“That is for your knee,” I replied and snatched the bottle away before she could place her lips on it again.
“The last time I had this was at uni, my first year. They don’t make it anymore. Where did you get it?” she asked curiously while caressing her throat to relieve the burn.
“My family makes it.” Again, telling the truth seemed to be the best option. Before she had time to form another question, I pressed the green gauze on her knee and kept it still with my hand while a cascade of curses escaped her mouth.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” her scan penetrated my face with inquisition.
A question I did not expect in that particular moment, it made my grin even wider.
“I do not,” I barely contained a smile.
“A wife or any kind of partner?” she pushed.
“Neither,” I struggled to remain as neutral as possible as I wrapped gauze around her knee.
Anwen relaxed and as soon as I finished, she laid on my bed, removing her shoes to make herself comfortable over the sheets. I remained immobile by the bed and I watched her swim in the green satin that brought me cold comfort at night. From now on, it would burn like embers after her touch. The message impossibly clear. She wanted me to join her and for a moment, I couldn't care less about anything else, duty and honour be damned.
My instincts raged dangerously, if I were to listen to them, I would find myself buried in this woman in the next instant and forget every worry I ever had in my twenty-seven years of abstinence. I remembered my brother’s advice, humans had many ways of protection. She wanted me to.
But it felt wrong, dirty, and I did not want to take Anwen in these conditions. She deserved much more and if we were to become intimate, I wanted to bring her the world along with me and make her scream with pleasure, loud enough for all the faeries to hear. Terrible things crossed my mind, everything I wanted to do to her, to her silhouette, enveloped in vivid images in front of me, my eyes widening with thoughts, positions and moans I imagined the woman in front of me made when she reached ecstasy.
Cutting the wait short, her lips leaped on mine. Anwen was no stranger to my taste any longer, so after a few soft movements, her tongue slid into my mouth. It was gentle and soft, caressing my lips as she did, touching my tongue slowly to feel more of me. I groaned and grabbed her tightly, pressing her torso to mine while I explored her mouth, my tongue twisting hers and clashing onto her lips with eagerness. She moaned lazily, the sound muffled by the kiss, only audible to my ears. Her hands found their way into my hair, pulling tightly as she let herself fall back on her feet, giving into the strength on my embrace. I felt impossible to stay back much longer, desperate for the touch and feel of her, so I stepped towards the bed, forcing her to mimic my movements without breaking the kiss until we reached the bed frame.
I clutched her lower back to support her and shifted so abruptly that she lost her balance, her physique remaining at my mercy as I positioned her carefully onto the mattress and grabbed the pillow that would forever be my favourite, placing it under her head. My body encased on top of hers, crushing her under me, not hard enough to inflict pain, but rigid enough to incapacitate her escape. She did not seem to mind and her hands moved from my hair onto my torso and started pulling at my shirt without breaking the kiss. Muffled sounds escaped us both, the passion and desire we held back during these months roaming free in a duet of moans. I let go of her lips only enough to place my mouth on her neck, nuzzling the shell of her ear, my tongue drawing little circles onto her skin.
“Ansgar,” she gasped and my name on her lips, was the best sound in the world. It made me lose the last shred of control and I allowed my left hand to escape to the place it had dreamt of touching ever since I met her. I traced the triangle between her legs, enjoying the heat emanating from it. My fingers slipped lower to caress her womanhood over the tight pants she was trapped in. Her entire flesh tensed and I was ready to pull it tighter onto me and start playing with it as she whispered my name again, shifting under me. It drew my attention back to her face, red and wet from kisses and tongues, her lips swollen. Her big eyes questioned, giving the impression that what we were doing did not please her. I immediately removed my hand and helped her raise on the bed.
“I’ll walk you home,” I barely found the strength to part my lips away from her and cut our connection short. She gazed at me in disbelief, taking in my ragged breathing and the evident want poking at her through my pants.
“Okay…” a barely audible sound made its way from her lips. She followed my lead and stood from the bed, arranging her clothes and hair.
“When can I see you again?” My heart drummed fast as I awaited her reply, I could not bear another one of her requests to stay away. Not now, after what we just did, not after her taste coloured my lips and her smell lingered on my bed. Not when I decided to court her.
“The guard is coming tomorrow with supplies,” she answered. “I'm free Saturday,” her voice made the announcement, displaying a hopeful smile.
Chapter Nineteen
“Hello,” I greeted the tall man as I opened the door. Generally, the guards made a habit to deliver around lunchtime or early morning, yet this man had arrived at my door in the late afternoon carrying the bags in one hand as the other carelessly lingered across the door frame.
“Good afternoon,” he hummed melodiously, making his way in without an invitation. He seemed to know his way around and went straight into the kitchen to place the bags on the island, then started unpacking and carefully arranging the foods side by side.
I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the audacity and the lack of soldier-like behaviour of the man. But he wore the uniform and he was here with my food. Maybe I got used to the rest of the men in the guard being super respectful. At the end of the day, he was just doing his job, possibly trying to get rid of me quickly and finishing his shift. I decided not to get in his way and walked into the kitchen to help him unpack.
As I approached him, I got a better look at him and was left mesmerized. He stood tall and well built, hair dark as the night sky and adamant sculpted stare. Where do they get this kind of men? First Ansgar and now him? Back at home, you could find one in a million to look as attractive, but these two could basically rule the world amongst themselves and make people surrender countries to their whim with just a smile.Damn.
I decided not to help so I can take a longer look at the sexy man standing next to me. Whatever my fairy godmother foresaw by my cradle, I don’t think even she imagined that I would be kissing the most gorgeous man and also have the darker version of him in my home in less than twenty four hours. If this developed into one of those romantic love triangle stories, I was in.No, no damn it, you are not!My brain screamed as I wiped away images of my mouth being kissed by Ansgar and my neck by this dark haired mystery man while their hands wandered across my form. What the hell was wrong with me?
Lost in my thoughts, I must have done something to catch his attention, because he stopped unpacking and looked at me with such a seductive grin that made me be grateful for my thoughts’ ability to stay private. Maintaining that smirk on his face, he stepped closer to me and extended a hand.
“Apologies, I got lost in my duty and forgot to introduce myself.” The way he stared at me gave me a shiver. I tried to maintain calm and shook his hand, shuddering at the touch as I introduced myself. If Ansgar was heaven, this man was hell. The kind of hell one would burn gladly in.
“Pleased to meet you Anwen, my name is Rhylan,” he nodded and kept my hand in his, without breaking eye contact. I became mesmerized by those obsidian eyes, so deep I saw the layers of my soul in them. I retired my hand and nodded as well, throwing him a quick smile, then I picked up the bags and started unpacking more things.
“I am fine to finish on my own if you need to go,” I replied, avoiding eye contact. He made me uneasy with every step he took behind my back, even though I tried to brave it out and not look in his direction.
“Please do not worry on my behalf Anwen, I have all the time in the world,” he replied nonchalantly and I heard him walk into the sitting room where I liked to spend most of my time lately. Without invitation, he took a seat on the sofa and grabbed one of the magazines my mom insisted I subscribed to. Rhylan flipped through it and one of the articles must have caught his attention because he made himself comfortable and started reading.
“Anwen, could I borrow your pen?” he asked and when I turned to him, I saw him flick one of the pens I left on the table in the air, moving it slightly to catch my attention.
