Page 39 of The Queen's Serpent

My eyes scan the jungle around us, trying to determine how far we made it from the compound. I should be on high alert out here. This was reckless chasing her into the thick jungle while men seek to end my life. I should take her back immediately and place her under lock and key, but hesitation fills me. I want to enjoy basking in her beauty and softness a little longer. I don’t want our connection to immediately fade, with the reminder that she is my prisoner, and bringing her back to the compound will only ensure that.

As I scan our surroundings, I recognize a part of the scenery up ahead through the thick trees from when we first arrived, and I explored with my men to determine our defenses. I’m pretty sure that way leads to a pool of fresh water, and a small waterfall. We haven’t made it that far from the compound after all.

Excitement rises within me at the thought of showing her that little slice of paradise, and I begin moving in that direction. As leaves and branches brush against me, I’m reminded that we are both naked, and I didn’t bring any fucking weapons out here with me when I chased her.

It’s just one more example of how she turns my head upside down. It’s careless of me, and could have deadly consequences. I’m not only being hunted by other cartels who want to end the Cabano’s bloodline and power. I’m also being sought out by her psycho grandmother, and the mercenaries she hired to end my life. Enemies in every direction surround me now. If that wasn’tenough, there are always the beasts who call this jungle home that would enjoy making a meal out of me and myPrincesa.

Does any of that dissuade me and force my feet in the other direction as common fucking sense demands? Do I head back to the compound where my men are armed to the teeth and can protect us? No, I fucking don’t, because I want to show the woman I love, a waterfall.God fucking save us from my stupidity.

As we make it another few feet through the thick fauna, with me cradling an unconscious Issy tight against my chest, protecting her from the branches digging into my flesh, the trees finally give way, and the beautiful crystal water pool opens up before my eyes. The canopy of trees is a little thicker here, with only filtered sunlight making it through and illuminating the waterfall, the crystal blue-green pool of the water, and the fragrant flowers all around us.

The first time I saw it, I knew this place was special. It has an otherworldly feel, as if you’re cocooned from the rest of the world, and nothing can touch you here.

Thick green vines hang down from different trees, giving it a curtained effect. The small waterfall has clean, fresh water cascading down its various ledges, and filling the pool below it. The smell of earth, mixed with the fragrance of fresh water and vegetation, fills my senses. The sounds are magical, with the water rushing against the stones, birds calling from overhead, and the sounds of nature going about its business, unaffected by the two humans invading its space.

I move closer to the pool of water, my skin itching with sweat from the harsh heat and humidity, and my strenuous workout on Issy’s body. It craves the cool, refreshing reprieve from the liquid before me. I walk right into the pool, still cradling a sleeping Issy in my arms, and I keep going until the water rises past my waist, and is lapping at our skin. A moan leaves her lipsas her eyelashes flutter with the contact, and a satisfied sound escapes her mouth.

Her eyes finally open, and I am treated to her stunning blue irises, as they fill with confusion and panic. Her body tenses in my hold as one of her arms reaches up and snakes around my neck, and the other rises to cradle my face. I lean my head down and brush my lips across hers in a barely there kiss. “Welcome back,Princesa.”

“Where… where are we, Diego?” Her head moves around as much as my hard chest will allow, as she tries to take in the sights around us. I watch her eyes grow large on her face as she takes in the thick trees and the waterfall. A hint of excitement and color rises on her face. “It’s so beautiful!” She exclaims with a gasp.

“Yes, it is, but… I have seen more beautiful things in my life,” I reply while never taking my eyes off of her, and a pink blush races across her cheeks and down her neck.

I keep moving further into the deep pool until the water has covered both of us, and reaches our chests, cooling down our overheated bodies and giving our muscles a much-needed refresher. Still, I don’t release her, relishing the feeling of having her body in my arms, holding her tight to my heart, a place she has invaded and all but taken charge of.

“I found it a few weeks back, when I was scouting and assessing for danger with the men. I knew that you would love it here. It’s hidden and peaceful, and it looks like a spot right out of one of those fantasy romance novels that you like to read.”

Her eyes widen, and the blush on her face grows more profound, as a chuckle leaves my lips. She didn’t realize that I knew about her naughty reading habits. My beautiful girl loves to read spicy romance novels, but hers usually involve elves and fae doing naughty things to each other. I can’t wait to see herface when she realizes that I stocked the den shelves with all her favorites, and a bunch of the ones that were on her Kindle TBR.

I left nothing to chance when I drugged and stole her away from her family. I want Issy to have everything she needs here in our secluded hideaway, for as long as it takes to get her to accept that she belongs to me. That, and to get Stella Stratford to pull her bounty from my head. Maybe a great-grandbaby will have her seeing reason. If not, perhaps I will have to kill the matriarch of the Stratford clan. One way or the other, Issy will never leave my side.

I made sure that all of Issy’s various products were packed up and sent here, including the books she likes to read, and comfortable, lightweight clothing for her to wear. I even had her favorite snacks sent by the crateful, so she didn’t have to do without her precious almond chocolates, and the disgusting red berries candy she loves to eat by the handful.

No, nothing was left behind when I decided to go down this route with the guys from Casbury, who were all too eager to steal her nonsensical sister away, and needed my help to pull it off. Did I take advantage of the situation to steal my own Stratford princess?You bet your ass I did. I knew it would be my only opportunity to do it, especially after she told me we were over, at her grandmother’s behest.

Fuck Stella Stratford and the high horse she rode in on; Issy and I will never be over, not while there is still breath inside of my body. She can try to separate us, but she will lose every single fucking time. I will not be parted from myPrincesaby some demanding, Manhattanpower-hungry queen, who can’t see that we are meant to be together. I also won’t allow her to use Issy to further her family’s empire. I am fully aware of the bullshit she tried to do to Issy’s sister, Mia. Forcing her to agree to a marriage of her choosing, in order to save one of her lovers.

Fuck that shit. I’ll kill Stella Stratford with my own hands, if she tries to pull that with Issy.

My legs push off in the water, and I move us underneath the waterfall’s spray, eliciting a charming melodic laugh from Issy, as the cool water lands on our skin. She reaches out and runs her hand through the spray, turning her face up and enjoying the feeling of the water as it cascades over her, and soaks her long, dark hair.

She reminds me of a water nymph from one of her stories, naked and basking in the water and sunshine. Yeah, I might have indulged in reading one or two, or maybe five, of her books. I wanted to see what she was interested in, what turned her on, and what made her tick.

I’m a grown-ass cartel man, a badass killer, and some of the shit in those pages hadmeblushing. It’s what helped me to determine that my Issy has a praise fetish, and enjoys being called a‘good girl’. The minute I started calling her that, I realized there was no turning back, because every single time I used those words, her pussy flooded with moisture.

I bite down on my bottom lip to stop a groan from exiting my mouth; my cock is already getting hard at just the thought of her tight pussy flooding again, even though it can’t be more than twenty minutes since the last time I was inside of her. Fuck, I was never this insatiable before Issy came into my life. Yeah, I fucked a lot of women before laying eyes on Isabella Stratford, sometimes a few at a time, but since her beautiful sapphire eyes met mine months ago, no one else can even compare. No other women interest me, and my desire is only for the same fae-like creature in my arms.

I can feel the crown of my cock prodding into her backside, and by the widening of her eyes, I know she can feel it too. My eyes watch as she sucks her bottom lip inside of her mouth, and she shifts in my hold. Instead of pulling away from my cock,though, she squirms until the crack of her ass is right over the crown.

She’s got to be sore with how rough I took her, so I shouldn’t even be considering fucking her again so soon. Just as the thought crosses my mind, her hand snakes into the water and strokes my cock, tightening it in her small fist. “Fuck, Issy, you need to stop before I fuck you here in the water. I know you have to be sore.”

The tip of my mushroom head slides between her soft cheeks, and those sexy mewing sounds she makes leave her throat. My restraint is barely hanging on by a thread when she leans her face forward, and presses her lush lips to mine. “Fuck my pussy, Diego. I need to have you fill me up until there is no beginning and no end to us. I’m yours. I belong to you.”

Her words, spoken in that sexy as fuck whispered voice, snap what was left of my good intentions, and I switch my hold on her body, forcing her legs to wrap around my waist and her breasts to press against my chest, as I take her mouth in a blistering kiss and push my cock inside of her tight hole. We both groan into each other’s mouths as our lips fuse with an all-consuming hunger.

I move her up and down on my hard length with my hands braced on her ass. Her pussy squeezes my cock for dear life as she circles her hips, and increases the pace so that her clit is rubbing against my pelvis, and giving her the friction her clit needs to chase her own release. This time, I have no intention of preventing her from seeking her oblivion. Instead, I want to fall into heaven with her.

My strokes deepen, my thrusts going harder inside of her until I am hitting the end of her over and over. She breaks the kiss, a long, ragged moan escaping her lips. Her head dips back and arches her neck, allowing me to scrape my teeth along the slim column currently decorated with the imprint of my hand.

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