The Soldier and the Princess

Chapter thirty

Silas

Iwouldneverget over the taste of Daphne’s lips.

She was sweet—because of course she was—but she had a certain realness to her as well, something that made me think of the earth, washed clean after a rainstorm.

Because that’s what Daphne was doing every time she kissed me; washing me clean.

Her declaration had stirred something in me, something that I hadn’t realized had been buried so deep, and with every caress of her lips, every stroke of her tongue against mine, I could feel it rising to the surface, ready to finally see the light of day.

Pride.

I hadn’t realized that I was lacking in it, but now I could see that it was true. All my life I had fell like I was not enough, that I was less worthy than everyone around me because of where I had come from.

Sure, I had tried to cover it up with humor and hard work, but now that the bandage had been ripped off, I could see it for the festering wound on my soul that it was.

I had never felt like I was worth something, that someone would choose me for me, and not for the things I pretended I was.

But that’s what Daphne was doing, sitting with me on the forest floor, dirty and tired and probably more than a little scared.

She was choosing me, and nothing had ever felt so right.

Holding her to me like she was my lifeline, I curled my fingers up into the hair at the base of her neck, loving how the silky strands felt against my rough hands. Unable to rise up comfortably due to the fucking stab wound in my thigh, I pulled her close, reaching with my other hand to grasp her hip and guide her over my lap, our pose so reminiscent of our first kiss that for a moment it was as though we were back there. I could see it—I had pictured it often enough, that was for sure—Daphne in that sexy dress, her bare legs hugging my thighs as she ground down over me, taking her pleasure without shame.

It was the same, but it was also so much more. We were so much more.

I could feel my own savage desire throbbing through my body as she clutched at me, the timid, inexperienced girl of before now replaced by a fiery warrior of a woman, one who had experienced things I would have never wanted for her, but who was nothing but stronger for it.

We were both stronger because of what we had gone through in the last two years, and I could feel my love for her burning away any doubts I may have had remaining about whether she and I could be together.

Daphne was my forever, and I’d never let that change.

I was so lost in my thoughts, drowning in the feel of her in my arms, that I was actually surprised when she reached for the button of my pants. Breaking our kiss, I stared down, stunned at the boldness of her actions, though I probably shouldn’t have been.

Daphne had always been a woman who knew what she wanted.

I was just the dumbass who had tried to deny her.

Like I was gonna do now.

“Daph,” I breathed, my chest heaving as I stupidly tried to talk her out of whatever she thought she was doing. “You don’t have to-”

“Shut up,” she said, using both hands to part the now open fly of my pants. “Just shut up and don’t make me wait, Silas.” She paused for a moment, her big green eyes looking fevered as she stared at me, her face open and unguarded. “I’m so tired of waiting.”

I could see the hunger in her eyes, the desperation that I knew was riding me just as hard. And in that moment, I knew I would never deny her again.

Snarling, I tugged her to me, holding her close as I rolled us so that her back was nestled in the long grass where we were sitting. Ignoring the pain in my thigh, I rose up, trying to keep the majority of my weight on my good leg, as I clawed at Daphne’s jeans like they were intentionally trying to keep me out. Once I had the button undone and the zipper down, I grasped the jeans and her panties, and together, I tugged them down over her hips and to just below her knees, lifting her legs up in the air and resting them both over my one shoulder.

I could see the surprise in her face when I stopped, leaving her legs trapped in her jeans as I reached down and freed my dick from my own pants, tugging hard to relieve some of the ache before bowing forward, folding Daphne in half as I pressed down until I was close enough to kiss her again.

She was flexible, I’d give her that. Daphne groaned into my mouth as I leaned over, rubbing my cock against her damp heat as I continued to devour her kisses, reveling in the slickness that told me she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. Sliding one hand up her leg, I grasped her ankle, holding her in that position as I reared up again, taking my dick in hand and teasing it over her pussy, the lips already puffy with need. Daphne hissed out a breath, her hands clawing at the grass beneath her as I ran the head of my cock up and down her slit.

“This is it, Daphne,” I rumbled, unable to look away from her eyes as she panted beneath me. “This is the end. No more running. No more denying this. Denying us.”

Squeezing her eyes closed tightly, Daphne shook her head from side to side, the movement jerky, and for a second, I froze.

Did she not want this?

But before I could pull back, she brought one hand up, reaching for me, wanting me closer. I leaned down again, ignoring the burning pain in my leg as I got close enough that she could thread her fingers in my hair as she whispered, “It’s not the end. It’s only the beginning.”

So, with her hands on my body and her words in my ear, I thrust home.

That’s what it was, too. Home.

Daphne was the only place I had ever really belonged, and I had just taken too damn long to see it.

We groaned together, our voices low in the quiet afternoon, somehow both of us still registering the danger of our situation even through our frenzy to be together. A smart man—a less desperate man—would never have allowed us to be vulnerable like this, but I had too much need inside me to consider anything other than the way Daphne squeezed around me.

There was no slow build up. Both of us too crazed to do anything other than race to the finish line. Sweat coated us as our skin slapped together, and every time I bottomed out, Daphne made a soft grunting sound that had my balls drawing up tight. The position I had her in made it so she couldn’t leverage herself at all, but that didn’t stop her from being an active participant. With her hand still in my hair, she held tight, tugging me closer to her and maneuvering my head so that she could press kisses to my lips and throat, her lips a soft caress against my thrashing pulse.

We were both still mostly dressed, and something about that, about the way we hadn’t had the time or the inclination to wait until we were both safe and naked, made the encounter the hottest thing I’d ever experienced.

I could tell she was getting close, with her muscles squeezing around me and her sweet voice chanting my name softly, and I did my fucking best to hold on, to ensure that she got hers before I even considered getting mine.

In the end, though, we came together, and I should have known that was how it would be.

For a moment, we both just laid there, breathing. When Daphne let out a slow breath, I rolled to the side, the stab wound on my leg reminding me in no uncertain terms that I was going to need stitches sooner rather than later. As I flopped onto the grass, Daphne rolled toward me, her body curling into my side, and I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. Neither of us spoke, but there was nothing awkward about it, and I could honestly say that I had never felt more at peace than I did at that very moment.

But, as the soft buzzing of insects began to rise up again, I knew our down time was over. Pressing a kiss to the top of Daphne’s head, I squeezed her tight once more, then released her, reaching down to tuck my dick back into my pants and zip up.

Daphne laid beside me, her movements sluggish as she attempted to untangle the mess I had made of her clothes, but I batted her hands away and took over, righting her underwear and pulling them back in place.

I paused as I reached the apex of her thighs, and the visual of my come and hers mixing there causing a wave of possessiveness to blaze inside me. I had never been with a woman without a condom, and knowing that Daphne was the only woman in the world to take me bare was a fuckin’ incredible feeling.

Sensing my hesitation, Daphne cleared her throat. “Oh,” she murmured, reaching once again for her panties. “I, um. I’m clean and, uh, safe, Silas. You don’t have to worry.”

I knew she was, knew more than any man in my position had a right to know, honestly. I thought back to all the reports Hack had sent me, private things, like the fact that she had an IUD placed just over a year ago. Her last physical had involved blood work, too, which had all been pristine.