Cassius shrugged out of his shirt and let it fall, his hands dropping to the belt on his trousers. ‘No, it’s not. Kings are very serious and hate being teased.’ He began to unfasten his belt. ‘There are laws, you know. And consequences.’
Inara was thrilled. Who’d have thought that she’d love flirting? Because that was what they were doing, wasn’t it? They were flirting. And, unlike that night in the library when she’d been so uncertain, she wasn’t uncertain now. Not when it was clear he was enjoying this as much as she was.
‘Consequences?’ She took in his hard-muscled torso before focusing on what his hands were doing with his belt—undoing it, pulling it from the belt loops and discarding it. ‘What kind of consequences are there for teasing a king?’
He pulled down the zip of his fly. ‘Give me five minutes and I’ll show you.’
‘Five minutes?’ Inara’s mouth went dry as he shifted on the bed, pushing his trousers down and taking his underwear with them. ‘Is that all?’
Cassius laughed, roughly, deeply and unbelievably sexily. ‘Not a response I’m familiar with, I have to say.’
Inara blinked, staring at that most male part of him, all flirtatious banter instantly going out of her head. Back in the library she hadn’t had a chance to see him properly, hadn’t even had a chance to touch him, but now... Oh, now...
‘I didn’t mean th-that,’ she stuttered, sitting up as he got off the bed to get rid of the rest of his clothes, then reaching for him as he came back, stretching himself out over her. ‘I meant...’
‘I know.’ He caught her wrists once again and put them down on either side of her head as he eased his big, muscled body between her thighs. ‘Time to stop talking now.’
And, before she could say another word, his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding, ravaging her mouth. She tried to kiss him back, but he gave her no quarter, conquering her so completely that she simply surrendered, letting him take whatever he wanted.
Then his hands were sliding beneath her, lifting her hips, and she felt him thrust into her, a long, deep slide that made her cry out in pleasure.
It was different from before. Then, she’d been on top of him, his hands on her hips gripping her so that, even though they had been joined, there had been a distance between them.
Now, there was no distance. She was surrounded by him, by his heat and his scent, by the rough sounds of his ragged breathing and the exquisite friction of him moving inside her. There was no pain now and no awkwardness or uncertainty. Only a growing intensity, a longing that gripped her as tightly as he did.
She put her hands on his powerful shoulders, feeling the flex and release of hard muscle, the strength in him a wild thrill she’d never imagined. And she hung on, wanting to get closer, even closer than they were already, because it wasn’t enough.
‘C-Cassius.’ His name was both a hoarse prayer and a plea, though for what she had no idea.
But it was clear that he knew, because his mouth was on hers again, kissing her as he moved, driving her relentlessly towards the edge a second time.
Then everything began to fray around the edges, pleasure blooming inside her like the most intricate and elegant of equations, the solution to it so, so close. So very, very close...
It was him, wasn’t it? He was the solution. He was the answer to every question, every problem, every difficulty she’d ever had. It was him.
It had always been him.
Inara wrapped her arms around his neck, desperate to hold onto him, unable to escape the feeling that, once this was over, she’d lose him. That this sexy, wicked man would slip away, turning once more into a king.
But nothing was going to stop the climax from happening and, when he slipped his hand between her thighs, stroking her gently, she could feel herself break, shattering like a fragile piece of glass thrown onto a tiled floor.
She sobbed as the pleasure overwhelmed her and she broke apart. She was only dimly aware of him letting go of the leash on himself, slamming into her hard, fast and out of rhythm, until she felt his teeth against her shoulder, a growl of pleasure escaping him as the climax came for him too.
For a while after that, time drifted and Inara let herself simply lie in his arms, enjoying having him so close, holding her, his body pressed the length of hers, his breath ghosting over her skin. She lay underneath him, safe and protected by his strength, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be.
Right now, he wasn’t distant or chilly. He wasn’t the King. He wasn’t even wicked Prince Cassius, scourge of the bedrooms of Europe. He was just Cassius, her lover, another side of him that she’d newly discovered. Another part of him that she’d fallen in love with.
She let out a soft breath.
Perhaps this marriage would work. Perhaps it would be okay. During the day he might be a distant king, and she’d have to concentrate hard on learning how to be his queen. But all that would be bearable if she could have Cassius, her lover, at night.
If they had this, then surely she didn’t need anything else?
Finally, he stirred, lifting his head and looking down at her, examining her critically. Then he smiled that devastating smile again, the one that set her heart racing and her pulse sky-rocketing.
‘You said I could do anything to you, didn’t you?’ Desire burned in his gaze.
Inara swallowed, feeling that longing for him begin all over again. ‘Yes.’