Page 13 of The Sword & the Stone

Her tongue slid against mine as the kiss deepened, sending sparks of desire racing through my veins. I walked her backwards until her thighs hit the edge of the ornate four-poster bed, our lips never parting. With a gentle push, she fell back onto the plush covers, her braid coming undone as I pulled off the band, the curly strands spilling across the pillows.

I crawled over her, bracing myself on my forearms as I hovered inches from her face. "You are so beautiful," I breathed, trailing my fingers down the side of her face. "I've wanted this, wantedyou, for so long."

“You should have taken what you wanted then,” she teased, nipping at my bottom lip playfully.

A low growl escaped my throat, and I captured her lips in a searing kiss. My hands roamed her body, sliding beneath her tunic and jerkin to caress the smooth skin of her stomach. She arched into my touch, a breathy moan escaping her lips as I cupped her breast through the thin fabric of her top.

“Say yes,” I gritted out through my teeth between kisses. My cock was so hard it wanted to burst. “Say it?—”

“Yes…” she said with a moan.

With a muttered word and a flash of golden magic, her clothes vanished, leaving her bare and flushed beneath me. I sat back on my heels, drinking in the sight of her. “We don’t have nearly enough time for what I’ve wanted to do to you.”

My eyes flitted to the chamber door. They’d come for her soon. The quest was to start immediately, and we’d be leaving the moment the sunlight touched the horizon.

Arthur gazed up at me, her eyes dark with desire. "Then we'll just have to make the most of the time we do have, won’t we?"

She fisted her hands in my tunic and pulled me back down to her. Our lips crashed together in a kiss that was all teeth and tongue, hunger and desperation. I ground my hips against hers, my hardness pressing insistently against her thigh.

"Fuck—" I groaned, breaking the kiss to trail my lips down the column of her throat. I nipped and sucked at the sensitive skin, reveling in the breathy little moans that escaped her.

My hands continued their exploration of her body, mapping out every curve and plane. I palmed her breasts, rolling her nipples between my fingers until they pebbled under my touch.She arched into me as her nails dug deliciously into my shoulders.

I kissed my way down her body, pausing to lave attention on her breasts before continuing my descent. I settled between her thighs, breathing in the heady scent of her arousal. "You smell so fucking good," I murmured, nuzzling against her inner thigh. "I bet you taste even better."

A breath later, my mouth was on her, my tongue parting her folds to flick against her clit. She cried out, her hips bucking up to meet me. I slid two fingers inside her slick heat, groaning at how tight and wet she was. I pumped my fingers in and out, curling them to hit that sensitive spot inside her as I lapped and sucked at her clit.

"Merlin, oh gods," she moaned, her fingers tangling in my hair, holding me to her. I noticed her thighs began to tremble, her inner walls fluttering around my fingers as she climbed towards her peak.

I redoubled my efforts, determined to make her come undone. My tongue swirled and flicked, my fingers thrusting faster, deeper. Her moans grew louder, more desperate, until finally she shattered with a cry of my name, her body shuddering with the force of her release.

I worked her through it, gentling my touch as she came down from her high. When the last aftershocks had passed, I kissed my way back up her body, claiming her lips in a deep, sensual kiss.

"That was…" she panted when we finally parted, a blissful smile on her face. Suddenly, she frowned and raised her head up, eyes meeting mine. “Why haven’t we been doing that the whole damn time?”

I chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Because you were a bit busy picking the pocket of every wealthy man in Camelot, and I was a bit busy making sure you didn't get yourself killed in the process."

"Well, we've clearly been missing out." She leaned up to kiss me again, her hands sliding beneath my tunic to caress the muscles of my back.

I groaned into her mouth, my body responding instantly to her touch. But even as I lost myself in the taste and feel of her, a nagging thought tugged at the back of my mind. With great reluctance, I pulled back, looking down at her with a seriousness that made her brow furrow.

Softly, I brushed a stray curl from her face. "We need to talk about what this means. For us. For the future."

She frowned. "What do you mean? I-I love you, Merlin. I have for years. And now we can finally be together."

My mouth went dry and my heart clenched painfully at her admission, at the open adoration shining in her eyes. At the words that I laid awake at night for years imagining I’d hear falling from her lips. But the reality was far more complicated.

"Arthur," I said gently, "you're going to be queen of Camelot. And as queen, you'll be expected to take a consort. A king." I swallowed hard, the words like ashes in my mouth.

Arthur's eyes flashed with defiance, her jaw setting in that stubborn way I knew all too well. She sat up fully, and the sheets pooled around her waist as she glared at me. "I don't give a damn about expectations. I’m not going to let some archaic tradition dictate who I can and can't love."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "It's not that simple. The court, the nobles, they'll expect you to marry a prince. They’ll never accept a queen who takes a lowborn sorcerer as her consort. They'll see it as a weakness, a sign that you're unfit to rule."

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her bare chest. "Then they're fools."

I couldn't help the surge of warmth that flooded through me at her words, at the fierce conviction in her voice. But I knew Ihad to make her see reason. "Think about this logically. You're about to embark on a quest to prove your worthiness for the highest throne in all of Albion. How do you think it will look if you return with me as your chosen consort?"

Her eyes narrowed, a flicker of hurt passing over her face. "Are you saying you don't want to be with me? That you'd rather I marry some pompous princeling who cares more about wealth and status than he does about me? If that’s?—”

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