by Jenika Snow
I saw some asshole come up to her, all but blocking her way. She glanced up, seeming startled. She smiled but I could tell it was uncomfortable, maybe even a little nervous. Whatever he was saying she shook her head, the smile still in place, but looking more forced by the second. And when he reached out and start playing with a tendril of her hair I could see the discomfort in her face rising.
Something in me snapped, this beast being unleashed, tearing right through the cage where I’d apparently had it housed deep within me. I felt myself getting closer to her, my legs moving swiftly, my body propelling toward the threat I saw.
I gripped the asshole’s arm and yanked him away. I could smell the booze coming from him instantly, and his bloodshot, glossed-over gaze locked with mine. I heard this low rumble and realized it came from me.
“Don't fucking touch her,” I said harshly. I saw the anger wash over his face only a second before he lifted his arm and started swinging at me. But I’d had plenty of training, knew how to handle myself. I blocked the move and took a step back. I wanted to fight him, to defend the woman I cared about. But now wasn’t the time.
I looked over at Daisy and saw confusion on her face, but then realization washed across her expression when she recognized me. Her eyes widened and I felt a surge of possessiveness slam into me.
She took a step forward, and I could see by the expression on her face she wanted to protect me and not the other way around.
I took hold of her hand, and was about to steer her away from the crowd and take her back to the palace, to my room, but the asshole clocked me right in the side of the face. I stumbled backwards, my anger rising. I turned and faced him, swung out, and hit him in the temple.
His head cocked to the side and he slammed into the wall. It was then that I realize my hat had gotten knocked off, the room was quiet, and there were about a dozen cell phone cameras aimed right at me.
Fuck.
No doubt this incident would be on the front page of every paper in the country come morning. I had Daisy's hand in mine a second later and was leading her out of the pub. We didn't speak as I took her down some back roads, snuck her into the palace through a couple hidden passageways, and finally made it back to my room.
I shut my bedroom door, just now tasting a metallic flavor covering my tongue. I lifted my hand and touched my lip, the sensitivity letting me know that it was split.
I turned and faced Daisy, seeing her watching me, her expression guarded, confused.
This hadn't been how I’d wanted this night to go. But it looked like there was no going back now.
Daisy
I didn't know what was going on. My mind was whirling over the fact Lennon had been at The Pub, that he'd hit some guy for me… that he'd looked so possessive of me.
My heart was beating so hard it was actually painful. Lennon was watching me like he had something to say. How had he known I was there? Why had he defended me like that, acted like I was his?
And now, the way he looked at me, stared into my eyes, made me feel so bare, despite the fact I was fully dressed.
Wasn’t this what I’d always wanted? I’d always wanted to be in his room, his hands on me, his gaze locked on mine. That had all seemed like a fantasy though. But this, although reality, felt surreal, like I was in a dream, trapped in a loop and unable to escape. But I didn't want to leave, didn't want to run away or pretend like this wasn't happening.
There were a lot of things I wanted to say to Lennon, but the words were lodged in my throat.
I saw the mark on his lip, his battle wound from defending me.
The guy had hit him, the asshole so drunk, saying inappropriate, gross things to me that made my skin crawl. I would've been surprised if he even knew what day it was. But when I’d realized it was Lennon who was there this wave of relief filled me. He made me feel like everything would be okay.
Now is the time to say how you feel.
I felt on edge, the arousal so intense it was like a living entity inside of me.
“I was worried about you when I knew you went to The Pub.” His voice was slow, deep, his focus trained right on me.
I felt my cheeks heat at his admission. “How did you know I'd be there?”
He glanced away for a second, but then moved over to the couch. He had his hand on his lap, his fingers curled into his palm. He looked tense, as if he was ashamed by the answer he might give me. He looked at me again, his blue eyes hard. “I overheard one of the staff talking with you on the phone.”
My heart was beating so hard, so fast it was painful. “You came out to make sure I was okay?”
He nodded once. “The very thought of you being surrounded by a bunch of drunken assholes...” He didn't finish speaking, but I could see the anger move across his entire body.
Tonight he’d shown me a different side of him, a side that seemed to want me enough to risk being seen, being recorded fighting, defending my honor.
As the seconds and minutes moved by, I felt like I was in this alternate reality, one I’d only dreamed about. I knew that no matter what I had to be honest with him tonight.
I had to be honest with myself as well.
4
Lennon
“Come sit with me.” I wanted to be close to her, wanted her body pressed right to mine. I’d wanted her for so long this moment seemed surreal. My heart was thundering behind my ribs, and I wondered if she’d come closer, if she’d sit with me on the couch.
I’d shut the bedroom door, maybe presuming she’d be comfortable with that, maybe hoping she’d see it as something more.
And then she did move closer and sat right beside me, and the scent of her invaded my senses. I grew drunk from it, aroused because she was so close. I shifted on the couch, feeling my dick punch forward, growing harder, thicker. God, I wanted to be with Daisy, wanted to claim her as mine. I wanted her in every possible way.
She was looking at me, and I knew she was nervous. God, I hated that she had to wait on me, like I was better than her. I wasn’t. If anything she was better than me.
I reached out, not stopping myself, not even bothering to pretend this wasn’t going to move forward. I needed her to know how I felt. Now.
I lifted her head up with my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were so big, so blue. I got lost in them, drunk on them. She ducked her head, her dark hair falling over the side of her face, blocking the view I had of her. I reached out with my other hand and pushed the strands away, placing them behind her ear and letting my fingers linger over the soft shell.
God, I wanted her right here, right now. I wanted to bare myself to her, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.
My body wanted her, but my mind roared out to go slow, that I needed to tell her how I felt first, show her with words what she meant to me.
“There’s things I want to say too, things I should have said a long time ago.” Lennon said in his deep voice.
My heart raced, and every part of me became strung tight. I looked into her eyes, the blue sweeping me in, holding me down. I realized this was what life was, what I’d been missing. I had known I wanted her for a long time, but until I saw her being touched by someone else, and felt the possessive side rise up in me, did I then realize I’d always wanted her.
I’d always wanted this.
I just needed to tell her how I felt, show her that she was mine. Without wasting another moment, I just said what was in my heart.
“I’ve always wanted you, but I’ve been buried too deep in my own thoughts and feelings to be a man and tell you how I felt.” I watched as the pulse at the base of her neck jumped, her pupils dilating, her breathing increasing. I leaned in an inch, our mouths so close if I said one word they’d brush together.
“Is this for real?” she questioned softly, her eyes so big as she stared at me.
“I want it to be our reality.” I wasn’t going to lie, or pretend that what I wanted wasn’t authentic. I wanted
her to know that in my heart I was genuine, that I truly needed her in my life.
“But your family, the media?” She breathed out harshly and I could see she was afraid, nervous. “The Crown?”
I shook my head, knowing that she would have worried about all this, but wanting to reassure her. “None of that matters.” I cupped the side of her face, her skin warm, soft. “Just tell me what you want and it’s yours.”
Please tell me I’m the one you want.
“Tell me what you want.” I had my hand on the back of her head now, keeping her close, a part of me afraid she’d leave, that the subtle things I’d seen in her were wrong. I worried maybe it had all been in my head, that she didn’t want me, that I just needed her so much I’d envisioned the entire thing.
“You.” And when she said that one word, with a little breathy moan that had me groaning, I couldn’t stop myself from what I did next.
I leaned in and kissed her.
Daisy
He kissed me until I couldn’t breathe, until I clung to him like there was nothing else keeping me stable. My heart was in my throat, beating wildly, intensely, threatening to come right out of my skin.
He pulled away, the flavor of him coating my lips, tongue, the very part of me that ached the most. Lennon consumed me.
He wanted me, which seemed surreal all in itself.
The feel of his mouth on mine was a heady reminder of all I’d been missing, of all I’d wanted since I realized I needed him in my life.
“Tell me again what you want,” he said low, his breath moving along my face, sending tendrils of desire racing to my marrow.
God, is this really happening?
“You, I want you.” I couldn’t breathe. “I’ve always wanted you but was too afraid to say anything.” I’d worried about crossing lines, being humiliated because he didn’t feel the same way. I didn’t know how his family would react, the news, the country, if they knew I was in love with Prince Lennon.
But all of that seemed so trivial now.
Before I knew what was happening, he had his hands on my waist and was pulling me onto his lap. I gasped, this forward action making me feel exposed, heated. I’d never been with a man, never even thought about being with one until I realized I wanted Lennon.
My legs were now on either side of his waist, and he settled back against the couch, getting comfortable, making this intimate. I felt exposed, like I couldn’t even think rationally over what was going on.
He watched me for long seconds, his gaze heavy-lidded, his face and body so masculine I couldn’t help but feel all female with him.
He’d always been in the forefront of my mind, taking residence there, refusing to leave. I’d wanted him closer, so close I was suffocating from it all.
“What made you want to say anything now?” I finally said, wanting to know why the sudden change in him, why he’d wanted to admit this now.
He was silent for long seconds, but still had his hands on my waist. “I was tired of pretending, tired of thinking that I didn’t deserve to be happy. I meant to tell you soon, because I didn’t want to wait anymore.” He slid his hand up my waist and cupped the side of my neck. “Then I heard that you were going out and all I could think about was a bunch of drunken assholes having their hands on you.” I felt the slightest pressure of his hand on my neck.
I didn’t want to think anymore. The chemistry that bounced between us was this living entity. I wanted to explore it, to get consumed in all that was Lennon. All I wanted was to be with Lennon in every possible way. Desire coursed through me that there was no denying this was exactly what was supposed to happen.
And because I felt bold, I was the one to lean in and claim his mouth.
5
Lennon
She kissed me and it was like this beast broke free in me. I gripped her waist and hauled her on top of my lap. With her legs spread on either side of my thighs, and her chest pressed right to mine, this thrill of dark desire moved through me.
I reached up and wound my hand around her hair, my fingers tangled in the long strands. I brought her impossibly closer, so fucking close that our teeth clashed together and she moaned for me. We parted for only a second and I stared into her eyes. “I’m keeping you,” I said in this harsh whisper, not about to deny what I wanted, what I needed.
The way her eyes widened slightly, and hearing and feeling her breath rush out of her, turned me on even more, made me this animal for her. I nearly groaned, thinking about telling her what I wanted to do to her, the filthy images that I could admit were running through my head.
I tightened my hold on her hair. “There are so many fucking filthy things I want to do to you, how I’d make you mine.”
“Tell me,” she gasped.
“I want you bared for me, your legs spread so I could see the most intimate pink part of you.” I groaned at her reaction. “I’d lick your entire body, make you come with my mouth alone, and then I’d plunge my cock deep in your pussy.” I had my other hand on her waist and used a little bit of pressure to get her to start rocking back and forth on me.
Yeah, Daisy was really getting into this.
“God, I’m so hot, so ready,” she whispered. I had no doubt she could feel exactly how hard I was for her.
We were both breathing so hard, and I felt beads of sweat dot my forehead as I strained to gather my control. I lifted my hips slightly, pressing my erection against her pussy. She started moving faster on me. I grunted and closed my eyes, the feeling of her rocking on top of me almost too much.
“God,” she whispered, her eyes closed.
I needed to see her get off while doing this, while rubbing herself on me.
“Oh, fucking hell yes. That’s it, baby.” I ground out those words. “I want to watch you come unhinged.” I gripped her waist with both of my hands and helped her in her motions, back and forth, harder and faster.
“God, yes, Lennon.”
I stared into her face, watching the pleasure morph across her expression. “That’s it.” I was breathing so damn hard. And then she came for me.
She tossed her head back, closed her eyes, and moaned out deeply. Her mouth was parted and her body tightened as she came undone. When she relaxed, I grabbed her hair again and forced her to look at me. I kissed her until I couldn’t breathe.
She pulled back. “I want to be with you right now.”
Yeah, she was primed for me. I lowered my gaze to her mouth, loving that her lips were red, swollen, and that there was a glossy sheen covering them from our kiss. And when I placed my thumb on her bottom lip, pulled the flesh down, and let it fall back into place, I groaned in lust. I pushed the digit into her mouth, every part of me coming alive even more. I made her suck on my thumb, loving how she sucked on it and then ran her tongue along the pad.
I didn’t want to deny her.
I didn’t want to deny myself either.
“Be with me now,” she whispered, and I felt my cock jerk.
I pulled her in close and claimed her mouth, shoving my tongue deep in her mouth, fucking her with the muscle like I’d soon do between her thighs.
While still kissing her, I curled my body around hers, bringing her impossibly close to me. Her breasts pressed right to my chest.
“Rub yourself on me, baby.” I didn’t even care how fucking dirty I sounded. I needed to say these things.
I stared into her face as she started moving her hips back and forth on me, working me over in this sweet, almost innocent way. I was fucking depraved for the things I wanted to do to her. I didn’t stop myself from kissing her again. I gently bit at her lip, tugging at the soft, succulent flesh.
With my hands on her waist I made sure to keep her right where she was, helping her work herself on me.
I broke the kiss, breathing hard, heavy. “Tell me this is what you want, that we can just say fuck off to everyone and everything else,” I murmured, running my tongue over first her top lip and then the bottom one. She moaned, and I
couldn’t help kissing her again. She pressed down on me especially hard, and my control snapped.
“I want you, and fuck everyone else,” she whispered.
My mouth went dry, my cock jerked, and everything in me went on high alert.
“Christ.” I lowered my focus to her chest. The large mounds pressed against the material of her shirt. I could see the outline of her nipples, the hard little beads making my mouth water.
“You’re watching me like you’re starving.”
I breathed out slowly. “I’m so hungry for you.”
And I was, so fucking hungry.
6
Daisy
Lennon was possessive in the way he touched me, made me feel good. I didn’t deny that this made me nervous, that having sex for the first time—with the Prince, no less—made this string in me tighten, threatening to snap, about to take me down into the abyss.
“I want you,” I found myself whispering, saying the words that had been buried for so long. It was only a few seconds before he was in front of me, my body pressed right to his, the scent of him surrounding me.
“Wrap your arms around me, Daisy.”
I did as he said, feeling his strength consume me, wash through me, making me feel like I was on a ledge. His erection pressed right against my belly, thick and long, and foretelling of what was to come.
I was wet, soaked in fact. My panties were saturated, the material rubbing along my sensitive folds. He made this low sound deep within his chest as he walked us backward, his mouth on my throat, his teeth and tongue ravishing me there. I felt his erection digging into my belly. Lennon was huge, his dick thick and long, like this steel rod between us.
I felt the wall stop our movement, and this gasp of surprised pleasure filled me.