Reece stood and unzipped his pants while I lay there recovering. He took them off along with his underwear until he was as naked as I was. He touched his lips to mine and I recognized the flavor of us combined. The way we were always meant to be.
His fingers coasted along the dried release that covered my mound, his mouth moving to whisper in my ear. “There will not be a day that passes where you are not covered or full of my cum, Alina.” The filthy words coincided with the tip of his head pressing against my entrance. Tensing with a mixture of fear and excitement, I fought to calm my erratic breathing and clenching muscles. “Are you ready for me, Baby Bird?” Reece spoke, his voice gruff with desire and heavy with emotion.
“Yes” I whispered. Even if I only had this one special moment with him, I would treasure every sensation he gave me. “I want only you, Reece.” His eyes darkened as he threaded his fingers through mine. “Make me yours."
“You’re already mine, Alina,” he said, then he paused, dragging his nose up along the side of mine. “Every inch of you was mine the moment I laid eyes on you.” He kissed me tenderly, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Just as I am yours.” Ever so gently he pushed in further, stretching me around him. I felt the moment he brushed the tender spot inside of me where he’d broken the symbol of my virginity, feeling only grateful for the foresight to relieve the pinch of pain.
He filled me, stretching my walls that strained to accommodate his size. Even the slickness from wanting him was not quite enough to make the entrance easy. He pushed in further, stretching me and breaking through finally as he slid in to the hilt.
A whisper, in my ear. “It will get better.”
I closed my eyes and let his voice soothe the ache inside of me. Even with the pain, it could have been so much worse if my first time had been on my wedding night with a man like Corbin.
I shifted my hips as he drew out, pleasure building despite the hint of pain. The heady sensation of it captured me, left me begging for more as I wrapped my hands around his shoulders. With my nails digging into his shoulder blades, I rolled my hips with a moan.
Reece let out a low growl in response. He showed me that I had as much power over him as he did me. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he warned, placing a firm hand on my hip to still my movements.
“Fuckme,” I pleaded, the word sounding foreign as it came from my lips. I closed my eyes, head bent back, daring him to take me as hard as he needed.
With one last groan, he thrusted into me with hard strokes. He touched every part of me, filling me and stroking a spot inside me where sharp pulses of pleasure overwhelmed my very being.
Eventually, all the pain faded to nothing but a memory and my body clenched around him. As I tightened even more, he thrust into me faster and harder. I urged him on with frantic kisses, needy gasps, and bites that filled my mouth with the flesh of his shoulder. Urged him on with my perfectly-manicured nails that dug ever stronger into his back. Urged him on with my hips that I angled up to take him further in.
“Whose are you, Alina? Who owns this pretty little body? Who’syour King?”
And, as I shattered for the third time that day, I gasped out his name, “Yours, Reece. Only yours.” I sobbed low in my throat when he came inside me, filling me with his heat and claiming me completely.
* * *
Iwondered if I was still alive or if I’d been trapped in that space between sleep and waking, where everything was warm and fuzzy. Pleasant and comfortable in a way that my reality had never been able to match. Reece lay plastered on top of me, his bare skin against mine. His heat and strength against my softness and the delicateness of a body my mother determined needed to stay feminine.
His breath was against my temple as he nuzzled me and drew me in close. His hand skimmed down my side, against the curves of my body. Hard strength I knew and understood would protect me until the very end. “There’s no getting rid of me now,” he teased, his lips tipping into a smile against my skin. As if I could ever want to be away from him.
A giggle escaped as I wrapped my arms around him and let my head fall back against the bed. The mattress was soft and I sunk into it, sandwiched between the man I had taken as a lover and the bed where he had taken me.
I touched my lips softly to the side of his neck and breathed him in, the scent of him I wanted to store in my memories. I looked up at the ceiling, high and decorated with the seal of the Kingdom of Oshal, reminding me where I was and who I was with. I allowed one of my hands to fall to the bed and rub against the luxurious silk sheets, determined to imprint everything on my memory.
He maneuvered so I was on top of him and looking down at his dark blue eyes, hooded in sated pleasure that I knew reflected back in my own. “I never want to be rid of you,” I said as I looked down at him from my new position.
He smiled, radiant joy beaming out of his beautiful face. No other words were spoken. No other words were needed between us at that moment. Even though I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life lounging in bed with him, our responsibilities tugged at us from beyond the bedroom.
Reece was a host to royals from all over the world, and I had a mother and brother who would worry. Like it or not, I had a reputation to be concerned about if I didn't want to bring shame on my family and my country.
The thought that I might be judged simply for falling in love with a man, that I undoubtedly would have to face my mother's wrath if I wanted to be with Reece, only made me want to sink further into the mattress. After experiencing how gentle he could be, how fierce and determined but perfect he was for me, I knew there could be no truth to the rumors of his cruelty. If there’d been any doubt before, it was gone the moment he took such great care with my body.
Just another tabloid story, another attempt to discredit what a wonderful man had done for a country, probably instigated by a jealous man who wanted to be everything Reece was but would never live up to.
"I have to go," I whispered, staring down into that regal face. Without the observers intruding on our time, the brutal lines smoothed away. When it was just the two of us, he relaxed.
"I suppose I have to let you for now. I'll submit my proposal today so that the vultures will stop circling us both. If the whole charade is over with, we should be able to enjoy more time together without condemnation," he whispered back, leaning up to touch his lips to mine gently one last time.
Even though it killed me and the hundred concerns weighing on me set in as soon as I did it, I stood from the bed and gathered my clothing off the floor to dress. "Will I see you later?" I asked, spinning back to him as I slid my dress over my head. Bits of fabric on the inside still felt crusty to the touch, and his gaze narrowed in on it as if he could sense the way I still bore his mark.
"Nothing could keep me away for long," he said with a wolfish grin. "I much prefer taking your clothes off to watching you put them on."
"I'm sure you do, my King," I teased, sitting on the edge of the bed to slip my heels on.
Coming up behind me, he touched his lips to the back of my neck, making the now familiar warmth build within me. I'd never thought it possible to feel desire such as he gave me, and yet it appeared that being truly sated with Reece would be impossible. No matter how thoroughly he loved me and satisfied me, I'd always want him again moments later.