Page 23 of Princess of Passion (Caprice Langden)

“I know that it’s torture. This life you lead, that Gabriel leads, takes its toll. I see it in him every day. I see it in you,” I whispered. “The two of you have more in common than you realize.”

“Your brother and I are nothing alike. If you don’t see that, you don’t know me very well.”

“I don’t think you know yourself very well if you don’t see the similarities.”

“I’m not interested in having this conversation. I think it’s time you went to bed, Princess.”

If he only knew, he soundedexactlylike him.

Go away, little girl, so the men can do their job.

Play with your dolls, Lilly. We have business to take care of.

Stay home, Lilly. It’s too dangerous to go anywhere right now.

Sometimes, I wished I’d listened.

Sometimes, I wished they were all wrong...

Flippant and cool. I turned my back on him. “Fine. I’ll go to bed. See you in the morning.” Easy capitulation. It’s what he wanted, wasn’t it?

“Oh, no. Not like that. Not fucking like that.”

His hand snaked around my waist, and Sebastian pulled me backwards, crushing my back against his chest. Strong arms wrapped around me, and I struggled... not to be released, but to be strong. To pretend that this wasn’t what I wanted. I struggled to resist the desire that surged through me as soon as we made contact.

Who was whose weakness? This man made me shudder, made me tremble, made me fall to pieces in his arms. I didn’t believe for one second I had that kind of power over him.

But he knew how to own me, and I was completely helpless against the strength of the passion we could share again.

His arms tightened, binding me to him.

“Sebastian,” I pleaded with a groan, wanting him to release me only so I wouldn’t feel my shame. I shouldn’t want him this way!

I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck; his lips lingered over my ear.

“None of it matters, Princess. None of it. Not my motives. Not your brothers. You,”

He breathed heavily. “This.” His hand stroked the front of my dress, then settled over the v between my legs. I gasped and felt him harden behind me.

“For us, this is what matters.”

“It’s an illusion,” I whispered, desperate for denial.

“It’s the only real fucking thing about us. The one thing that brings us together. You’ve never had this with anyone else—I know I haven’t.” His voice dropped; his hand moved against me in a circular motion. I clutched the arm that held me around the waist like a steel band and leaned backward, eager for his touch. Something close to a purr escaped me and Sebastian’s body relaxed while his grip tightened so he could hold me up as my legs weakened.

“Give into it, Lilly.”

His hand stopped its magic, and I bit my lip to stop from crying out in disappointment. When his hand traveled to my thigh and slid under the hem of my dress, I relaxed again, anticipating what he’d do next.

His fingers brushed me. The slow, circular dance started again. I shifted on my heels to accommodate his reach, but it was really more about getting the pleasure I wanted.

“That’s it,” Sebastian groaned into my neck. “Surrender it to me, Lilly. I can make all this shit go away. Just let me. Let me–” the motions became more intense. My head fell back to his shoulder. I closed my eyes, shutting out everything except the exquisite pressure of his fingers on my clit and the building tension between my legs. I didn’t care that we were standing in the openness of his patio or that there were probably surveillance cameras and those damn drones of his watching our every breath. All I cared about was the tightness of his arms and the strength of his chest—the only thing keeping me from crashing to the floor in my weakened state.

“I’ll give you everything you could ever want... just give me this, Lilly. Come for me.”

The tension reached that unbearable pitch and, with a few more strokes, Sebastian pushed me over the edge, and I came hard against his fingertips. I would have fallen had he not been there to hold me up. I rode the intense waves of pleasure, ignoring everything around me except the man who became my anchor in my post-orgasmic bliss.

Sebastian held me until my breath eased and my heartbeat returned to normal, his grip never weakening. We stayed that way until the silence became irritating. I didn’t know what to say. Every experience with him was new, exciting, like I was a damn virgin who didn’t know what to expect, and with Sebastian, I didn’t.

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