Crown Prince's Bought Bride

‘Enough, dea,’ he ground out.

She wasn’t ready for this sensational moment to be over just yet. ‘Please...’ she whispered, even though she expected him to stop her.

His answer was to spike his fingers in her hair and angle her face up before plundering her lips with his. Time ceased to matter as he kissed her with a fierce thoroughness that left them both breathing hard when he abruptly ended the kiss and repositioned her over his lap.

Maddie clung tightly to his shoulders as his steely length nudged her core. Just as before, the first probe was gentle, insistent—and breathtaking. His gaze stayed on her face, absorbing her every reaction as he slowly penetrated her once more, strong hands gripping her hips for his possession.

Maddie gasped as all the sensations from before came screaming back. And with no prospect of pain this time, the pleasure was tenfold.

Tears rose in her eyes as bliss suffused her. When he rocked her into movement, when she understood the advantage of her position, she began to move over him.

He grunted—a thick, masculine sound that filled her with feminine power. That power might be fleeting and feeble at best, but it still lent her enough impetus to take him deeper, to glide her fingers into his hair and notch his head up for the addictive kiss only he could provide.

Remi gave her what she wanted and more, one hand rising to cup her breast and torment its peak as he kissed and possessed her. Within minutes they were careening towards that unstoppable summit, scented water splashing around them as he introduced her to a whole new level of pleasure. Guttural Montegovan words fell from his lips as he edged her higher, and she opened her heart, letting his words spill into those greedy spaces.

Nirvana arrived in a thrilling rush that went on for ever. Beneath her, Remi gave a rough shout in the steamy space as he charged through his own climax.

She welcomed the strong arms that bound her and held her close, and as their heartbeats slowed she dared to hope that perhaps they had something to build on after all. Perhaps if they had this, in time they would have something more. Because surely he couldn’t be this affected, this intimate with her, without considering handing over even a small piece of himself?

She would find a way to make him happy in any way she could. In the hope that one day he might truly see her, even love her.

That bleak little voice mocked her again, called her ten kinds of fool for attempting to compete with a ghost.

But surely there was a way for her to s

how Remi that, while she would never replace the woman he’d lost, she could be something meaningful to him eventually?

She was so absorbed with her frantic plans to make her new husband love her that she didn’t realise he’d stiffened beneath her until a curse she didn’t understand but knew for its harsh iciness ripped through the room.

She froze. ‘Remi...?’

He rose from the water with her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. His face was turned away from her but she didn’t need to look into his eyes to tell that something was terribly wrong. The clenched jaw, the tension bracketing his mouth and the thunderous, forbidding frown evidenced that something was definitely amiss.

It took all of three seconds for her to clue into what was wrong. ‘Oh...God...’

‘Si,’ he hissed icily.

Stepping out of the bath, he disengaged from her and placed her back in the water. Unable to stomach the horror on his face, she hugged her knees.

They hadn’t used protection. They’d been so caught up in the moment that crucial part of it had gone out of their minds. At least that was her suspicion.

A furtive glance showed his deepening horror. ‘Remi...’

‘No,’ he breathed, spiking his fingers through his hair.

‘What does no mean, exactly?’ she asked.

He responded with a string of Montegovan words that meant nothing to her.

‘Translate. Please.’

He strode across the room, snatched up a towel, wrapped it around his hips. Still with his back to her, he sucked in a tortured breath. ‘How could I?’

‘How could you what?’ she asked tremulously.

He swivelled to face her. ‘Be so damned careless.’

Her head dipped a fraction, her heart hammering at his bleak tone. ‘We both were, Remi.’