by Carly Fall
Heat flamed in his cheeks, and he wondered why he felt such shame. He also questioned why on that particular night, she’d been watching him so closely. He remembered seeing her only once, but never thought she’d pay any attention to his actions.
Shaking his head, he said, “I have not been to town since my assignment with you began.”
She looked out at the lake. “Do you find those women attractive?”
He did not know how to answer her question. Some might be called pretty, but they mainly served a purpose—fulfilling his baser needs and those of many other men. They certainly weren’t as refined and elegant as the woman before him.
“Why do you ask?”
She sighed. “Never mind.”
When she quickened her pace so she walked ahead of him, her head hung from her shoulders as if she carried the weight of the world on them.
Suddenly, she turned to him and reached for the laces of her pale yellow gown. His breath caught in his throat when she pulled the garment down her body, and before he knew it, she stood before him wearing only her chemise.
His cock throbbed in his breeches, his heart racing so fast, he felt certain he may drop dead. Instead of taking her in his arms as he longed to do, he turned his back, and considered it may very well be one of the most difficult things he’d ever done.
He tried to inject as much authority into his voice as possible while he scanned the area for others. “Princess, please put on your gown!”
“No.”
His turn to hang his head. This woman would be the death of him. “Please, Arabella. Please, put on your gown.”
“I order you to turn around and look at me, Jayden.”
He shut his eyes, his body warring against his mind. Oh, yes, he wanted to look, but if he did, then he’d want to touch her. If she let him touch her, then he’d kiss her. If he kissed her, he would want to make love to his sweet princess. If he made love to her, he’d never want to let her go. Her father looked for a proper match for her, and—
“Jayden!”
Yet, he could deny her nothing.
Slowly, he turned around. The vixen had also removed her chemise, and stood before him completely naked. He couldn’t keep his gaze from scouring every inch of her, from her beautiful collarbones down to her perky breasts, the gorgeous pink nipples, her slender waist, and the luscious flare of her voluptuous hips. She had also unraveled her hair loose from its braid, and it cascaded around her exquisite face and down to her shoulders in soft waves. She stood with her head held high, her stare never wavering from him.
Finally, he met her gaze.
His voice barely came out a whisper, mirroring the weakness he felt throughout his very soul. “What do you want from me, Arabella?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “I want you to tell me what you think of me.”
He rubbed the ache in his chest with his palm, unable to understand why she tortured him this way.
“When I am married, only one man will have seen my body, and there is a chance he will not like me, nor me him. I like you, and I do believe you like me. Tell me what you think.”
He wondered if she could see the outline of his erection through his breeches. The pink tips of her breasts and patch of curls at the apex of her thighs mesmerized him, leaving words caught upon his tongue.
After a moment, she lowered her gaze. “I understand.”
She picked up her chemise and held it in front of her.
Finally, he was able to speak. “What, exactly, do you think you understand?”
“You do not find me desirable, Jayden.”
Lust, along with rage at what her future held, simmered at the surface of his skin. Without thinking, he hurried over to her and grabbed her shoulders. He wished to shake her, to make her understand the effect her actions had on him. Now, he couldn’t stop the words even if he tried.
“You listen to me, Arabella, and listen well.”
Her eyes widened at his harsh tone.
“Your beauty has me tongue-tied, but it’s not just your outward attractiveness. It is your inward soul. If you were mine, I would love nothing more than to feel your lips upon mine, to taste your tongue, and your body. I would take you to the ground and make slow, sweet love to you, my tongue lapping at your breast while my cock drives into you, then I would turn you over, and fuck you hard and fast. I would love nothing more than to hear cries of pleasure spill from your lips and know I am the one who causes them.”
He stepped back and let go of her, knowing he hovered seconds away from following through on his words. Taking a deep breath, his voice softened as the emotions he’d stifled for so long clenched his heart and flowed from him. “If you were mine, Princess, you would be the most loved woman in the land. I would cherish your body, mind, and soul. But, you are not mine, nor will you ever be. My feelings for you are irrelevant, because I cannot act upon them. You, my love, are a princess. Although I am a proud knight, I am not of your station.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, her chest heaving at his words as she clutched her chemise in front of her.
Glancing at her from head to toe one more time, he wanted to remember every curve, every inch of her unmarred skin. After he’d committed her to memory, he reluctantly turned his back to her, his voice barely a whisper, his physical need and emotions clogging his throat. “Now, for the love of God, put your clothes back on. Please, I beg of you.”
He heard the rustle of fabric, and a few moments later, she came up beside him, taking his arm again.
“Jayden?”
He glanced down at her, barely able to meet her gaze. Embarrassment flushed his cheeks. Why had he proclaimed to love a woman who would never reciprocate? “Yes, Princess?”
“Could … could you please kiss me?”
Bloody Hell, this woman tortured his very soul. His knees weakened further at her request and he shook his head. “I cannot do that.”
“Please. I must know what it is like to be kissed by a man who feels so strongly toward me. And if I am not mistaken, you just confessed that you have fallen in love with me.”
Oh, yes, he had said that. He shouldn’t even consider placing his lips to hers, but oftentimes as common sense and lust warred against each other, the smarter of the two did not always win. This time, his desires undermined rational thinking.
He lowered his head, letting his lips brush gently against hers. Goosebumps traveled all over his skin as his cock swelled to the point of pain, his desire so deep it seemed his whole body would twist up in agony. He grasped her shoulders and pulled her flush against him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Their mouths met again, the kiss so tender and so beautiful, he trembled from head to toe.
How he longed for more. He wanted all of her, and it pained both his body and heart that he could never have her.
Stepping away, he gazed into her dark, glittering eyes filled with excitement. Her breasts heaved with desire as she brought her fingers to her lips.
“I never imagined it could be that way,” she whispered. “So tender, yet filled with so much passion.”
He’d known this was how a kiss with her would feel, but he couldn’t give her any more, no matter how much he wanted to. “Arabella, please do not ask me to do that again. My body cannot take much more of you without release.”
She glanced down at his breeches, her cheeks flaming as she noticed his erection.
He needed to get her back to the crowded castle, where they both must practice decorum. “Shall we head back?”
She took his arm and nodded.
They walked for a bit in silence before she stopped and turned to him. A soft breeze rustled through her hair. She stared at him, more serious than he’d ever seen her. “Thank you for showing me what passion feels like.”
He smiled, yet his heart felt as though it may crumble into pieces. “If only I could show you more.”
11
As they approached the town square, her anxiety increa
sed, and she wondered what the scene would look like. She imagined the mayor had forced the fire and police department employees to stay in town, and she could also think of a few other residents who wouldn’t budge from this place nestled in the mountains, even under the threat of a nuclear bomb.
The bodies she’d seen that night had been removed. A large crater—the portal to the other worlds—sat in front of Peter Saint’s statue. A policeman stood near it looking nervous, as if he waited for something to happen, but preferred it didn’t.
“That’s where we all emerged into your plane,” Jayden said. “It’s how most will get back.”
“How does it work?”
He shrugged. “Every being has a different way. Some will recite an incantation; others, spells. Some will have Talismans—it just depends from where they came.”
“Why are all of you here, Jayden? I understand that the seams of the universe opened up, but why did all these supernatural entities want to leave their worlds and come to Saint’s Grove?”
“It varies, Bella. Some are here for nefarious reasons, like Ulric. Yet, others have come from other time periods and realms for a reason other than causing havoc; perhaps unfinished business, or to let a loved one know about something that will happen in the future. Your experience has been about death, destruction, and chaos, but not all the beings are here to cause terror and mayhem.”
“How will you get back?”
His face fell for a moment, and a wave of sadness crashed through her at her own question.
You don’t want him to leave.
He smiled. “I have my way.”
The sun shone in the sky, warming the air to a mild temperature. It should have been a busy day for the businesses around the square. A few people milled about, but the usual hustle and bustle remained absent.
They passed the Second Amendment Gun Shop, and the owner waved from behind the counter. She imagined his sales had skyrocketed in the past few days. As they walked down the street, she couldn’t see inside most of the stores, and she hoped their owners had found safety when the trouble began.
Saint’s Grove had always been a nice place to live with its community events such as concerts in the square and the farmer’s market. Tourists liked to visit to get out of the heat in the cities, but also because of the amazing original architecture of the town square with its Victorian style buildings, not to mention the scenic walkways and all the stores and cafés located in the town square. As they continued to her shop, she noticed the blood of the Event’s victims staining the area, and wondered how something so innocent such as a town gathering could have turned so horrible.
That’s what you get when the seams of the universe bust open.
“You know, your present and past selves are a lot alike.”
She gazed over at Jayden, a little jolted by his revelation, but curious, nonetheless. “Really? How so?”
“In your past life, I always thought of you as trapped by your circumstances. You wanted so much more than what had been given to you, things you could never have being a woman and a princess. In present day, you’ve restricted yourself. It seems to me you haven’t opened yourself up to life and what it has to offer. In your past life, you were held hostage by the rules of the era. In this life, you’re imprisoned by your own self-imposed limitations.”
She considered his thoughts as they approached McHale’s Grocery Store. “Why do you think that?”
He turned to her. “Because you said that this Event had made you feel more alive than any other time in your life. It shouldn’t take something so catastrophic to get someone’s blood pumping. That should happen every day, and in my limited personal experience so many centuries ago, it wasn’t the battle that did it for me, but being with you. You excited me. You made my heart beat faster than any skirmish ever could. Even the danger of being caught with you did not thrill me the way actually spending time with you did. So, maybe, being in love is the ultimate high, and you haven’t opened yourself up to it.”
She stared into his dark gaze, almost ashamed that so much death and destruction made her feel alive. A bit of indignation roiled through her, and she raised her chin and straightened her back, as if she suddenly wore a steel rod for a spine.
“Maybe for you, being in love was the ultimate high, but you don’t know if it was that way for me. Maybe … maybe other things got my heart pumping, as you say.”
He threw his head back and laughed, and she became even more annoyed. “What’s so funny?”
Pressing his lips into a fine line, he bowed his head. “Nothing, Princess. Your haughty nature at this moment reminds me of the woman I knew so long ago. And when you’re ready to hear about the ways love made you happy, let me know.”
Confusion tore through her. “B-but you said I was killed by my husband.”
Shadows crossed his face. “I did say that. You didn’t love him, and for a brief time, I was the one who made your toes curl and cries of passion fall from your lips.”
He turned as if he hadn’t dropped such a large sexual bombshell and tried to open the door, but found it wouldn’t budge. “We’ll have to break in.”
As she followed him around to the back, she swallowed heavily, her throat slightly constricted. Could he be right? Could she have closed herself off from life and love?
He cupped his hands around his eyes and looked through a small window. A moment later, he pulled off his vest and wrapped it around his elbow. She glanced at him, taking in his large, muscular form as he slammed his elbow through the pane, and a wave of desire shot through her.
After shaking out the leather, he slipped it back on, then cleared the rest of the glass. “Stay here while I check out the store.”
As he hauled himself through the space, she felt awful for breaking in, but what could she do? Starve?
A few moments passed as she considered his words. She knew they had been lovers, but could he have been the one to make her toes curl, and not her husband? What did that make her in that time? A harlot?
Suddenly, the door opened, startling her. He grinned, holding a can of soup in each hand. “If I were a guessing man, I would bet that you like the creamy potato, or maybe even the tomato.”
“Yes—I like both, but we should leave a note and some money, then board up this window.”
He nodded and held the door for her.
The store had made it through the trouble without a scratch. Everything seemed to be exactly where it should.
As she walked through the quiet, deserted aisles and grabbed a few more items, his prior accusations rang true. She had dated, but had quickly brushed most of them off because she’d claimed they didn’t excite her. Maybe she hadn’t given any of the men in her life a chance. Maybe she sat and waited for someone who would never come, closing herself off to the possibilities of falling in love, or giving someone the opportunity to excite her.
Yes, the realization of her actions bothered her most of all.
12
They left the grocery store and crossed over the grass to Bella’s shop. Apparently, someone had decided to destroy her store windows, and she had a good idea of who that could be.
Damon Sears, owner of Bare Wood Furniture located across the square on the grocery store side, had taken it upon himself to put plywood up over the broken windows and sweep up some of the glass.
“Hey, Damon. I wanted to thank you for doing that.”
He turned to her, hammer in hand, and Jayden studied the tall, lean, and muscular man, placing him in his thirties.
As Damon gazed at Bella, Jayden instinctively knew that he liked Bella as more than just a friend. Perhaps they’d even dated for a while, and jealousy clawed at him.
“Hey, Bella. All this stuff is pretty strange, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I know. Scary as hell, too. I’ve seen vampires, werewolves, angels … it’s crazy.”
“I agree. I even came across some witches—Anika Butler from the antique store had a crazy story about
a relic … I think she called it the Star Anthame.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“I know! I tried to film what I’ve seen, but none of these … paranormal beings show up on camera.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know … maybe that’s a good thing. If they did, it would only end up on the Internet and our town would not only be filled with all these strange supernatural beings, but a lot of crazy people.”
As Jayden stood to the side and listened to their conversation, a memory from his previous life with Bella came to mind; another time she’d been with other men, and he’d found the ugly green monster roaring within him, just as it did now.
* * *
The time had come for the King to host his annual great feast. The prince was excited about the event, as the wealthiest eligible men in the realm and beyond would attend, placing them in close proximity to his daughter.
“I detest this party, Jayden,” Arabella snarled as they strolled through town.
He walked a bit ahead of her to clear a path through the throngs of people. It appeared business was good for those selling their wares in the marketplace, for many people milled about as the smell of spices, baked bread, and fresh fish filled the air.
She’d insisted upon leaving the castle as the servants prepared the great hall for the feast and dance tonight.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I am sorry, Princess.”
“I will be on display like livestock that my father is looking to sell.”
Sighing, he didn’t know what to say, because she had been right. For more than two fortnights, the prince had been putting out feelers to other kingdoms to find someone of her social stature to marry, but no agreement had been made. This brought Jayden no end of relief. He also dreaded the feast this evening for the same reasons as Arabella. If a suitor could be found tonight, he would be one step closer to losing his love.