by Kim Loraine
“I’m sorry. It’s best to get it over with the first time. I should’ve warned you.” His words are tight and punctuated with sighs as I roll my hips.
“You’re so right. I’m glad you did that because this…oh, this feels amazing.”
With his good arm he reaches up and undoes the last two buttons on my shirt. I let the fabric slide free of my shoulders until I’m completely naked atop him. “God, you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, Sparrow.”
I trace the lines of muscle chiseled into his chest, down the dark ink scrawled over his ribs and across his taut abdominals. He’s the perfect specimen of a man, rugged, strong, dominant, and tender all in one. I’m so mesmerized by his beauty I stop moving, but he reminds me with a thrust upward. His blunt head kisses my womb, and I cry out as bursts of pleasure explode within me.
“I need you to move,” he whispers. “You’re torturing me.”
I do. I start rocking back and forth, dragging his tip over a magical spot inside me with each motion. An orgasm is building, slowly taking on steam as it goes from a warning of something special to an impending explosion. If it’s possible, he gets bigger inside me, and his breaths begin to hitch as he clenches his teeth, and his eyes roll back. He groans my name, begging me to slow down, to draw this out, but I’m chasing the pleasure, and there’s nothing on this earth that will keep me from getting it.
I shatter around him, my cry of his name like a prayer for mercy as he fills me with his own orgasm. The pulses of pleasure last for so much longer than I expect, tingles racing to my toes, bursts of euphoria making me shiver. Careful of his injured shoulder, I lie across his chest and keep him inside me. I want us to be joined as long as possible. I can’t think about being separated from him.
Long fingers trail through my disheveled hair and down the line of my spine. “I love you, Waverly. I need you to know that because this is all we have. I will love you until the day I die.”
Tears fill my eyes at the thought of being separated from him. This man. This perfect man who rescued me, who fought three men to save me from a terrible fate. He’s the one I should be with. Not some stuffy nobleman chosen by my family.
“I love you, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I get to keep you. I’ve never been good at accepting no as an answer.”
He sighs and presses a kiss on the top of my head. “You’ll do your duty to your country because that’s who you are. But, you’re mine until this is over, and I’m going to take full advantage of that.”
I can’t help but let out a sad laugh. “I’ll be yours even when I’m not.”
Chapter 7
Archer
Waverly is asleep in my arms, and I don’t want to wake her. I’m dreading the phone call telling me it’s safe to return to the palace. My chest aches with the thought of ending this, but the longer it takes to secure the royal family, the greater the risk that something will happen to the king and queen or Princess Alina.
“You must be awake,” Waverly says, her voice instantly soothing me.
“Thinking.”
“I know. You get tense when you’re pondering. I bet your jaw is ticking too.”
God, she knows me well. But years of being together, observing but rarely interacting, must do that. I know every expression she has, the way her eyes change color with her moods, whether she’s hurting or hopeful. Right now, my sparrow is hopeful. Sadly, that’s misplaced, and I’m going to be the one to hurt her because I have to.
“I’m hungry. Let’s see what I’ve got in the kitchen. If that’s no good, which it probably is, we’ll order some delivery.”
“It’s past midnight. I doubt there’s anyone around who’ll deliver.”
I smirk. “Ye of little faith.” Then I drop a kiss on her lips and pull her flush to my chest. “I’ll feed you. I promise.”
She slides out of my hold and stands, her full ass on display causing my cock to react. I want her again. I want her all the time. Then the woman of my dreams strides out of my bedroom naked, tempting, and completely unashamed. I pull on a pair of boxers if only to contain the raging erection she just caused.
“You have two beers and some suspicious mac and cheese in here. God, you’re such a man.”
I laugh, my shoulder aching with the movement. “I’m rarely here.”
Her wide eyes meet mine, and she blinks a few times. “You mean you don’t go home?”
“Home is where you are.”
“But we…” she trails off, bringing her fingertips to her lips as she thinks about what I said.
“I’ve loved you for so long. The thought of leaving you, of putting you at risk…I couldn’t stand it. So, I ate at the palace, slept in the servant’s quarters, did everything I could to keep you safe.”
“All this time?”
“All this time. What else could I do? We protect the ones we love.”
My heart aches at the longing in her eyes. “We do, don’t we?”
Clearing my throat, I drag a hand through my hair and offer her a smile. “We do. But now, I need to feed my princess. What do you fancy?”
She grins and hops onto the counter, her tits bouncing and drawing my attention from all else. God they’re more fucking gorgeous than I’d ever imagined. “Pizza?”
I nod, relieved she chose somewhere that’s open late. “Pizza’s good.” I pull out my phone, and we make our order. “Forty-five minutes until our food arrives.”
“Well, what shall we do?” The mischievous tone of her voice has my cock hardening.
“I can think of a few things.”
She reaches for me, her legs spread wide, pink pussy glistening and ready for more. “Come here. You’re wearing too many clothes.”
I glance down at my boxer clad hips and laugh. “I’m only wearing one thing.”
“Exactly. Take it off.”
I don’t need her to tell me twice. Shoving my boxer briefs down, I let them fall to the floor and my erection springs forward. Her hot little hand closes around me, giving me a long stroke while she pulls me forward. I bite back a groan even as I buck into her hand. “That feels so fucking good, Sparrow.”
“Does it? I bet you’d like something else better.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Her palm leaves my cock, then she pushes me away with both hands flat on my chest. I stare at the goddess in front of me as she hops off the counter and drops to her knees. The sight of her, at my feet, big brown eyes locked on mine, hair tumbling around her shoulders—fuck, she’s heaven. She licks her lips and wraps one hand around the base of my aching length.
I don’t dare close my eyes as she leans forward and kisses my tip, her tongue darting out to collect the bead of pre-come glistening at my crown. A shiver builds along my spine, arousal racing through me. She grins and strokes me, teasing. Then my beautiful sparrow looks up at me and says, “I want you to fuck my mouth, Archer. I want you to take your pleasure with me as though I weren’t a princess, and you weren’t my guard.”
I thread my fingers in her hair, not giving a damn about the pain in my shoulder. When I nudge my cock at her lips, she opens for me, and I’m enveloped in her warmth. It’s everything I dreamed it would be, her mouth around my stiff erection, sucking and tasting. Each of my shallow thrusts has her moaning, the vibration in the back of her throat sending jolts of pleasure through me.
“You keep that up, I won’t last,” I tell her, not sure if I want to give in and let my orgasm take me right away, or take my time and relish this.
In answer, she reaches up and cradles my balls, her mouth taking me deeper than I thought possible. Fuck. I’m going to lose it less than two minutes in.
“Sparrow, slow down. Shit, slow down.” I’m practically begging, but my hips move with her, and I’m doing exactly what she said she wanted. I’m fucking her mouth and chasing the high only an orgasm can give.
She squeezes my balls and hums as the head of my cock hits the back of her throa
t. The pleasure races down my spine and up my thighs, all culminating in one massive explosion of sensation. The groan I send out into the room is so loud I’m sure my neighbors hear. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
Waverly swallows me down even though I know it’s a lot. I’ve never come so hard in my life. Then she sits back on her heels and does the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. She licks her lips and swipes a stray drop of my semen off her cheek. Holy hell.
How will I be able to go on without her?
Chapter 8
Waverly
We sit together on Archer’s couch after eating our late dinner of greasy pizza. He opened a beer for each of us, and we turned on some sort of reality television. I’m snuggled against his side, wearing one of his T-shirts because the man said if I continued to be naked around him he would most certainly end up knocking me up. I’m on the pill, so as far as I’m concerned, he can try as hard as he wants.
“What is this show?”
He laughs. “It’s Ninja Warrior. The Japanese version. The original.” We watch the people attempt physics defying obstacles over and over, most of them failing. Archer occasionally yells at the competitors to keep their elbows bent, pace themselves, and so on.
“How do you know all those tricks? Are you a ninja?”
“No, not a ninja. But I trained long and hard to get this guard position. I have to be in peak physical condition to protect the royal family to the best of my ability.”
I snuggle closer, my fingers tracing lines on his chest. “And you most certainly are in peak physical condition. A fact I can attest to.”
“I like your hands on me,” he says, his voice rough.
“Me too.”
I tip my head until my lips are within reaching distance of his. Every moment with him is precious and stolen. I don’t want to waste any time. He brushes his mouth over mine, once, twice, three times, before backing away.
“You know how you said you wanted me to treat you like any other girl?”
My heart lurches. “Yes. Why?”
“There’s no way I can do that.” He turns so he’s facing me, and the man cups my cheek in his palm. “Until you have to go back, I want to treat you like I would treat my wife. That’s the only place I can put you in my life. You’re not some girl or some trophy. You and me? Our souls are bound tighter than most people ever experience.”
I’m still stuck on the wife comment. If he treats his wife the way he treated me earlier, she’ll never stray. Unreasonable anger washes over me at the thought of him with another, but I shake it off. I’m not going to end up with him, no matter how much we both might want it. The royal family is tradition bound to only marry someone of noble birth, chosen for them by the king. Father chose for Ryder, he chose for me, and though she doesn’t know it yet, he chose for Alina long ago. Though my intended is a backstabbing traitor. Now I don’t know where my future lies.
“What if...” I bite my lip, trying to put the words together in a way that won’t make me sound crazy. “What if we don’t go back?”
He backs away, his raised eyebrows a clear indication I failed at seeming sane. “What?”
“You’ve already got me here. We could make a run for it. We could make a life away from all this. Some place where I’m not a princess and you’re not honor bound to keep your hands off me.”
Clearing his throat, he leans in and presses a kiss to my temple. “I love you for being willing to give everything up to be with me. But, I can’t ask that of you. You’re second in line for the throne. And you and I both know how quickly things change. Would you really abandon your family? Your mum?”
My chest burns. Mum has lost so much already. When my father died, a piece of her went with him. Could I leave her? “I—”
“Stop it. I won’t let you entertain the idea of a life with me if it means leaving everything you are. You’re beloved by the people of Corline, your family loves you, everyone does. I’ve loved you from afar for years. I can do it again if I have to.”
But can I? Now that I’ve had him, that I know the feel of his body moving inside mine, his heart beating against my chest, his lips on my skin—no, I can’t live without being able to touch him. “I feel like a traitor for not wanting this to end.”
“What do you mean?”
“The all clear means my family is safe, the threat is over, but it also means this is over.”
He threads his fingers in my hair until he cups the back of my head. “Then we’d better make enough memories to last us a lifetime. Lie back for me, Sparrow. I’m going to love you until the sun comes up. Then…we’ll sleep.”
My gaze locks with his and a rush of need hits me, running through my veins and collecting in my core. “I don’t want to sleep. I can sleep when this is over. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
His lips slide over my throat and down as he pushes me to my back. Warm fingers find their way under the shirt I’m wearing, teasing and tempting me as he caresses my breasts and kisses the sensitive spot under my ear. The rasp of his stubble sends tingles through me, all resonating between my thighs. His touch disappears as he lifts the hem of the shirt and pulls it over my head, exposing my naked body. He leans down and bites my breast, hard enough to make me cry out, but the pain makes me wet. “Mine,” he growls.
“Yours. God, I’m yours.”
Then his long fingers slide deep inside me, filling me and making me squirm from the pleasure of it all. He moves them in sure strokes while his thumb draws circles over my clit and coaxes an orgasm from me almost effortlessly.
“Tell me…” I start, but my words are interrupted by my moan of pleasure when he adds a third finger. “God. Tell me what you’d do if I was your wife.”
His eyes burn with lust when I say those words. “If you were my wife…Jesus, Sparrow. I’d fill your belly with my baby. I’d fuck you hard and long until you were so full of my seed you couldn’t be anything but pregnant.”
I moan and roll my hips. Yes. Oh, fuck yes. That’s what I want. “And when you succeeded? When my belly was round with the baby you put there, what would you do?”
He slides the sweatpants off his hips, and his steel length springs free, glistening at the tip, all for me. “I’d fuck you on your knees. I’d palm your tits and belly as I made you come all over my cock. Then, when you weren’t pregnant anymore, I’d fill you up again.”
His blunt head replaces his fingers, and he pushes inside, stretching me in such a delicious way I cry out. Concerned eyes meet mine. “I’m fine. Don’t stop,” I say.
“I love you,” he whispers, sinking as deep as my body will allow. “I will always love you.”
His thrusts are so hard I see stars, and it’s as if he’s trying to leave his mark on me. What he doesn’t know is he’s been inside me since the moment I first saw him, and, try as I might, I’ll never be able to get rid of him.
Chapter 9
Archer
My phone rings from across the room, startling me awake. Waverly and I fell asleep in each other’s arms after valiant attempts to fight off sleep. We talked about what life would be like if our circumstances were different. She’d be a primary school teacher, and I’d be a firefighter. We’d be married and living in a country house with a horse or two and a whole pack of kids. There wouldn’t be kidnapping or threats to her safety; it would just be us and our family. Simple and perfect.
“Hello?” I say into the phone, a little harshly.
“All clear, Archer. The guilty parties have been detained. Coleman picked up Princess Waverly’s kidnappers, and the Duke of Longmire sang like a bloody canary. Five more members of court were in on it. If you hadn’t gone after her when you did, we’d be in a world of hurt. They had traps laid out everywhere.”
My stomach turns to lead at the sound of Clark’s distress. The man doesn’t let anything get to him. “It must’ve taken months of planning on their parts.”
“I’m just thankful it didn’t slip by your notice. You did a true service
to the crown, boy. More than I’ve ever done.” He sounds shaken.
“They’re all fine? The king and queen? Princess Alina?”
He clears his throat. “They are. As soon as you alerted us to the threat, we cleared the ballroom and secured the royal family in separate locations.”
Waverly sits up and stretches as I pace the floor. She’s still gloriously nude, and, God help me, the sight makes my cock stir. “I…I’m glad to hear it.”
“We’ll expect the princess to be returned in short order. The King is eager to make sure his sister is unharmed.” A pit forms in my gut. She’s unharmed, but not untouched.
“Yes, sir. We’ll be there within the hour.”
Waverly’s eyes fill with tears, and my heart cracks. But we knew this would be the outcome of our tryst. I might love her for the rest of my life, but I will never truly have her. I hang up and drag my hand through my hair. “It’s time?” she asks.
“It is. I’ve got to grab a shower. As much as I want to be reminded of our time together, I can’t face your brother with the smell of you all over me.”
Her chin wobbles, and, fuck, if I’m not feeling the burn of tears in my own eyes. “I don’t want to leave.”
I cross the room and drop to my knees in front of her. Then, I take her face between my hands and memorize the amazing detail of her irises. “I know, Sparrow. Fuck, I know. But this is who you are. A princess. A leader. I will always protect you, always love you, and I promise, I’ll never leave.”
She takes a long breath, then stands. “Give me one last time with you. If we’re going to be apart, I want you to leave me breathless once more.”
How can I deny her that? Taking her hand, I pull her to stand in front of me. “Come then, we can shower together while I explore every inch of you.”
An hour later, we’re in the car, her hair still damp, my heart pounding with the anxiety of a man walking to the chopping block. But isn’t that what this is? I’m willingly severing part of me by returning her. My shoulder throbs from overuse, but the pain is a welcome distraction from the ache in my chest.