with lazy strokes. “Everything we need for a few nights on the beach is here.”
A breeze rustled the cabana’s luxurious fabric and carried the scent of brine and sea inside. “Everything include bathing suits?”
“Absolutamente.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s shower and get something in our bellies besides strawberries.”
Strawberries and each other. Though she still hadn’t tasted him yet. “Sounds good.” She kissed his chest and then looked at his handsome profile. “I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”
“Deal.”
Reluctantly, she released him to stand, and he joined her. Hours later, after showering and dining on a sumptuous dinner spirited into the cabana by discreet servants followed by a quick dip in the turquoise Mediterranean waters, they snuggled beneath the covers on the king-sized lounger.
Satiated, happier than she’d ever believed possible, she reveled in the magnificent specimen of the man she’d married. She stared the Valdorian royal insignia ring he’d given her earlier as a sign of his commitment to her. Somehow, they’d find a way to bring both countries together, but today she yearned to know him beyond the duties and responsibilities which had brought them together. Now that they’d consummated their marriage, she dared to ask the questions she’d hidden deep. Questions which had begun the minute she’d overheard his argument with Javier and had compounded with every decision he’d made to protect Valdoria.
Santiago, while a generous and great lover, held some things close. Now that she’d seen his capacity for love, she wanted to chip away a bit at the guard he had over his heart. He’d been maligned by his brother and mother on numerous occasions about his lack of loyalty to Valdoria’s traditional way of life. Yet, his desire to save Valdoria ran counter to every derogatory comment they’d made about him.
But how would he react if she risked asking him? No. She wouldn’t take the coward’s way out. Not when she truly wanted to know Santiago. Only then could they make good on their vows. And only then did she dare admit her growing feelings for him.
“Santiago.” She moved to lay on top of him, making a tent with the blanket and framing his face with her hands. “Do you remember what we said during our wedding?”
“Our vows.”
“Yes, but we also realized we weren’t what we expected.” She pressed on, ghosting her fingers over his full lips. “I thought you didn’t care about Valdoria or the pact. Your family painted a lousy picture of you. Your brother never had anything good to say about you. They thought you shirked your duties at the country’s expense. But I know that’s not true. You are good. You do care about Valdoria’s future.”
He moistened his lips and a small beat of silence seemed to echo between them before he spoke. “I care,” he admitted.
“Then why did you let everyone believe you didn’t?” she asked, holding his dark gaze with hers, her pulse stuttering in her throat. When he didn’t answer right away, air whooshed through her. Mentally, she counted to ten and back again, inhaling a deep breath to slow her dizzying heart rate. And she waited for his reply, not sure if she’d ruined everything they’d just begun.
But she refused to back down now.
Chapter 7
Shadows and light played on Santiago’s handsome face. He pressed his lips together and his nostrils flared. Her stomach dipped and rolled, but Ilsa wrapped her courage around her like a cloak and raised her chin. “Well?” she asked. “What gives? Because from where I sit, you let them define you when you’re so much more than they gave you credit for.”
Santiago shrugged. “I got tired of trying to gain their approval,” he said matter-of-factly. “And you can’t change reality. They didn’t want the changes I’m bringing to Valdoria. I did shirk the traditional duties. Call it my minor act of rebellion.”
“You weren’t rebelling.” She scooted higher up his body until her mouth was scant millimeters from his. “You brokered a potential deal with Pinnacle after you mopped up the mess your father left behind in the wake of his sudden death.” Though they’d never spoken about it, she knew his father’s mistress had contacted Santiago after the King collapsed in her bedroom. In addition to the tabloids and gossip e-zines, Javier had given her the heads up by giving her talking points for the press should they contact her.
“If I’d known my brother would use my father’s affairs as a reason not to approve the incentives package, I’d have stopped trying.” He caressed her back until he reached her waist to hold her. “Far less frustrating.”
Santiago’s hands were ice-cold despite the warm Mediterranean breeze wafting into the cabana and the heat of blankets cocooning them. “You’re lying.” She kissed his taut, stubbled jaw. “You love Valdoria so much you fought to bring a top-rated tech company here despite your brother’s objections. I heard you tell Javier you’d do anything to salvage the deal. And you married me to stop a war.”
“You made the same choice.”
“Exactly. But you didn’t have to do anything. You could have abandoned Valdoria,” she said. “But you didn’t. Let me in, Santiago. I’m your wife. Your lover. Your friend. You do trust me, don’t you?” God, if he didn’t her heart might break a little. And she’d barely repaired the recent damage.
He wet his lips again, gave her a too-quick smile which didn’t reach his eyes and glanced away before returning it to hers. “I’ve spent my entire life living in my brother’s shadow as his spare.” He swallowed hard. “Hell, being Javier’s replacement part is the only reason I exist.”
A sudden cold feeling expanded in her core and spread into all her limbs. She couldn’t imagine growing up with that belief. Nor could she imagine a world without Santiago in it. “Your mother definitely played favorites,” she said softly while feathering her fingers over lips. “But I never understood why.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw and he inhaled a deep breath. “My parents loathed each other,” he said after he exhaled. “Mother adored Javier and would have stopped having babies after he arrived. She didn’t want to be with my father unless they had a formal occasion to attend.”
His voice was devoid of emotion. Flat. And yet a
slight edge of hurt cut beneath the surface. She tilted her head to the side as she stroked his dark hair from his temples. “But?” she asked gently.
“But the royal council wanted her to produce a spare.” Santiago tightened his hold on her. “Fortunately, my mother delivered a boy right away or she would have had to keep trying until one came along. I’m surprised they didn’t use artificial insemination to get her pregnant.”
He’d never known real affection and had to fight for every scrap of attention. “Santiago,” she said. “She has to care about you… to love you. She’s your mother.”
“I doubt she gives a damn about me,” he said. “Considering I was lumped in with my father in her eyes, I know the only reason she gives a damn for me now is because she has no choice.”
The sound of waves lapping against the shoreline permeated the cabana’s interior. The restless, never-ending slaps of water on the sand echoed her slow heartbeat. Emptiness swirled around her and she yearned to fill the void. “No wonder your father wasn’t faithful. And no wonder you loathed the idea of an arranged marriage.” Yet he’d gone through with the agreement just the same. She’d gained far more than a peace accord when she’d chosen to go through with the wedding. She’d gained a man with a powerful capacity to love by his sacrifice.
He kissed her fingertips as they passed over his mouth again. “Javier got the message loud and clear. I wasn’t important. He let me know that on a daily basis once we were old enough to understand the truth.”
Her chest tightened. “Your mother placed him on a pedestal.” And there’d never been room for Santiago on it in Queen Constanza’s mind.
“I stopped trying to get her approval long ago.” Santiago’s slid his hands down her back and back up, his hold on her growing firmer. “She’s always been impossible to please. Not to mention, I barely saw the woman unless she decided to punish me.”
Wrong Prince, Right Lover Page 7