Page 12 of The Calm Before the Storm (The Bridge Kingdom 3.50)

He snorted out a laugh. “It’s a view I’m interested in, but not of the ocean.”

Catching hold of her hips, he lifted her onto the table and slowly pulled her skirts up her legs.

Lara’s eyebrows rose, gaze devilish. “This is hardly appropriate.”

He parted her knees, revealing lace undergarments sewn with tiny silver coins around the waist, already wet with her desire. The sight nearly undid him, but he managed to say, “If you didn’t want to end up with your dress on the floor, why did you wear these?”

“They’re pretty and they match my dress,” she purred, gaze darkening. “I wore them because I like them.”

“I like them, too,” he growled, catching hold of her undergarments and slowly drawing them down her legs. Rubbing a thumb across the damp fabric, he tucked the scrap of lace into his pocket. “I think I’ll keep them.”

Her cheeks flushed pink, but there was nothing innocent about her as she caught hold of his shirt and jerked. “Kiss me.”

Aren obliged, his need barely contained as she bit his bottom lip, her free hand palming his cock through his trousers. God help him, he wanted to fuck her. Wanted to tear off his clothes and thrust into her over and over until they were both spent, but she deserved more than that from him. Deserved to be treated like a queen. “Enough of that,” he murmured, catching hold of her hand and drawing it away.

Only for her to twist her wrist, freeing herself and then unbuckling his belt.

“You should know better than to expect obedience,” she said, sliding her hand into his trousers and taking hold of him. He groaned as she stroked his length, his eyes on her parted lips, memories of her mouth around his cock nearly pulling him over the edge.

“There are consequences to disobedience, Your Grace,” he growled, his heart thundering as she pumped him hard.

Her eyes were full of challenge as she said, “Are there?”

Ripping his belt loose, he held it up, weapons sliding off the length to clatter to the floor. Catching hold of both her wrists, he bound them together and then pushed her down against the table, hands above her head. Lara let out a gasping moan as he kissed her throat and then her collarbone, her legs wrapping around his waist.

He could feel the heat of her naked sex through the fabric of his trousers and she ground against him, making his cock throb with need. “Behave,” he said, pulling down the bodice of her dress to reveal her full breasts, pink nipples hard, “or I’ll rip this pretty dress of yours apart and use the pieces to tie you to this table.”

“Is that a promise?” Her sandaled heel caught the waist of his trousers, dragging them down, and Aren groaned as the last barrier between them fell away.

She moved her hips, slick sex sliding up and down his length, and he captured one of her nipples in his mouth, drawing it deep. Lara moaned as his teeth scraped across the tip, back arching in a way that caused his tip to enter her. “Yes,” she gasped. “Please.”

Not yet.

Letting go of her wrists, he took a firm hold of her thighs, pushing them slowly apart. Holding her wide as he dropped to his knees, the scent of her nearly making him come as he drank in the sight of her nakedness. “You’re beautiful.” He kissed the inside of her thigh, hearing her whimper. “Perfect.”

Then he leaned forward and parted her with his tongue. “Mine.”

“Yours,” she gasped, her back arching as he circled her clit with his tongue before sliding it inside her. She sobbed his name, her thighs clenching, but he was stronger than her and pressed them wider as he tasted her. Devoured her. Made her his.

His woman.

His wife.

His queen.

“Come for me, Your Grace,” he commanded, then captured her clit, sucking it hard. Lara’s back arched, her body shuddering as she climaxed, sobbing his name as he stroked her with his tongue.

Aren waited until she went limp, then rose to his feet and lifted her into his arms. He sat on the floor with her in his lap, her head resting against his shoulder. Slowly her breathing steadied, and Lara looked up at him. “Are you going to untie me?”

“Are you going to behave?”

“Never.” She smirked, then held up his belt, which she’d managed to free herself from without assistance. “Your turn, Your Majesty.”

4

LARA

Lara sleptthe balance of the day and into the evening, exhausted by unfamiliar exertions, only to wake after the sun had set. Rising from the bed, she bit back a groan, every part of her painfully stiff. She discarded her nightdress on the floor, and knife in one hand, the cane in the other, she made her way across the room and climbed slowly into the bath, the water washing away the stickiness of sweat coating her body.

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