by A. C. Arthur
Sam closed her eyes and decided to just let the sensations rule. Thinking was taking her in too many directions. She only wanted to feel. To finally just feel.
Gary seemed on board with that plan as he hadn’t hesitated a moment after she’d suggested he stay, and had taken her by the hand, leading her to her bedroom. Before doing so he’d held on to her as he locked the patio doors and then went to the main door and locked it, as well. Once in her bedroom, he closed that door, too, and made sure all the blinds and drapes were drawn. After the security efforts, he gave all of his attention to her.
Now they were both naked, both lying on her bed. He was propped up on his elbow, looking down at her body as his hand moved over her breasts and down her torso.
“This isn’t going to be slow,” he told her.
His voice had grown deeper, huskier. The sound rubbing along her skin as surely and as alluringly as his fingers.
“It’s going to be hot and fast,” he continued, his fingers tracing the V of her juncture. “And delicious.”
Sam sucked in a breath, releasing it with a quiet whisper. “Yes.”
He had already sheathed his length, so when he came over her, using his legs to push hers open wider, Sam was ready. Or, at least, she thought she was.
“Look at me,” he said when she’d been staring down the length of their bodies, waiting anxiously to see as he joined with her.
Trying to tamp down her impatience, she looked up to see him staring at her. Would she ever get used to how intense his stare was? How dark his eyes became whenever he looked at her? Or how warm she felt all over to be the one on the receiving end of such a mesmerizing glare?
“I’m going to give you everything you need,” he stated. “First and foremost.”
She was nodding her agreement before she could even wonder if she should. He knew, she thought as he leaned in to touch his lips to hers. He knew what she wanted and probably that she’d pleased herself all this time. Now he was promising her something more.
Sam laced her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deeper kiss, a searing kiss, that by its end had them both struggling to catch their breath.
Sam gasped when he attempted to enter her.
“Kiss me again,” he whispered. “Everything is beautiful when you kiss me.”
She did as he asked and he moved slowly, pressing his hard length deeper into her tight cove. He was filling her, down there and with his kiss. Sam felt as if she’d been empty for far too long, but at this moment she was being filled with the best.
He broke the kiss and laced an arm under the lower part of her back, lifting her hips slightly off the bed. He continued to thrust deep inside her, pulling back slowly before going deeper again.
Sam had nothing to compare the feeling to because there was nothing that had ever matched it. The slow, deliberate movements were perfect, hitting every aching and needy spot she possessed. His body was tight and strong and worked hers as if he’d practiced for this very moment every second of his life.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and Gary reached behind his back to clasp them together. He came up on his knees and dove deeper into her. Her fingers dug into the bed, grabbing handfuls of the comforter as she held on tight to not only the material but to the scream of pleasure that swirled in the pit of her stomach.
When he untwined her legs and placed her ankles on his shoulders, Sam knew what would happen next. He rubbed her calves and kissed them as he pulled slowly out of her. Then he kissed the top of her foot, the tips of her toes, the arch of her foot. She gasped and panted, licking her lips as her head began to thrash against the pillows.
Gary clasped her ankles and spread her legs into a wide V as he picked up his pace, thrusting deep and fast in and out of her. It was complete bliss. With each stroke, pleasure seeped into her body like she was on a steady intravenous infusion. Her heart beat faster, her body heated, her legs began to tremble. She was right there, it was close. She could see it within arm’s reach. Feel it in every spasm of her body. Hear it in his heavy breathing and the clap of their bodies joining. Then she was there and release was upon her, gripping her, lifting her into its funnel and whirling her around.
“Gary.” She whispered his name and pulled at the comforter until she was certain she’d ripped the sheets beneath from being tucked under the mattress. “Gary!”
He rubbed her legs then, down to her trembling thighs and back up to her calves. He’d gone still inside her, so that she could ride that euphoric wave and still feel his rigid length deep inside. It took seconds. No, longer, much longer for her to hit the precipice, topple over that mountain of release and then fall softly back to earth.
And Gary was there to catch her.
He rolled onto his side and pulled her over with him. His lips found hers and they kissed, his tongue dueling with hers in the same masterful motion as he’d used to make her come. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, cupping her face, moving down to graze over her hardened nipples, tracing a line along her torso and cupping her bottom. He lifted her leg up and draped it over his waist.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve never felt this way before and the only reason I can use to explain it is that you’re perfect.”
Her arms were around him again, her head tilting back as he kissed along her neck. She thrust into him as she felt his length pressing hungrily against her moist center. He moved, positioning himself at her entrance, and Sam sucked him right in. She thrust hungrily, eager to take him deep once more. It was slippery and sweet, aromatic and intoxicating, joyous and completing.
They moved in sync, as if their bodies were made for this specific purpose. In and out. Out and in. His lips on hers. Her teeth nipping the strong line of his jaw. Her hands on the muscles of his back. His cupping the soft curve of her bottom. On and on, until once again there was bliss, this time for both of them.
Gary then whispered in her ear, his voice husky as his pleasure overtook him. “Mine. Sweet and perfect. And mine.”
Chapter 12
Sam squealed with delight. She was clapping her hands and had even did a little jump off the ground the moment the football soared through the little hole in the board at least fifteen feet away. She happily wrapped her arms around Gary’s neck and kissed him soundly on the lips when he gave her the stuffed elephant he’d won for his efforts.
“He’s gorgeous!” she yelled.
“He’s an orange elephant,” Gary quipped and turned to stand beside her.
Sam laced her free arm through his and leaned into him as they began to walk down the grassy patch of land where the gaming booths had been set up. It was four days after their night together, four days that they’d spent attending all of Sam’s engagements and time in between on some of the most romantic dates she could ever imagine.
To put it simply, this had been an amazing time for Sam, four days filled with an intimacy she’d never imagined achieving with anyone.
Today was like the cherry on top of a delicious caramel sundae as they attended Grand Serenity’s annual Founder’s Day celebration. The day-long event always kicked off with a breakfast awards ceremony at the city chamber where the royal family was honored, as well as other notable figures on the island for their dedication and commitment to the island throughout the year.
The hours after breakfast were the Fun Day Festivities. Games and prizes and food booths were in abundance along the island’s main thoroughfare. Later this evening they would dress elegantly and the palace would be open for its once-a-year visit from the citizens of the island.
The Founder’s Day Ball was held in the main courtyard of the palace. During the hours of the ball, the first floor of the palace was open for tours. That was a tradition started by Sam’s mother. One that Vivienne thought gave the islanders a chance to see how their rul
ing government lived.
Rafe had told Sam that her mother had thought of it as a way to show their constituents that the royal family was not above them and that they all worked together to make Grand Serenity the tropical haven it was today. Sam wholeheartedly agreed with the tradition.
“He’s the first prize won for me at the Fun Day Festivities,” she said, hugging the elephant to her chest. “And I love him.”
The proclamation was quick and whimsical. It was her affection for a silly stuffed animal and nothing more. But for some reason or another, she’d stopped walking when she’d said it, and Gary had stopped and looked at her, as well.
“There you two are,” Landry said as she and Kris approached.
It would have appeared like two couples were simply standing near a water-gun game chatting about the late-afternoon fun they were having at one of Grand Serenity’s biggest public celebrations. Except for the half-dozen armed and full-regalia guards that surrounded the foursome—three of them traveled with Sam, while the other three were assigned to Kris. The extra security was obvious to the citizens of the island who, unlike at last year’s event, kept their distance from the royal family today.
“I’ll be glad when this is over,” Sam muttered. “They’re all staring at us like we’re contagious or something.”
“They’ve always stared at us,” Kris stated blandly.
He’d dressed as casual as the crown prince could, wearing slacks and a dress shirt, sans the tie and suit jacket. Beside him, Landry looked as if she were enjoying herself in the white sundress with its large plum-colored belt and matching flat sandals.
“Not like this,” Sam replied. “Just a couple of weeks ago tourists came right up to me and asked for pictures and autographs. Today they’re keeping their distance and staring as if I’m going to suddenly grow another head.”
“They’re afraid for you,” Gary chimed in. “Afraid for what might happen to you and the rest of the royal family.”
“Nothing is going to happen to us,” Sam said defiantly.
“You’re absolutely right about that,” Gary told her. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“He’s right,” Landry added. “We’re going to go over there and get us some of those delicious banana chips and a nice, stiff drink. Then we’ll head home and squeeze into our gorgeous gowns for tonight’s fancy party.”
Sam grinned. “I like how you insist on calling every ball or formal affair we have a fancy party.”
“That’s what they are because we get to dress fancy,” Landry said as she moved from beside her husband to grab Sam by the arm.
The two of them walked together while Kris and Gary walked behind them.
“So where’d you get that weird-looking elephant?” Landry asked as they continued to move.
“Oh,” Sam said, just remembering the stuffed animal that had brought her so much joy just a few minutes ago. “It’s my Founder’s Day elephant. Gary won him for me.”
“He did, did he?” Landry asked. “Let me see this thing.”
She pulled the elephant out of Sam’s hand before Sam could stop her.
“He’s cute enough,” she told her. “Yes, for the first boyfriend-girlfriend gift, I guess this will do.”
Sam took back her elephant and shook her head. “What are you talking about? We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“And why would you say that?”
“For one, because we’re not eight-year-olds.”
“Uh-huh,” Landry said with a nod.
“And, for two, because we’re just playing a part. You remember that charade we agreed upon, right?”
“I remember it started out with a pretty hot kiss in front of over two hundred people,” Landry quipped. “And then I remember somebody telling me about ‘fooling around’ with the guy she’s engaged in the charade with. And now, that same somebody is clutching a bug-eyed orange elephant like it’s a strand of precious pearls because he—who is not her boyfriend—won it for her.”
Sam opened her mouth to reply then clamped her lips shut. Landry had a point. She had several. But Sam didn’t have to concede any of them.
“Weren’t we supposed to find a stiff drink somewhere?” she asked.
Landry laughed.
* * *
“What are you doing here?” Sam asked as she spun around to see Gary standing in the doorway of her bedroom.
Lucie had just finished helping her into her gown and she’d been in front of the full-length mirror, admiring her new gown. The emerald-green, pleated, silk-chiffon gown was gorgeous with its fitted bodice and thigh-high split at her left side. She loved how the color gave her skin an exotic glow and the tiny diamond earrings added a bright sparkle to the dark material. Her hair was pulled up neatly with an array of curls at the top and her shoes were a sexy silver pump.
“You look amazing” was his response.
Sam smiled, forgetting that she wanted to know how he’d come to be in her bedroom while she was dressing for the ball.
“Thank you,” she said to him. “And thank you, Lucie. I think that’ll be all for tonight.”
“Yes, ma’am. And you do look amazing,” Lucie said with a tilt of her head and a meek smile across her pixie-like face.
Sam gave a nod in Lucie’s direction and waited until she heard the sound of the outside door to her rooms closing before she spoke to Gary again.
“You don’t look too shabby yourself,” she commented. “The soldier that cleans up well.”
He gave a nonchalant shrug and a murmured thank-you as he crossed the space between them. Tonight, instead of the cargo pants and fitted T-shirt she’d become accustomed to seeing him in, Gary wore a tuxedo. It was Burberry. Landry had mentioned it one day this week when they were talking. Landry had selected all the tuxedos for the men of the royal family for this event. Gary was included, although Sam hadn’t been totally sure why. Landry’s comments from earlier today about him being Sam’s boyfriend may have been a factor.
The white dinner jacket and crisp shirt were cool accents to the black pants, bow tie and shoes. It fit him flawlessly, not too tight, not too big, just perfect. He looked like a black James Bond, Sam thought as he approached her.
“I have something for you,” he said. “I doubt it will add anything to the perfection I’m already looking at, but here you go, anyway.”
Sam didn’t know what to say. She was still feeling happy butterflies fluttering in her stomach when she looked over to see the orange elephant sitting in the center of her bed. Another gift from him was bound to make her float through the rest of the night. However, she cleared her throat and tried to act as casual as possible when she asked, “What is it?”
Gary shook his head. “You know that’s not how it works. Open it,” he prodded.
Sam prayed her hands wouldn’t shake as she reached for the black-velvet box. It was too big to be a ring, which of course, he would not be giving her, anyway. Right? But it was formalized with a white-satin bow wrapped around its dark casing. The gesture made her heart do a happy dance to rival what the butterflies were doing in the pit of her stomach.
She held the box in one hand and slipped the bow off with the other. Then, after a deep, steadying breath, Sam opened the box. She gasped, loudly, and then clasped her lips shut as her head snapped up and she stared at him.
“What did you do?” she asked him. “Why did you do this?”
“A little birdie told me what color you were wearing tonight and I thought this might match. What’s the matter? You don’t like it?”
Sam tilted her head and kept her mouth shut tightly. She was breathing a little faster now as she cursed the tears that were about to fall. With a quick shake of her head, she closed the box. “I can’t take this.”
“Why not?” he asked.
<
br /> “Because.”
Gary shook his head. “You can do better than that.”
She sighed. “Because I cannot take this.”
“Because you don’t like it?”
“I love it,” she admitted quietly. “It’s beautiful.”
“But you don’t want it? Or is it that you just don’t want it from me? I can give you a silly-looking orange elephant, but not an emerald and diamond necklace. Why? Do you not think I can afford it because I’m not some dignitary you’re used to smiling at during these endless events?”
Sam was about to reply but then she heard his tone and wondered where it had come from all of a sudden. Since the first night they’d spoken to each other, Gary had always had a steely, noncommittal tone with her, and everyone else, for that matter. Just now, he sounded different. Irritated maybe?
And, no, she recalled, this wasn’t the first time he’d sounded this way. The day she’d been shot at, his tone had been different, as well.
“That’s not what I said, nor what I meant,” she replied. “I’m just wondering why you would give this to me. And why Landry would tell you what I was wearing. When did she tell you this? How did you have time to get this?”
He, too, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sam couldn’t help but watch the rise and fall of his muscled chest as he did so. “Can I just put it on you to see how it looks?” he asked.
He did not wait for a response, instead taking the box from her hands and opening it once more. She watched his strong fingers remove the classically beautiful asymmetrical necklace from its base. Tossing the box over to the bed, he stepped around her, holding the necklace in front and then clasping it at the back, so that it now rested coolly against her skin.
When he touched her shoulders and turned her slowly so that she was facing the mirror again, Sam’s breath caught. The necklace was gorgeous and so was he. Looking at them through the mirror, Sam could easily see another headline in the papers. There’d already been a few speculating as to when the loving couple would give Grand Serenity its second royal wedding of the year. She’d read about the rumors, and listened to newscasters trying to predict the same event, with a hint of humor. If they only knew the truth...