Santina's Scandalous Princess

His hair brushed her tummy as he moved lower, and then his mouth was between her legs, right at the centre of her, and Natalia tensed. His hands rested on her thighs, gently forcing her to stay splayed, utterly exposed and vulnerable, everything open to him, and she couldn’t bear it.

Natalia tried to pull away, resisting, afraid and embarrassed, but Ben wouldn’t let her hide herself. His mouth pressed against her and her body jerked in response, pleasure and sensation spiralling upwards inside her as her voice caught on a jagged cry. His tongue flicked against her folds and she cried again, the pleasure so intense it felt painful.

Still she resisted, her hips twisting as she tried to free herself from his hands. ‘Don’t—’ she gasped, and yet when he stopped she felt as if a jagged hole had been cut through her; she was devastated, empty and aching.

‘Don’t fight it, Natalia. Don’t fight me.’

‘I can’t—’ she gasped, because even now the thought of him seeing her like this made her want to cringe and hide.

‘Why?’ Ben asked quietly. She felt his breath feather her heated skin. ‘Why can’t you?’

‘Because…’

His hands rested on her thighs, steady and warm. ‘Do you want me to stop?’

‘No—’ she gasped, because that thought was intolerable. His mouth found her again and this time Natalia couldn’t resist it. She gave herself up to the feeling, to him, and when she cried out, her voice a broken splinter of sound, he slid inside her, consuming her as tears of both emotional and physical release streamed down her face and pleasure like nothing she’d ever known coursed through her, filled her heart to overflowing so the shell around it cracked and broke right open.

Her body clenched around him and she matched him stroke for stroke, tears still streaking down her face, waves of pleasure washing over her in an endless tide. Then she felt Ben find his own release, his body shuddering against hers before he subsided, their hearts beating a desperate rhythm against each other.

She was completely exposed, her body and heart, and there was nothing she could do about it. No way to hide or pretend now. Gently Ben wiped the tears from her face as her body shuddered in the aftermath of the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced.

Her heart felt like something fragile and fledgling, exposed to the elements, barely able to survive. Even now she wanted to pull away and protect it. Protect herself.

He kissed the corner of her eye where another tear had started to trickle down. ‘Are these good tears?’ he murmured.

‘I don’t know,’ Natalia confessed in a shaky whisper. ‘I don’t know what they are.’ She’d never felt so much. Revealed so much. She felt both empty and full at the same time.

Ben didn’t answer, but as he rolled off her Natalia felt ridiculously bereft, as if he’d just left her. Rejected her. He slipped from the bed and she watched in surprise and then understanding as he moved through the darkness of the bedroom. He turned on the light in the en suite bathroom and a second later he slid back into bed and pulled her towards him. He fit her snugly against him, his chin resting on her shoulder as his thumb continued to trace the silvery track of tears down her cheek.

‘Better?’ he whispered, and she nodded, felt herself slowly start to relax, the tightly held parts of herself loosen. They had been good tears after all. ‘Happy?’ he asked, and she smiled and reached for his hand, threading his fingers with her own.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Happy.’ And safe. In Ben’s arms, she felt safe and vulnerable, which was a mind-blowing combination. She felt known.

And it was wonderful.

CHAPTER TWELVE

NATALIA woke slowly to sunlight, her body aching in the most amazing places. She shifted, felt Ben’s arm heavy across her and smiled. Memories of last night drifted through her mind in pleasure-splintered fragments, memories of an intimacy so incredible and life-changing she could hardly believe it was real. It had happened.

She turned so she could see Ben, his face relaxed in slumber, his lashes long and curly on his stubble-roughened cheeks. Still smiling she reached over and with one finger touched his mouth, the mouth that had kissed and loved her all over. Even now, in the safety of his embrace, the memories made her blush. This was all so new, not just Ben, but her. Who she was. Who she was with him.

Ben opened his eyes and blinked sleep from them before giving her a lazy smile. ‘Princess,’ he said, ‘are you checking me out?’

‘No—’ Natalia said instinctively, and his smile deepened.