I cry out in pleasure before I pant against his mouth. “You make me feel the same way, Elias.”
He grunts, his hips moving faster and harder, as his fingers begin to move in firm circles against my clit. It’s too much and yet it’s not enough. I suck in a breath, holding it while my body climbs higher, teetering on the edge and only when the orgasm rushes through me do I let out my breath with a whoosh.
“Given freely,” he rasps against my mouth.
“Yes,” I breathe.
Elias’ hips don’t stop, he continues to fuck me through my orgasm, prolonging the sensation that flows through me until it’s almost too much to bear. Only then does he bury himself deep inside of me before I hear his growl of pleasure and feel him fill my body with his release.
Unable to hold my head, leg, and back at that angle another moment, I turn my head, lying down against the pillow, drop my leg to rest on the top of his thigh and let out a long sigh as I bask in the best orgasm I’ve had since late last night.
Still buried inside of me, Elias’ hand slides up my side, then shifts to slide up my arm as he runs his fingertips over as much of my body as he can reach at his angle. His mouth touches the top of my hair and I feel his body curl closer as he rests his chin on top of my head and nestles the back of my head against his throat.
“The witch from Kelna will be here on the morrow,” he oddly announces.
“And?”
There is a moment of silence before he speaks. Before he says a word, he wraps his arms around me and squeezes. “We shall find out if this is all real, or if you have indeed altered my reactions to you.”
I should be angry at his words, at his suggestion. I’m not. Closing my eyes, no anger comes, instead I’m filled with an indescribable hurt. I don’t know why his words affect me as much as they do. But I feel it down in my bones, the pain of his words is more intense than anything I’ve ever felt before and I don’t understand it.
Without a word, he releases me and slips from me before he slides from the bed. I watch, my eyes welling with tears as he makes his way over to the fire and places a couple of logs there, still completely naked as he walks over to the door and yanks it open, bellowing down the hall.
Grabbing ahold of the thick blanket that is being used as both a top sheet and a comforter, I pull it up my body to shield my nakedness.
Almost immediately, Jasmine, Katrina, and Ellyn arrive in the doorway. Elias steps aside and my eyes widen in surprise. He’s still completely nude as he begins to bark orders at the women. All three of them dip their chins before they turn and scurry off.
Sitting up, the blanket still pressed to my chest, I call out Elias’ name. He turns his head, his dark brown hair deliciously messy from sleep, so much so that I almost forget what I wanted to say to him.
“You’re naked,” I point out.
His lips frown before they tip up in a smirk. “And?”
“And they all just saw you.”
His lips shift from a smirk to a full-blown smile. I forget about the hurt that he’d just delivered as I watch him stalk toward me, his massive chest on display. He climbs up the bottom of the bed and I’m forced to lay back down as he covers me with the entire length of his own body.
Elias’ lips are hovering above mine, still turned up into a devilish grin. “Do the men in your land stay covered all of the time?” he asks, his lips touching mine with each word that he says.
“Not completely, but they definitely don’t show their penis off to the world,” I point out.
He laughs softly, his mouth brushing mine. “Does this upset you, that the servants have seen me in my glory?” he asks.
I want to tell him to not be so damn cocky, but there is the little fact that yes, it does bother me. Wrapping my arms around his lower back, I run my nails back and forth there. He closes his eyes with a grunt before he reopens them.
“I just…”
I let the words trail off because how do you tell a man who is obviously delusional, who has kidnapped you and that you’ve only known for twenty-four hours that you want to be the only one who sees him naked?
The cocky asshole has me figured out though. His grin doesn’t die, not even as he runs his nose alongside my own. “Do not want anyone getting any ideas about me, eh? Want to keep the size of my wimble all to yourself?”
I can’t help but let out a laugh at his words. “Wimble?” I ask between giggles.
He tilts his head to the side. His mouth capturing mine causing my laughter to die in my throat as he fills me with his tongue. I don’t hear the people moving around the room, I also don’t see the way the women and the boys who carried the tub into the room watch us.
I don’t see the gold light that surrounds us, or the way that they all stare in awe at the magic that they witness between their king and me.
ELIAS
Love drunk? Perhaps a fool as well. Leaving Sybilla in my personal chambers with a bath, food to break her fast, and the three women as her handmaids I make my way to my chancery to break my own fast, alone in my thoughts.
Turning my back to my door, I stare out of the window and watch the castle grounds. People mill around, doing their duties to help keep their families fed and this castle in working order. I can do naught but think of Sybilla. She has consumed me in such a short period of time that I’m concerned.
Witchcraft.
It is the only explanation. I was not even this taken with the woman who made me a man. “Pardon me, Your Highness,” Cornwall’s voice booms, interrupting my thoughts.
Turning to look back at him from over my shoulder, I incline my chin so that he will continue without me having to actually order the action. He dips his chin, then does as I silently bid.
“Aleida would like to speak with you, Your Majesty,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low and even.
Smirking, I turn completely around to face him. “And what would your mother need to say to me, Cornwall?” I ask.
His nose twitches from my blunt use of my new knowledge of his witch mother. “All I know is that she’s informed me that it has to do with the woman, Sybilla, and possibly where she hails from.”
I take a step toward him just as a commotion causes me to freeze. Reaching for my sword, unsheathing it immediately just in time to see Merek burst through my door, a beautiful woman at his side.
“Godiva has information,” he announces.
My gaze shifts from him to the woman, then back to him again. “This is the powerful witch Godiva?” I ask, arching a brow in disbelief.
His lips twitch for only a moment before they return to a frown. “She is.” He nods.
Sheathing my sword, I cross my arms over my chest and tilt my head to the side. “I must have Aleida present. She will need to hear this,” she demands.
“Cornwall, fetch her and bring her here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he says as he turns and his feet carry him quickly out of my chancery.
Merek wraps his hand around her waist and guides her over to a chair. I watch the two, wondering if there is more to this than I am able to see with my own eyes. Then, right in front of me, she waves her hand and before me sits a frail-looking old woman.
“What in heavens…”
“The world will not bother a pretty maiden, Your Highness. They will not think of her as anything but a pretty maiden. But an old woman living out in the woods alone, she is no doubt a witch and a target,” she explains.