Page 15 of Settle Down, Princess

“You don’t have to do anything at all,” Creed said, turning his head my way, with a frown.

“But I want to.”

I wriggled my body suggestively, and Roan chuckled. His callused hands skimmed up the backs of my thighs, and when he reached the apex of my legs, he pressed his thumbs into the sensitive flesh there in a way that had me arching my back in response. While it was sweet of Creed to be so protective, he couldn’t know that I’d been protected my whole life, and I’d lost my appreciation for it. Although my lips burned a little and my throat felt a little scratchy, that didn’t stop me from bending my head and swiping my tongue from the root of Roan’s member to the head. He groaned at the sensation, and the others echoed the sound, from sheer envy, it seemed.

“Look at you…” Arik moved toward me, his eyes flickering across my body before he reached over and balled my hair at the base of my skull so he could watch me more clearly. “You’re doing so well. Uh-uh… not so deep.” I felt like I could go further, but as I stopped, my throat spasmed, then settled. “Good girl. Nice and slow.”

“Not too fucking nice and slow…” Roan ground out, his fingers biting into my skin. “Gods, I’m burning up.”

“Wrap your fist around the base,” Silas said, a crease between his brows as he came closer to add his thoughts. “He’ll love the stimulation, and it stops you from going too far.”

“That’s it,” Arik purred, as I followed their instructions, even though my lips hit my hand before I pulled back and tried again. Roan still seemed pleased with my efforts, from the way he flexed his hips and thrust up into my hand, groaning as my grip tightened. “Just like that. Good lass. Such a good lass.”

Why did I crave his stream of hoarsely declared praise? Why did I want more? Why did I simply do as they said and shift my hand up and down Roan’s shaft in time with my bobbing head, copying what I’d seen him doing before? And why was Arik so interested in seeing what I was doing with another man? I had no answers to any of those questions. But I did know one thing, as I arched my back like a cat, pressing into the hand gripping my hair, pushing back against the hands holding me open so as to devour me whole. Even if I could no longer tell where they started and I ended, it didn’t matter, for we were caught in a never-ending loop of pleasure, and I didn’t want to escape it.

“You keep doing that, you’ll end up with a mouthful of his seed.”

Creed’s dark and watchful presence reappeared in my line of sight, and his words made the prospect of what he was saying seem something to avoid.

“Yes, you so fucking will,” Roan rasped. “Gods, I’m that damn close…!”

“You want it, don’t you?” Arik asked me, keeping a firm hold on my hair. Creed let out a low growl, as if in warning, but Arik continued, “Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than shooting your seed down the throat of a willing woman. Now, you can pull off, if you like, and he’ll spill all over his stomach. But…” His eyes held mine, hypnotising me. A gentle smile formed, a real one. “I don’t think you’re going to.”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but the roseblood was whispering strange things in my ears, and so I kept up the pace with my mouth and hand as I rocked against Roan’s mouth, loving the quicksilver feeling of his tongue. Then his lips closed around me, making my whole body jolt. Long pulls of his mouth had the effect of wringing an almost painful level of pleasure from me, so I followed his lead. I sucked harder, faster, and in turn I felt him writhing underneath me, making clear that whatever hell I was tumbling into, he was falling with me. Over and over, our bodies moved in a relentless rhythm, until everything came to a shuddering climax.

With my lips still wrapped around Roan’s manhood, my moans of bliss were muted, then I felt that part of him twitching against my tongue. Quick blasts of something filled my mouth, and I had to swallow lest I choke upon it. It was there and gone again, leaving an aftertaste that was partly salt, partly the sweetness of roseblood.

“Let her go!” Creed snarled. “Let her up!”

“Not until she’s swallowed every drop,” Arik insisted, his grip on my hair loosening as a last shiver wracked me. He let go of my hair altogether and I slowly lifted my head up, savouring Roan’s taste as I let his length slip from my lips. Arik didn’t waste time. “Sit up and show us.” Between the two of them, they helped me move backwards so that I was sitting on my heels on the bed behind Roan’s head. Arik looked intently at me. “Open your mouth.” And I did as he said, without even thinking. He pushed his thumb against my lower lip, and I opened my mouth wider. He smiled. “Swallowed it all. Good girl.”

Was it those two words that made my whole body hum with warmth, or was I still caught up in the sensations Roan and I had plucked from each other’s bodies? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I looked up at Arik beneath my lashes, then closed my lips around his thumb and sucked on it.

“Gods… you’ll be the death of us.”

“Enough.” Creed plucked me free from their hands. Lifting me from the bed and holding me tightly to his chest. The way his arms squeezed me against him, combined with the scent and texture of his leather armour biting into my skin, had me squirming. He walked over to a broad, well-cushioned chair and settled himself down in it, arranging me to fit on his lap and within the circle of his arms. I darted my eyes quickly across the room to see that each one of the other men was staring in interest before I looked up at Creed as he held me against him.

“You said you’d look after me,” I said, shifting restlessly again, because whatever the roseblood had done to me, it wasn’t over. “You said—”

“I know what I said.” His growl was more beast than man right now. “And I will look after you, even when those bastards won’t, that I can promise you. You’ll never want for a thing, not while I take breath.”

Apparently, an expression of lifelong devotion was exactly what I needed to hear, and I settled back against him, feeling a strange kind of peace as his grip tightened.

Chapter 10

Creed was true to his word. The rest of his friends watched avidly as his clever fingers took me from one peak to another. Finally, the sensations began to turn from amazing to uncomfortable, and then brushed against the edge of being painful, so I stopped him. I yawned noisily, exhaustion hitting me like a ton of bricks, but he wouldn’t let me sleep, not until he was satisfied that he had looked after me appropriately.

After some sort of deep-voiced exchange, a waterskin was placed at my lips, the water fresh from the river. It was cold and delicious. I gulped a few mouthfuls down, but when I tried to hand it back, he prompted me to drink until the waterskin was finished. When he lifted me up again and set me on the bed, I had a strange sensation, like my stomach was sloshing around. At the same time, it seemed as though the effect of the roseblood had dissipated.

“Sleep now, lass,” he said, drawing me down with him, and I went without complaint. I could no more imagine leaving the room than I could sprouting wings and flying away, so I snuggled down into his arms and let sleep take me.

“So, this is where you ended up.”

The familiar, feminine voice pulled me partway from my dreams, and my brows creased for just a second, even though I wasn’t ready to wake up. I burrowed my face into something big and warm, willing to drop back down into sleep, but she wouldn’t allow that.

“Jessalyn…” she said, her voice as intrusive as a finger poking into my side, forcing my eyelids to flutter. “Jessalyn!”

I rolled over within the circle of Creed’s arm, opening my eyes with a vexed huff. A slim figure was beside the bed, holding a lamp. The light in my eyes made me turn my head away for a moment, but even as I did, I was struck by a sinking feeling of recognition. When I reluctantly looked back, I saw that I was right. My mother stood there; her lips pursed in a way I knew well. It was the look she gave me when I managed to spill sauce on the skirts of a brand-new gown or forgot to put my gloves on.

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