A Vow Of Hate

“Killian,” I hissed.

“What?” he said, feigning innocence.

“Not here,” I stuttered.

He brushed his fingers over my back, caressing my bare skin with such tenderness, it made me ache. “Shall we go somewhere else then? Somewhere more private.”

I dug my nails into his shoulders, but he didn’t even flinch. In fact, he just gave me a lazy half-smile, his dark eyes hooded with unmasked lust. “I thought you were supposed to protect my virtue, Killian Spencer.”

“Your virtue will stay very much intact till our wedding night, but there’s a lot of things I can still do to you, Princess.”

“Killian–”

“I can make you feel good,” he rasped in my ear.

“You’re being inappropriate,” I gasped. “My father is right there.”

“If I slide my hand under your dress right now, will I find you wet, Miss Romano?”

Sweet hell.

Killian was tormenting me and he was enjoying it – if I were to say so by that smirk on his face.

He spun me around once, before dragging me back into him, our bodies colliding together. “Do you touch yourself at night?”

My eyes widened and I gaped. “What?” I sputtered.

“Answer the question, Princess.”

My thighs clenched, involuntarily. The ache between them grew more intense and I felt strangely so… empty. “Yes. S-sometimes.”

“Hmm. How do you think it’ll feel if instead of your fingers, I touch you there?”

Holy shit. Flustered, I stumbled and stepped on his foot. An apology spilled past my lips and I prayed that no one had noticed my mishap. “Uh, now?” I croaked.

My body burned at the vivid image he had painted for me.

His voice had deepened when he spoke again. “Now.”

Killian’s eyes darted around the room, almost lazily, but I could see that he was trying to check if my father was watching or not. Once he realized that we were no longer the center of attention, he grasped my hand and practically dragged me away.

We quickly sneaked out of the banquet hall and into a lonely corridor. Killian pulled me behind a pillar, so we were completely out of sight and our figures were hidden in the shadows.

I gasped, my chest heaving. The air crackled with thick tension between us and I licked my dry lips. “If anyone sees us together, like this…”

I left my sentence hanging.

It was more complicated than that. If I were truly betrothed to him, this wouldn’t have been such a big issue. But the fact that he was, in reality, engaged to my sister… if anyone were to see us together, it would be a scandal.

And my father – oh God.

“Do you trust me?” Killian questioned in a low tone, a raspy voice.

“You know I do.”

“Then you should know that I will never put you in the middle of a scandal,” he said. “I will never let anyone question your virtue, especially not your father. You’re mine, Grace. Mine to cherish. And mine to protect.”

He pressed into me, caging me between the wall and his solid body. “If I were to slide my hand under your dress right now, would you let me? Would you let me feel just how warm and wet you are for me? How needy you are?”

My throat suddenly felt parched. His hand brushed against my thigh, over the dress, before he slid his palm under the split. Skin to skin.

“Tell me, Princess.”

My head bobbed with a sharp nod. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?” he questioned; his voice deceptively calm.

Flustered, I released a shuddering breath before speaking. “Yes… touch me.”

His lips whispered along my jaw and I threw my head back with a soft whimper. My fingers curled around the back of his neck, holding him against me. He kissed and nibbled down the column of my throat and along the length of my collarbone.

Maybe it was the idea of something forbidden…

Something dirty, for Killian to be touching me like this, behind a pillar.

Maybe it was the idea of possibly getting caught or someone finding us, in such a compromised position…

Even though it made me anxious, it also turned me on.

His hand trailed along my thigh, before circling around my knee. A shaky breath rattled from my chest when he lifted my leg up, forcing me to hook my thigh around his hips. In this position, it left me vulnerable and open to his slow teasing and torturous caresses.

I can’t breathe…

I wanted Killian – no – I needed him, but it felt like I was about to combust in his embrace. My body felt overly sensitive to his touches. How could I be so aroused by just Killian’s voice and such simple caresses? He hadn’t even truly touch me yet.

Was it even possible to want someone this much? With such intense need?

He pulled his head back and his dark gaze met mine.

A quiver ran down my body when his hand snaked under my dress and his fingers teased my slit through my silk panties. Killian hissed when he found me wet, the fabric of my panties sticking to my flesh like a second skin and my arousal coating the inside of my thighs. “Princess, you’re soaked and I’ve barely even touched you.”