by Andersen,Kai
He knocked.
“Come in.”
“Serena, I have something --”
“What are you doing here?” She scrambled to sit on the bed and pull the blankets over herself.
He rushed inside, the bowls rattling against each other on the tray he carried. “Don’t get up. You’re sick.”
“Don’t be silly, I only have a little fever.”
“Still, we can’t be too careful about these things.” He placed the tray on the bedside table.
“What were you saying when you came in?”
“Oh, that.” He felt a bit warm. “Just that I brought you medicine and lunch.”
Where was the suave prince who’d seduced girls with his tongue?
“Is that one of Mrs. Goode-Heart’s concoctions?”
“Yes, why?” He picked up the bowl of clear liquid that Mrs. Goode-Heart had said Serena should drink before her meal.
Serena made a face. “I don’t like it. I drank some early this morning and it’s bitter.”
“But you’re better now because of it.” He handed her the bowl. “Be a good girl, and drink it all up.”
“Who appointed you my father?” She grumbled, but took the bowl and proceeded to drink it all in one go.
He didn’t want to be her father.
“There.”
“Good girl.”
Damn it, he sounded like a father.
He took the bowl from her and replaced it with the tray across her lap. “Eat up.”
Her face was comical in her dismay. “Porridge?”
“Hey, porridge’s my favorite.” He pulled up the chair from her vanity and placed it beside the bed. “See, it’s even got meat inside. I’m sure it’s very tasty.”
“Nice try, Frederick. If you like it so much, take it.”
Frederick laughed. “C’mon, Serena. Don’t you want to leave this room? I’m sure you must be bored to death, staying in here the whole morning, doing nothing but twiddling your thumbs.”
“Now that’s a more persuasive argument.” She took a cautious taste of the porridge, found it acceptable and began to eat with gusto. “By the way, how’d you know I’d left last night?”
“I was on my way to bed when I heard someone on the stairs. By the time I got to the first level, the door was closing, so I knew someone had gone out. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it’s you.” He was quiet for a few heartbeats and then, “Why’d you leave?”
“I’ve told you.” He noted how she avoided his gaze. “I don’t want to disrupt your life anymore. Anyway, it’s been raining for five days; it ought to be stopping soon.”
“That’s what you think. Have you looked out the windows this morning?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“It’s still raining.”
“Even harder than the previous days. Where do you think you’d be right now if I hadn’t caught you?” He hated to see her flinch from his hard tone, but he had a point to make.
“Halfway out of Repling Forest, I imagine.”
“Shivering to death in the middle of Repling Forest is more like it. Lost, probably being hunted by boars and other wild animals out there.”
“It’s storming.” Serena lifted her chin. “I doubt if the animals are out there.”
He made a frustrated sound. “If the animals have enough sense to stay in their houses during a storm, you’d think an intelligent human such as you would know it too.” He got up, unable to sit still any longer. He paced the length of the room. “If it’s me you object to, I promise to be on my best behavior from now on. You won’t have any more cause to complain --”
“Frederick.”
He whirled around. “What?”
“Come and kiss me.”
He stared at her warily. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Though she didn’t admit it last night, he had perceived that she wasn’t ready for the physical part of their relationship yet. At the same time, he didn’t want to give her any more reason to run away. That was why he’d decided to cut her some slack, to give her time to grow accustomed to him. After all, they’d met just four days ago.
“Then I’ll have to go to you.”
He watched in stupefaction as she got down from the bed and walked toward him. He was so surprised that he stumbled back a step or two.
A smile teased the corner of her lips, but she kept coming. “Is this the Frederick I know?”
“Stop right there.” He winced at the desperate note in his voice. “You might want to rethink this.”
“You issued me a challenge last night, Frederick, and this is my answer.” Her smile was mysterious and seductive, teasing his will.
“Forget I said that.” He took several hasty steps backward. His back hit the door of her cabinet.
“I’m not sure I can.” The smile grew. “You’re a pretty difficult man to ignore.”
“Serena ...”
“I know what I’m doing, Frederick.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I won’t.”
And then her mouth pressed against his, and the kiss was sweet and slow, tasting, savoring, luxuriating.
He buried his hands in her unbound hair, positioning her head for a better angle as he took over the kiss, keeping their pace unhurried and giving her the space to pull back if she wanted. There was a different quality to this kiss, an added dimension that Frederick hadn’t experienced before. It was deeper, fuller and ... more complete.
Finally, he lifted his head. His eyes roved over her face, noting her dreamy eyes and equally dreamy smile. He wondered if she was seeing the same thing on his face. He couldn’t resist. Their lips fused again in a short, sweet kiss. His thumb caressed her soft cheek. “You need to rest.”
“If you’ll play chess with me later.” Her whispered voice added more intimacy to the atmosphere, and her eyes were liquid pools he could drown in.
“All right.”
Chapter Ten
That afternoon, Serena was well enough to go down to the library to claim her promised game of chess. She looked rather fetching as she pursed her lips in concentration, clad in the dress she must have worn on the night of her arrival, for it looked frayed and threadbare. It fit her better, though, for it clung lovingly and emphasized the hills and valleys of her body. He tried to remember that she’d recently recovered from her bout of illness, but she was making it hard with her natural sensuality. A sensuality she’d now decided to unleash on his poor beleaguered self. A matching vest hid her abundant charms, and though Frederick approved of that when in mixed company, he frowned at being denied the chance to admire them when alone with her.
And right now, they were very much alone in the library.
Serena moved her queen to take his knight, after a think time of about three minutes.
He felt absurdly pleased that he was able to make her consider that long before making her move, considering that her average time so far was about thirty seconds.
She was still frowning over her move. “I think that should be it. I’ve covered all the bases, haven’t I?”
“You’re asking me?” He retorted. “I’m the opponent!”
“Well, you might’ve wanted to grant me some handicap points, considering that I’ve been sick.”
“Your doe eyes have no effect on me.”
“Really? You think I have doe eyes?”
“I’m not answering that. Anyway, our rule was that once you’ve made your move, you can’t change it anymore. My turn now.” He frowned, studying the board with concentration, instinct telling him there’s something about the placement of the pieces ...
He moved his queen. “Check.”
“Great.” Serena groaned. “I didn’t see that.” She moved her king one space to the right.
He moved his rook. “Check and mated.”
She threw up her hands. “I can’t believe it. I lost two games in a row.”
“Now we know who’s the master.�
�� He smirked. “And as your master, I bid you to ... tell me more about this farming technique that I hadn’t the chance to ask you about before -- wait, let me get my pen and pad.”
For several minutes, their discussion flowed smoothly, Serena eager to share her country’s technological advances with him. However, when his questions started probing deeper and Serena hadn’t been able to answer, he became more and more irritable. Finally, he pushed his slate to one side and turned brooding eyes on her. He reached over and touched her vest. “Take it off.”
Somehow, she wasn’t surprised at his command. He always had a knack for going straight to the problem.
Instead of obeying, Serena clutched the clothing more tightly to her chest. “Why?”
“I don’t like it.”
“That’s funny. You aren’t the one wearing it.”
Why was this woman always so contrary?
His mouth thinned. “Take it off, I say.”
“No, no and no!”
That word was beginning to irritate him.
“Damn it, Serena.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand you.”
“What part of ‘no, no, and no’ don’t you understand?”
“You kissed me yesterday!”
“And so?”
“Damn. I didn’t want you naked. I wanted your vest off because it irritates me.”
Serena’s face clouded with confusion for a moment, and then her face cleared. She half rose from her seat and slammed her hands on the table. Outrage fired from the depths of her eyes. “Just because I kissed you, you think I want to have sex with you?” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “Men!” She pushed back her chair and strode away.
“Wait!” He caught her at the door. He spun her around and stared down into her stormy eyes. “Why’d you kiss me?”
“Not because I want to have sex with you, definitely.” Her mouth was set in an angry line.
“Oh, no?” He taunted. His fingers glided down her arm. “And to think I once admired your honesty.”
She shivered, though he saw her trying hard to suppress her reaction to him.
He lifted his brow.
Her spine stiffened. “I don’t deny that I’m attracted to you, Frederick. You’re a handsome man; possibly, women old enough to be grandmothers would also find you attractive and be eager to jump into bed with you. But that’s not the reason why I kissed you.”
“All right.” He’ll let her off the hook for now. “Why’d you kiss me then?”
“Because you were kind to me, and I wanted to show my appreciation.”
He snorted. “All right. I’ll accept that. For now. Sooner or later, you’ll have to be honest with yourself, if not with me. Now, take off that vest.”
“Frederick!”
“Please.”
“Didn’t you hear a word I’ve said?”
“And didn’t you hear that I just want that vest off and nothing else? It’s an eyesore.” He moved behind her and rained small kisses on her neck. “To me, at least. C’mon, honey, humor me? After all, I’m irritable because you can’t answer my questions.”
“So now it’s my fault.”
“It’s nobody’s fault. But see how hard it’s become for me to kiss you here?” She didn’t know how hard. His finger slipped underneath the vest to touch the pulse that beat wildly at the base of her neck. “Do you want me to kiss you there?”
“Yes.”
He was gratified to hear that her voice was breathy. He found that her eyes had closed and her head had fallen back, baring the long column of her neck. She was fast falling under his sensual spell.
“Then you see how much this vest is hindering us.” He murmured against her throat. “Let’s take it off so I can kiss you properly.”
“Yes.”
He slipped it off, throwing the offending garment onto the floor. He kissed her where he’d indicated, enjoying the sound of Serena’s enjoyment and the hard dig of her fingers into his arm.
He moved in front of her, his eyes lighting with satisfaction at the flushed look on her face and the deep cleavage now visible between her breasts. “You’re beautiful.” She looked lush and sexy, and he felt the telltale stirring in his trousers.
Serena opened her eyes, but there was no hint of alarm or anger in them. Instead, the unconsciously sensual look in them caused desire to slam hard into his gut.
She licked her lips. “Wanton.”
He wanted to lick them himself. “More natural and relaxed.”
“Wanton.”
“I won’t protest that, if you’re wanton only for me.”
She shivered.
“What is it?”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Her eyes darkened.
“Serena ...” His head lowered.
His mouth had almost reached her lips when she suddenly shook her head and pushed him away. Caught off guard, he let her walk back to the table.
“Can we get back to the farming discussions?” Her voice trembled.
“But you can’t answer my questions.”
“You may have other questions.”
He thought a moment. “You’re right. I do.”
She turned expectantly.
“Can I make love to you?”
She gasped.
“Just like yesterday.”
A low moan escaped her, and he knew she was remembering the way their last chess game ended.
He remembered as well, and thought of all the things he wanted to do to her. “And more.”
She understood. He could see it in her face, but he didn’t understand the sudden mischievous smile that lit up her face. “You can try.”
“You think I can’t, huh?” Frederick was challenged. He grabbed her and sat them both down in the chair he’d recently vacated, with her in his lap.
She squirmed.
Frederick groaned and held her steady. “Honey, stop doing that. You’re going to kill me.” His cock pulsed and throbbed to the beat of her heat.
She squirmed again, moving her butt slowly over his cock. She surely thought she was being funny, but he was going to die from wanting her, and that definitely wasn’t funny.
“Serena ...”
Frederick felt his cock grow and harden near to bursting. Days of wanting Serena, of being only able to kiss her and bring her to orgasm without having one of his own was difficult on him. Very difficult. Knowing that she was fully naked beneath her dress made it even more so. Now, the feel of her sweet firm buttocks sliding over his trousers-clothed cock was more than unbearable. It was unendurable.
“You’re killing me, sweet Serena.” He picked her up and ran to deposit her on the arm chaise, pushing the pillows onto the floor. He fell on her, burying his face in the cleavage of her breasts.
She gasped.
His tongue flicked against her skin.
She moaned.
His fingers undid the ribbon that was holding the bodice together. The two sides fell away and her breasts were bared to his gaze. More delightfully, they were bared to his touch.
He breathed heavily, and then his head moved. His tongue flicked against one nipple, laving and sucking.
A frenzied greed took hold of him. One wasn’t enough. He pushed both breasts together and sucked alternately on each nipple. Sucking earnestly. Sucking like there was no tomorrow. Sucking like all the nutrients he needed came from her nipples. He was possessed with an urgent need to mark his brand on every inch of her skin.
She groaned and cried his name, her fingers digging into his arms.
It wasn’t enough.
One hand released her breast, though his mouth still continued its assault on that area. His fingers slipped underneath the dress, expecting to find naked skin and delightful curls ... and encountered her underwear.
“What the --”
“It dried.” Her voice was shaking with frustration.
He drew in a ragged breath. He knew exactly what she’s feeling.
He flipped
the dress up, covering her face with it, as his other hand unfastened his trousers and freed his cock in one swift movement. It bobbed, long and thick and hard with lust for the woman in front of him, the woman between whose legs he was now lying. Before she was done pulling the skirt down from her face, he’d pushed his cock against her panties and into her pussy.
His lips were over hers, kissing her roughly as he thrust into her repeatedly. “This is how it’s going to be, Serena, me moving over you, my hungry cock in you, but without these damned panties.” He clasped her legs around him. “Here, honey, keep those legs here. Pull me to you, pull me deeper …”
Serena whimpered and tried. He felt the effort she expended from the desperation in her legs as she strained and from the hands she’d clasped around him. She wanted what he wanted: him closer, nearer to her, within her. But the silk panties were barring the way.
They clung to her, wet where they touched her pussy, wet where he was pushing his cock into it.
She gave mewling cries of frustration.
He felt the same way. No, what he felt was something infinitely deeper, frustration mingled with a desperation she couldn’t even begin to understand. A desperation to be as deep as he could be in her, a need that was hampered by the silk panties that were preventing him from sliding into her.
He moved off her.
“No!”
Music to his ears.
“Wait a while, honey.” His fingers quested to her waist and pulled down her panties. He threw them away behind him, and then he knelt and pulled her legs up onto his neck. He saw the red tangle of her curls, and never was there a more beautiful sight. He wanted to worship her, to show his appreciation of her femininity, but his cock was drumming a more urgent and insistent beat. Listening to its demands, he placed his cock between her labia, feeling her sweet, hot, and wet against him.
He groaned.
“Ooh, that feels good, Frederick.”
“It only gets better.”
He turned his head and placed a kiss on one smooth calf. He pumped, slowly at first, reveling in the sensation of his hard length rubbing up against her folds, the bumps in his cock rasping over her clitoris. He thrust, imagining his cock plunging into her tight hot depths. Her wet cream gushed out, coating his cock further, causing it to move more slickly among her folds. His rhythm increased. His belly tightened. They bounced and rocked on the chaise. He felt her quake and pulse around him, her legs tightening around his neck. She arched and bucked against him, and the pressure in him snapped as he spilled his seed. He continued to thrust through the hand he had planted on his cock as he aimed it at her cloth-covered belly.