“Please tell me you came prepared for this,” she said as he walked her backward toward the stone bench.
“I did. Though I’m not certain that’s something I should be proud of.”
“I’m happy about it,” she said, trying to lighten the moment, trying to move some of the heavy weight off of her chest.
“That’s a relief.”
She sat on the bench and he knelt before her, pushing her dress up past her hips, exposing her body to his gaze. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. She shivered, anticipation tightening her stomach. He’d done this quite a few times during their stay in Switzerland, and he never disappointed.
He zeroed in on her most sensitive spot, his tongue lavishing her with attention on that one place that sent waves rippling through her entire body. She could feel herself getting close to the edge, feel her orgasm building, like water contained by a splintering wall of glass. Slowly, slowly, building pressure.
He reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet, fishing a condom out of one of the sections.
“You’re a regular pro,” she said, trying not to sound, or feel, too bad.
“Necessity,” he said.
She reached for his belt buckle and undid it, her fingers shaking as she pushed it through the loops and opened his fly. She could see the outline of his erection pressing against his underwear. She pressed her palm over his hardened flesh, testing his weight.
His breath hissed through his teeth and he moved nearer to her. She pushed his underwear over his shaft, encircling him with her fingers, squeezing him. He handed her the packet, and she tore it open, rolling the condom down over his length.
The pause in full-on contact had helped some of the pressure ease, but the moment his body was back up against hers, his hardness pressing against her, it all crashed over her again.
She hooked her legs over his hips and he angled himself, pushing inside her slowly.
“Oh, Mak,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, hiding her face against his shoulder as a deep, overwhelming sense of satisfaction spread through her.
“Eva,” he ground out, his hand on her lower back, drawing her forward. She tilted her head back and looked at him, completely captured by the expression of dark sensuality etched into every line of his face.
He thrust into her, his eyes never leaving hers, unless he was leaning in to kiss her lips, to whisper hot, forbidden words in her ear.
Every thrust, every word, pushed her higher, put more cracks in her control, until it all burst, pleasure rushing through her. Uncontrollable, unstoppable. Mak’s pace increased, every movement forcing a small aftershock every time his body pressed against hers.
He froze against her, a harsh sound escaping his lips as he dropped his hand from her back, his palm braced hard on the bench as he embraced his own release.
She cupped his face in her hand, moving her fingers over his sweat-dampened skin, pushing her fingers through his thick hair. A tear slid down her cheek and she didn’t even try to stop it.
“How much time,” she whispered, her throat so tight it was almost impossible to speak.
He shifted, his focus drifting to his watch. “Twenty minutes.”
Her chest trembled, shaking as she held a sob at bay. “Okay.” She pushed gently on his shoulders.
He stood, turning and rounding a corner for a moment, returning a moment later with his clothes righted, the condom discarded.
She stood then, her knees unsteady, and brushed the front and back of her dress, trying to make sure everything was lying as it should. Checking to see if her hair was in place, her bodice tugged up where it should be.
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand hover by her cheek for a moment before curling his fingers into a fist and dropping it at his side.
“I’ll escort you back.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
The walk back seemed so much shorter than the walk into the garden had been. They came out of the foliage and back into the light, the noise of the party.
She went through the same door they’d used to exit the palace. The corridor was strangely empty now. She looked at the door to the ballroom, partially opened. She could see impressions of people moving around inside. Waiting for the announcement. Waiting for her.