The realization hit her like a blow to the head and she gasped, her heart squeezing in her chest. Her wedding had always been a blur of a memory, but it was coming back to her now. She’d always assumed the fuzziness was because all brides were said to be nervous. Now she knew it was because she didn’t feel enough to be nervous. In fact, right after the wedding was when Chad lowered her dosage and she’d become a little more coherent.
At first, thinking of Chad and what he’d done, she got angry, so angry that she couldn’t see straight and ended up punching Reid’s bed until her body was so weak she couldn’t move. Then, she felt sadness. How could Chad have done that to her? Why had he taken away everything that she was? He’d said he loved her, but is that what love was? Control? Possession? Manipulation? Knowing that Chad didn’t love her, probably never had, stung as well. She’d been nothing more than Dr. Chadwick St. Claire’s trophy--a wife he could show off to other doctors, a wife he could control. She’d not even been a wife, but an unpaid, unwilling personal assistant. She’d cleaned for him, cooked for him, waited on him and his friends. She’d smiled and simpered and wrote his speeches for him. She filed his charts and scheduled his appointments.
I love you, Jasmine. Chad said it everyday. Every single, damned day! I don’t know what I’d do without you.
“I know what you’d do,” Jasmine hissed, punching the bed anew. “You’d have to iron your own clothes and get your lazy ass up off the couch to the food simulator to make your own drinks. You’d have to laugh at your friends’ stupid doctor jokes all by yourself.”
At least Prince Reid was honest with her. Not once did he make promises, try to woo her with pretty compliments and flowery words. He didn’t buy her expensive gifts--gifts that were no more than bribes. Reid said he loved having sex with her. At the time, the words had sounded odd, but the more she thought of it, the more she could appreciate the honesty of them.
Reid loved having sex with her.
Jasmine sighed. He didn’t love her. He loved sex with her. It wasn’t what most women wanted to hear, but she wasn’t most women. She’d been told she was loved for years and where did that get her? Nowhere. If Jasmine never had to face a man’s love again it would be too soon. Right now, sex was enough. In fact, she loved having sex with Reid. She’d been suppressed for so long, it was time to live her life and she planned to do just that. Reid wasn’t the type of man who’d want to commit to one woman and she’d already technically had a multiple woman marriage. If she were to ever try the marriage thing again, which she highly doubted, it would be just one husband to one wife.
No. This arrangement with Reid was perfect. She didn’t want commitment and neither did he. They both loved sex with each other. What more perfect arrangement could there be? And, the best part was, they didn’t need to talk about it. It was what it was.
It was decided.
Then why did her heart skip around at the thought of Reid not caring for her beyond friendship? It wasn’t like she loved him. It wasn’t like she wanted a serious relationship. Did she?
“No,” Jasmine said aloud. “I’m just confused. All these new emotions just have me confused.”
Jasmine refused to think about it any longer. Chad was a rotten, no good bastard. There was no reason dwelling on what couldn’t be changed. Reid was not the type of man to commit and she wasn’t in the position to be committed to. The less she thought about it, the better for her sanity. Reid was her lover. She was finally a free woman--who would not be doing Reid’s cleaning and cooking for him.
It was decided. It was what it was. It was figured out.
Then why was she still thinking about it?
Groaning, Jasmine looked around Reid’s room. It really was huge, covering at least half of the square footage the downstairs did. She wondered if there was more carved beyond the bedroom wall, or if they’d only made this one room on the second level. She didn’t see a door, so assumed it was just the one room. Then, eyeing the giant viewing screen, she said, “Viewing screen on.”
It didn’t turn on. She frowned, looking around. There was a small remote on a table by the bed. Reaching forward, she pushed a button. The screen blipped and a menu came up that said, ‘Action. Good movies. Women’s films. Documentaries.’
“Apparently women’s films didn’t make the good category.” Jasmine laughed. Pushing the first option, she read the list she found under the title of action, ‘Large Explosions. Mass Fighting. Hand to Hand Combat. Funny Old Futuristic. Swordplay. Mild Explosions. Miscellaneous.’
Jasmine laughed harder. Exploring some of the titles and movies, she discovered they were basically just old Earth films classified into what kind of action they had in them. The funny futuristics were full of space ships and zipping lasers. Some of the old Earth people’s ideas weren’t too far from the truth. Others were so far away from it that she couldn’t imagine how anyone would think it believable.
Good movies were just a list of different types of dramas and horror films. Some she’d seen. Most she hadn’t. Earth films were making a comeback of sorts with many travelers. Spaceships were able to pick up some of the old transmission waves while in space. A lot of times, the transmissions were recorded illegally in Earth air space and then pirates would sell the copies later. The direct broadcasts from the Earth airspace were of better quality than the older transmission waves picked up by deep space ships.
Women’s films turned out to be romances and such. Picturing Reid watching a sappy girl movie was beyond hilarious. She doubted he even bothered with that section. Going to the last category, she expected to see old Earth news programs. Instead, documentaries led her to nothing but old fashioned porn. Jasmine gasped, sitting up. It was by far the biggest movie selection out of all the categories. Her mouth agape, she read the subcategory list, ‘Girl-Girl.’
Jasmine grimaced. “Ugh, no thanks.”
‘Traditional. Multiples. Must Try. Awkward.’ Jasmine stopped reading though there were more. She scrolled down to the ‘Must Try’ option. Standing, she walked from the bed to stand before the screen. As she pushed the button, a close up of a woman’s mouth flipped on screen. The woman was moaning and bobbing her head, as she sucked something in her mouth. Jasmine squinted, stepping closer to see what it was. Suddenly, the camera angle panned out. Jasmine gasped. The woman was kneeling and sucking on a man, using her hands to massage the extra length of his erection.
Jasmine started to turn away in disgust when she heard the man moan. Curiosity got the better of her and before she knew it, she couldn’t look away. Whatever the woman was doing, the man was enjoying it. Actually, by the look on his face, he was enjoying it quite a lot. She sucked his shaft, nibbling it with her teeth and twirling it with her tongue. Then, sucking a finger into her mouth, she wetted it, only to push it back into the man’s cheeks, probing him as she went back to sucking his shaft. The man kept moaning and begging, “Please, baby. Take it all, baby. That’s it, baby, suck it good. You’re such a naughty girl. You like that don’t you, baby? Ah, yeah, take it. Take it!”
“Must try,” Jasmine whispered. Did that mean Reid wanted to try these? Did it mean these were ones he hadn’t done? She found it hard to believe that a man with as much obvious, un-denied conquests would have things he’d never done.
The sucking segment ended with the man making an amusing face and another segment started. This time a man was tied to a bed as a woman slowly tortured him with her body. After that, a woman did a strip tease for the tied man, wiggling around as she danced seductively. Jasmine found herself swaying to the cheesy music, trying a few of the moves. Then, with the man still tied, the woman had her way with him by riding on top.
Jasmine kept watching the films, taking a seat on the couch before the screen. The music was most comical. The actors and actresses were overdramatic and seemed to be forgetting some of their lines as they stumbled over their short speeches. Despite this, she squirmed in her seat, finding that she actually got a little aroused by the sho
ws.
Next, the woman was in a swing of sorts as the man pulled her back and forth in front of him. Jasmine bit her lip. There was another strip tease, another woman sucking a man with him lying on a bed, another sucking scene where the man was in a chair. There was another sucking scene where the man was on top, pumping his hips down into the woman’s mouth as he in turn had his face buried between her thighs. She wondered if the ongoing theme meant Reid wanted her to suck him into her mouth.
“Ride me, cowboy,” Jasmine repeated softly, trying to remember some of the ideas presented in the ‘documentaries’ for later. All the women in these movies were extremely vocal. Some of them even said some pretty naughty things.
A slow smile crept to her face and she just couldn’t look away. “Must try, huh?”
* * * *
Reid was tired from his hunt. He’d been successful, but with his mind constantly on Jasmine and the memory of her sweet, naked flesh, he’d been a little distracted. It had taken him longer than normal to track and even then two of his prey got away. Finally, he was able to bag a baldric and a prongin. Being a bird, the baldric would only be good for a meal or two. The large prongin would give them meat for a long time.
He was still naked from the hunt, but was well used to being out of doors in the nude. As a Var, he lost his clothes during a full shift.
After skinning the animals and preparing them for storage, he brought the meat inside. For some reason, he didn’t think Jasmine would appreciate seeing the carcasses before they were prepared. She was a lady, through and through--proper, elegant, refined. He didn’t want to insult her delicate sensibilities.
“Ah, ride me, stud!”
Reid froze to hear the womanly scream. It was instantly followed by a man’s moan of pleasure. He tensed.
“What the…?” he began, swearing under his breath. Jealous rage swept through him as he dropped the meat on the floor. It landed with a heavy thud as he ran to the stairs. He felt his teeth elongate in his mouth as his body shifted half way. Fur prickled over his shoulders and chest, as a predatory growl sounded in the back of his throat.
He reached the top, taking several steps at a time. Jasmine stood in the middle of the bedroom, her hands behind her back and a guilty look on her face as she stared at him.
“Reid,” she gasped, glancing around. He took a menacing step forward. “I didn’t … ah … hear you come in.”
“Obviously,” he growled, taking in her flushed features. He easily caught the scent of her arousal in the room. Tension worked its way through his body. By the potency of her smell, he’d obviously interrupted something.
“Reid?” Jasmine asked, breathless. She backed away from him. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you all … animal-ish? Did something happen? Do you need some clothes?”
Even through this anger, he didn’t want her afraid of him. Her eyes raked over his naked body. No, that wasn’t just nervousness he detected. She was excited by the beast in him and she was trying really hard to hide it. “Where is he?”
“Wh--?”
Reid pounced forward and gripped her arms. “I smell you.”
“Bu--?”
“Where is he? I heard him,” Reid demanded, shaking her slightly. Damn but she smelled good. If he wasn’t so jealous, he’d throw her on the bed and continue with a little game of stalker and prey. Something fell on the floor as he shook her and suddenly a loud moan sounded behind him.
“Yes, baby, yes!”
Reid turned, surprised to see the Earth sex tutorials on the viewing screen. The screen was so new that he hadn’t thought she would be watching it. A slow grin crossed over his features as he turned back to her. He felt her tremble beneath his hands. Jasmine quickly pulled away and grabbed the remote, fumbling to turn the screen off. Finally the sound stopped.
Her wide eyes stared at him, so pretty and open. She didn’t play any coy games, didn’t try to hide the fact that she wanted him. Licking his lips, he watched as her mouth puckered in invitation. Her gaze drifted down his body and a light moan sounded.
“You should’ve waited for me,” he said, his tone still gruff from his shifting. Drawing the fur back into himself, he let all but his eyes shift back to his human form. His shaft was hard, his body completely awakened by the intensity of his jealousy. He walked her back until they came against the wall.
A hesitant smile flashed across her features, fading just as fast as she looked up at him. She was breathing hard. Reid leaned closer. Jasmine gasped, tensing. Her mouth open, she leaned toward him, instantly kissing him hard.
Reid groaned, as she pressed her body tightly to his, rubbing along his taller frame as if she couldn’t get close enough. Since he was already naked, there was only the thin material of her pants between them. He rocked his hips, feeling her wet heat pressing into him as her leg lifted along his outer thigh.
Jasmine drew her mouth away. “Do that growl again.”
Reid growled, letting the beastly sound of his cat form rumble his throat. Instantly, he was rewarded with an intense rush of hot moisture in between her thighs. He went for her neck, letting his sharper teeth come out to play. His voice hoarse, he said, “You like the beast, do you?”
“Yes, oh yes,” she gasped, completely unashamed. She grabbed his hand and drew it to her hip. “Cut my clothes off of me.”
Jasmine was playing with fire and she didn’t even know it. The Var were sexual creatures, but to play with the beast, to encourage the very nature of the predator could lead to uncontrollable passion. He’d be mindless, unable to stop once he started. Reid knew he should pull away and get control, but one look at Jasmine’s face and he somehow knew that she didn’t want him controlled. There was no fear in her when it came to his shifted form. He extended a claw, letting her watch as he artfully sliced through the laces along her hip without hurting her. Her jaw dropped and she tensed. The smell of her excitement thrilled him, spurring the beast on.
Reid ripped through her shirt, dragging a sharp claw between her breasts. She gasped, her back arching as if the aggressive act only made her all the more desperate in her arousal. He cupped the soft globe in his palm, growling over and over just to make her shiver with desire to hear his animalistic voice.
“Ah,” she panted, standing before him in her tattered clothing. She pulled back, throwing her arms up against the wall. Her eyes begged him to take her. She bit her lip.
Reid growled, pinning her wrists over her head with one clawed hand as he thrust the other along her slick folds. He retracted the sharpened claws, careful not to hurt her as he parted the sensitive, wet flesh. Arching forward, she licked at his fangs.
“You play a dangerous--” Reid took a deep breath, forcing the gruff words as his body shifted even more. “--game. The beast within me is nothing to be trifled with.”
“Don’t pull it back this time,” she whispered along his mouth. “I want to feel the animal in you. I want you to lose all control like I do.”
Reid knew what she was asking. He would never take her in his completely shifted form, but she wanted the fangs and the claws. She wanted the wild, untamed animal he restrained. Her wide eyes begged him for it. Who was he to deny her? How could he even think to?
Roughly, he slid her up the smooth wall. Her legs were open to him and he took her, thrusting into her ready body. She was so wet, so hot, that he yelled in ecstasy to feel it. Unable to reign in the animal inside him, he laid claim to her, her soft cries driving him on. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, the nails biting his flesh.
Reid pumped his hips hard and fast, his butt tensing with each jerking movement. It felt too good. He couldn’t slow, couldn’t think beyond the driving need to release himself in her, to mark her as his woman so no man would ever dare to touch her. In that moment, he knew that she was what he wanted. The idea of any other man touching her made the passion inside him all the fiercer. Whether she realized it or not, she belonged to him, would always belong to him. He’d had his share of empty sex
. Other women paled in comparison to her. When he released himself in Jasmine for the first time, he’d felt whole, complete. The burning, searching need in him went away.
His body worked into hers. Jasmine moaned and gasped, urging him on with every push of her body. Tremors racked her and she stiffened, arching back against the wall. Reid held her steady, keeping himself deep as the intense orgasm worked its way through her body. Only after he’d milked every bit of release from her, did he allow himself to come. His seed filled her. He kept her tightly pressed to him, giving it all to her.
It took a long moment before he could speak. Swallowing, almost nervous, he pulled back. “I lov--”
When he’d started speaking, she’d already been leaning in for the kiss. She didn’t stop, her lips cutting off his words. Reid put all the feeling and passion inside him into that kiss, giving himself over to her completely.
With a small giggle, Jasmine pulled back. Grinning, she said, “I know.”
His heart raced. Pleasure tried to erupt inside him.
“I love having sex with you too,” Jasmine said, giving him a shy smile. “I know what you’re trying to tell me and I agree. It’s good that we don’t have the pressure of anything more on us. We’ll take our pleasure, have some fun and then when it’s over, it’s over. No regrets.”
Reid let his head drop to hide the heart wrenching expression that would surely cross his features at her words. All she wanted from him was sex. He’d finally allowed himself to want more, to accept there might actually be just one woman for one man out there. He finally realized what it was his brothers had found when they’d lifemated to their wives. Only, unlike his brothers, the woman he’d found didn’t want him back. Well, she wanted him, but just for his body. The fact left him cold on the inside.
His body was still in her and he pulled out, slowly letting her back down. Jasmine didn’t seem to notice his turmoil. She giggled again, before admitting softly, “I like it when you get all wild on me.”
The Rogue Prince Page 15