Page 33 of Dark Prince's Mate

I let him come inside me, the consequences left to run as terrifying and wild as our lust.

He kisses me tenderly before lowering me to my feet.My knees are wobbly and my mind disoriented.Our clothes disintegrate as if they never existed.He tells me how proud he is of me, what a good girl I’ve been, and that he’s going to run me a bath and hold me in his arms for hours, his duties be damned.He whispers praise and sweet nothings in my ear as he cradles me to his heart, but all I hear is the powerful roar of his silent victory in the air… and the deafening defeat beating in my chest.

Chapter8

Aruan

The primal way I’ve marked Elsie fills me with possessive satisfaction, even as despondency sneaks in to foil the elation.

Because she’s not happy.

Her discord slices through my ribs like a blade.

She didn’t want me to fill her sweet pussy to the brim with my cum, yet I did it.Even now, as we stand facing each other naked, it drips down the insides of her thighs.

I step closer, plastering our bodies together.A primitive urge born from the basest of instincts compels me to gather the wasted seed and push it back in, my fingers slick in her tight, wet pussy.

Instantly, I feel the coldness inside her melt away, the dying embers of her arousal sparking back to life as I pump it all back, making her take every drop… and then my cock.

I wasn’t planning on claiming her again so soon, not after taking her hard enough to leave her raw, but in this, my body has a mind of its own.I spread her out right there on the floor, cushioning her head with one hand while I fuck my cum into her sleek, hot pussy.If I could plug and seal that pretty hole until she conceives, I’d do it.Instead, I settle for fucking her like an animal, savage and without restraint.I’m propped up on one hand, carrying my weight with my arm as I stare at the ecstasy twisting her beautiful features.Biting her lip, she refuses to give me sounds, but her expression tells me everything.

She both loves and hates this.

Her body wants me, but her mind doesn’t.As for her heart, I’m not sure she’ll ever open that part of herself to me.

Because she didn’t choose me.Nature made that choice for her.For us.

Leaning down, I kiss her to take the sting out of the bitter reality.And then I coax another orgasm from her spent body by removing my hand from the back of her head and wedging it between us to stroke her clit.

She surrenders her pleasure, drowning me in her tormented defeat as we come together.I’m buried to the hilt inside her, yet the ever-growing gorge between us runs a little deeper and stretches a bit wider.Trying to ignore it, I cup her hip and chase after her lips again, but instead of kissing me, she pushes on my shoulders.

I do what she wants—get off her—and let her sit up.

She flinches either with discomfort or regret.Or maybe with both.

I take her hand and pull her to her feet.“I’m calling Vitai.”

“I’m not injured,” she says with a bite in her tone.

I’m far from reassured.I’d like to have Vitai do a full-body healing session, but I don’t want to force more on her than I already have.I wasn’t going to take things so far, not again.With her, I simply can’t help myself.

We have another bath.At the rate we’re going, we’ll end up with permanently wrinkled skin.She allows me to wash her and kiss her even though her mind is clearly somewhere else and her body is too wrung out to come alive under my hands again.

When I offer to dry her, she tells me she’d like to relax in the water for a bit longer, which is just another way of saying she needs distance from me.I open my mouth and close it again.This isn’t the moment to talk about what happened, or rather, whatcouldhappen.I’m guessing that life-altering possibility has a lot to do with her withdrawal from me.

For the first time in my life, I’m at a loss for what to do.If I stay, my presence may upset her more than she already is.If I go, she may feel abandoned when she decides she needs me.

After a moment’s deliberation, I add more healing salts to the water and leave her in peace.I don’t go far—just to the bedroom, where I dress in the formal attire official business meetings require.My father is tasked with enforcing our laws and the necessary judgments and punishments that go with that responsibility.My mother is in charge of diplomatic relations.Kian oversees Lona’s trade, and Vitai is tasked with health and sanitary regulations.Gaia is saddled with our charities.My duties include overseeing all of theirs and making sure the system runs smoothly.The other royals are allocated obligations within those areas and report back to my immediate family.When my father is inundated with disputes to settle, I lighten his burden by taking over some of the cases.It’s a never-ending job that keeps me busy from sunrise to sunset, leaving little time for anything else.

But my father has taken on a great deal of the work himself lately, thereby giving me time to seal the bond with my mate.It’s one of the only two occasions in a royal’s life that he’s granted that much spare time.The other is when his mate is pregnant.We take our responsibility in supporting and protecting our women seriously, especially when they’re growing a baby inside them and are therefore more vulnerable.

There are a lot of assignments waiting for me, enough to keep me busy for many moon cycles to come, yet that’s not what I’m focused on.My thoughts remain with the woman in the other room, a woman who belongs to me yet has a hard time accepting that fact.

When I’ve pulled on my boots, I hover for a moment, torn between going to her and giving her the space she demanded.The decision is made for me when the wall at the entrance lights up, announcing a visitor.

I know who it is by the distinct pulsing rhythm of the light even before I walk to the archway.

Behind me, the almost-silent footsteps of bare feet fall on the floor.Only my enhanced hearing allows me to discern the sound.

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