Page 46 of Settle Down, Princess

But it was more than that.

If I couldn’t have Creed in reality, then I’d snatch what I could right now.

“Perhaps it’s my turn to please you,” I said, the fact this was a farewell allowing me to be bold.

Then I sank to my knees, bowing down before this moment, right before I’d run from it. Creed couldn’t allow that. He’d never let me kneel when he stood, his hand gripping my arm, stopping me midway, before he picked me up and tossed me onto the armchair.

“You first,” he growled. “Always you first, lass, because you’re…”

His throat worked, because he had his secrets too, but we both kept them. I felt that in his kisses, his beard prickling my skin with each one as I began to shift restlessly, just like the waves he’d described. My body came alive the higher he got, that same ache starting up inside me, forcing me to long for something I didn’t even understand quite yet. Then he rumbled, “Need to taste you, lass.” His mouth hovered over my most intimate skin, his breath fanning over sensitive flesh. “Need you on my tongue. Need—”

“Yes…” I hissed, mostly to myself, before pulling his head to where I ached most.

Chapter 26

That first flick of his tongue drove out all thought of Rion or the men I wanted to hire. It was the potential of pleasure—slippery, slick, there and gone again—that had me gripping his head. Another lick, then another, teasing things that made me all too aware of a part of my body that was beyond my consciousness most of the time. Then Creed reminded me of exactly what I was—a woman who could experience bittersweet heights of pleasure—when he growled into me, and the vibrations sent my nerve endings into a frenzy, seeking more. Just as I felt a small curl of fear that he wouldn’t give me what I needed, he lunged forward.

His claws dug into my thighs, almost to the point of pain, and I was held fast by this predator with his prey. However, an antelope did not cry out in ecstasy when the lion dragged it down, but I did as Creed pinned me in place. I was no deer, no rabbit. My grip on his hair was just as savage as his hold on me; the result being that the two of us were fighting a battle of sorts.

One in which I would be the victor, regardless.

His tongue lapped at my aching entrance, then worked its way inside, filling me in the way I craved, yet it was not enough to soothe the ache. I twisted helplessly on the chair, letting out a little whimper as I pulled tighter on his hair, seeking something, anything, to ease the sensation. He dragged his tongue free and laved it over the sensitive bundle of nerves, making me cry out anew. And then sharp fangs pressed against me as he sucked hard, and I was overcome.

Was it always going to be like this? Would I always tip over the edge of pleasure with such ease with whoever I ended up marrying? And would I think of the beast man of Khean when I did, instead of seeing my husband’s face? My eyes snapped open, wide and unfocused, as I jerked and twitched, riding those iridescent waves of pleasure. But the tide didn’t go out. It only receded slightly, readying itself to crash down again.

He stared up at me, licking his lips. As I looked down at him, trying to catch my breath, those wolf’s eyes pierced mine. Fur swept across his skin, there and gone again. When he lifted his head slightly, I saw another way he was different to a human man. His tongue lengthened, growing thicker, and his eyes gleamed as he went back for more.

I was too sensitive, and I raked my nails across his scalp, scoring his skin. He made no sound of pain. Instead, he moaned his pleasure into me, sharing it with me.

That tongue worked its way back inside me, but now it did more than fill me. Now it stretched me. Muscular, thick, yet soft, it pushed its way into every part of me, invading me, yet causing no pain. The sensation of feeling full was incredible, making me realise that I’d been so empty. With each forceful thrust of his tongue, his nose nudged the nub hidden at the top of my cleft. When I felt the same peak beginning again, I stiffened, clamping down hard. Then right as I felt I was cresting, Creed pulled free. My hands clawed at the air to pull him back, but he just laughed, low and guttural, at my predicament.

“Time to take your throne, Princess,” he said, falling back on his heels, spreading that glorious body out across the floor. “Need you riding my face. I want to be smothered by you, your taste in my nose, my mouth, and on my tongue.” He patted that gloriously broad chest. “C’mon, lass.”

His use of my title was discomfiting, reminding me of what I was supposed to be, none of which was compatible with the woman I was here, with him. I’d already stripped away most of what I’d been taught to be as Princess Jessalyn. And I would leave the rest behind once I climbed down the trellis at the side of the inn and met with Rion and his men. As I rose to my feet, I twitched my skirts back down so that I could prowl steadily toward Creed, lifting the hem up in gradual increments. Creed watched the slow reveal with hunger in his eyes, his hand sliding down and tugging at the lump in his pants as I did so.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Give me the thing I need so fucking much.”

So, really, this was an act of charity I was engaging in, a deed of noblesse oblige, as my knees dropped to the floor, landing either side of his head. I was merely easing the pain in him by lifting his head slightly, then slowly dropping my hips down. Creed was not one to be awestruck or dumbfounded at my gracious gesture. He was no passive recipient. His hands whipped around my hips, tugging me down, forcing me onto his face so that I covered his nose, his mouth. I’d feel the rash from his beard tomorrow, but I craved the sharp prickles as much as the soft flick of his tongue.

I felt neither like a princess nor a wave, more like a slender reed swaying in tune to the wind currents, moved back and forth by a power far stronger than her. My whole body undulated, my hips rolled in response to his wicked tongue as he separated my folds and then traced a circle around my lack, right as he pierced me through.

And he did it with more than his physical touch. He might have been riding the red dragon, but rather than use it to burn me to a crisp, rather than force me down on the bed and make me submit to the lust I’d inspired, he sought to please me, make me feel as precious as if every part of me was cast in gold. For one perfect moment, there was no future, no past, no expectations or external pressures pushing down upon me. Only pleasure. Pure unselfish pleasure was what Creed gave to me, and my heart swelled so much I felt like it might break. His lips tugged at the bundle of nerves, over and over, until I did break and gushed all over his face.

He lifted me, limp as a doll in his grip, then cradled me in his arms. He stroked my hair with hands that were imbued with my intimate scent and murmured sweet words in my ears as I felt a terrible heaviness settle over me.

“Just like this…” he rasped, kissing my hair and my neck, unable to stop from touching me. “Let’s stay just like this.”

I didn’t want to leave. If Creed could’ve promised me that we would stay exactly as we were, finding work in the inn below and saving, perhaps to own a little cottage of our own one day, I would’ve stayed. He was everything I wanted, big and strong enough to protect me but sweet with it. I saw the way his eyes followed me everywhere, the way he flushed when I caught him looking. However, the King of Khean was using his rabid loyalty against him, to force him to escort his fated mate to her death, and I couldn’t allow that to happen to him or to me. I reached up, tugging his head down for a kiss.

“My beard…”

He rubbed a hand through it, as it to remove the residue of what we’d done from it, but I kissed him anyway, tasting the sea on his lips, feeling the rainbow burst of pleasure when I did.

It was a kiss of farewell. He didn’t know that, but it was. It went on and on, a soft, slow, bittersweet thing because I couldn’t bring myself to regret meeting him, being with him. I promised myself I’d hold every moment of this kiss in my heart, a precious thing to be brought out and inspected as the years went by.

But I didn’t want to die.

So I pulled away from him, placing a hand on his chest when he went to stop me.

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