“That’s sad. I was very close with both of my parents. I can’t imagine anything else.”
The pitying look she gives me strikes a wound buried deep inside me. In this singular sense, she was more fortunate than I. My mother died before I got to know her. My father was too busy ruling and, frankly, rutting his way through the female population. I was his heir, not his son. An extension of himself and his pompous self-regard, raised by governesses and tutors.
I won’t raise my children that way.
With Elinor, I could be a real father. A doting husband. Present. Caring. I may not have had any examples of the kind of man I wish to be, but if Killian can overcome his traumatic past for the woman he loves, then there’s hope for me, too.
“That, my darling, is why I need you.” I move to where she’s standing near my elaborately carved and gilded desk. It’s frightfully overdone. I never questioned the absurdity of such luxury being bestowed upon a piece of wood that serves the simple purpose of providing a flat surface upon which to write. Until now.
Yet she is the greatest luxury of all. After everything she’s been through, to keep her heart as sweet and kind as she is? The way she holds onto hope and optimism that life can and will be better is a treasure worth more than all the gilded desks in the world. She deserves every bit of opulence I can bestow upon her. Which, as king, will be significant. Even as prince, I know it’s more than she would ever ask for.
Maybe that’s why I fell so hard and so fast for this woman. She has never asked anything from me. My relationships with women have always been transactional.
Elinor is different. She wouldn’t want me less if I weren’t the prince. If anything, she’d desire me more without the title. She proved that the night of the ball.
I kiss her shoulder. She melts against me, soft and warm in my arms. I splay my hand over her stomach and imagine it swelling with my child. My cock twitches, fighting against its fabric prison.
“We are going to have the most wonderful family,” I murmur into her hair.
She covers my hand with hers and inches higher. I stroke the underside of her breast with my thumb. Teasing. She needs a lot of foreplay, and I am content to ride the sharp edge of desire for as long as necessary to make her wild for me. I want her desperate enough to overcome her fear of sex, and we do not have a full night together until after the wedding. I want her to feel comfortable going into this marriage.
I don’t know when her needs became my highest priority, but they are. Her happiness is all that matters.
She can’t sleep here tonight without the servants talking.
I trail kisses down her neck, tasting her soft skin. Her pulse ticks beneath my lips, quickening under my touch.
“Alex,” she whispers. My secret name. Just for her. Alex can be the part of me that’s too bruised and vulnerable to show the world. That part of me is only safe in Elinor’s gentle hands.
“Elsie.”
Her breathy giggle is followed by tipping her face to mine. I savor our kiss. And the next. She turns within the circle of my arms, my hand sliding around her waist to her back. I climb the lattice of her gown’s laces and rest my palm high on her back. She sighs and kisses me deeply.
The mood shifts. I tug the bow resting prettily at the swell of her ass. Ribbons unfurl. She hesitates for the briefest moment before pushing her sleeves down and stepping out of her clothes, leaving the silk puddled on the floor.
Only then do I bring my hand to her breast. Two layers stand between me and her bare skin. Her silk corset and a fine linen chemise. I fold the cup down and poke her nipple out. I repeat the action on the opposite side.
Then I take a step back to admire my handiwork. A watercolor blush rises to her cheeks. Her teeth capture her lower lip. My cock kicks at the sight.
“Take down your hair.”
Her flush deepens into a rosy hue. It spreads down her chest and over the tops of her tits. I trace it with my fingertip. She reaches up with both hands to pluck pins from her hair, dropping them onto the gleaming surface of my ridiculous desk.Plink. Plink.
I want to wrap her up in silk and jewels every day, just so I can unwrap her in the evening like my own personal gift.
“Aren’t you going to reciprocate?”
I quirk one eyebrow.
“Shirt.” Elinor pinches the fabric and plucks it. “Off.”
I have to shed my jacket and waistcoat first. Good riddance. With the fire blazing, my room is warmer than the rest of the castle. Between the heat of her gaze and too much clothing, I’m sweltering. I hardly noticed until she ordered me to get naked. Now there are flames racing over my skin. I can’t get them off fast enough.
The boots go, too.Thump. Thump. I’m heedless of where they land. All that matters is the gleam in Elinor’s eyes as she watches the growing expanse of skin. My cock thickens almost painfully in response.
“We need to relocate.” I scoop her into my arms and carry her to the bed, landing with her draped across my lap and her arms around my neck. Better. This way, her tits are inches below my chin, her mouth at kissing level, and her ass nestled on my thighs. “Untie the ribbons on your petticoat. Take everything off but your corset.”
Her eyes flare wide, but she nods. Strands of hair like living fire glide over her slim shoulders in soft, loving caresses.
