James went to the window, looking out at the night sky, his broad shoulders tense beneath his suit jacket. I watched him for a moment, drinking in the sight of him—strong, controlled, always keeping himself in check.
Not tonight.
I unfastened my cloak with trembling fingers, letting it fall to the floor. Then, before I could lose my nerve, I reached behind me and pulled down the zipper of my velvet dress. The fabric slid down my body, pooling at my feet. The cool air raised goosebumps across my exposed skin as I stepped out of the dress, leaving me in only a pair of lace knickers.
"James," I whispered.
He turned, and the change that came over his face was instantaneous. His eyes darkened to midnight, pupils dilating as his gaze travelled over my body with searing intensity. A sharp inhale hissed through his clenched teeth as his eyes roamed from my face down to my exposed breasts, lingering there before trailing lower to the curve of my waist, the flare of my hips, the long line of my legs. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, knuckles white with the effort of restraint.
For a heartbeat, he didn't move—just stared at me with such naked hunger that I felt it like a physical touch, his gaze so intense it might as well have been his hands caressing my skin.
"Fuck," he whispered harshly, then louder, "Christ, Evangeline," the words torn from his throat as if they caused him physical pain.
I stood my ground, fighting the urge to cover myself. "This is what you do to me," I whispered. You make me forget who I am and what I am. Tonight, I don't want to be a princess. I just want to be yours."
He clawed at the air, gasping, his entire frame trembling with the breaking point of his will. Two strides — that’s all it took to bring him in front of me, one hand fisted my hair. Jerking my head back my eyes regained focus on James while his other hand gripped my waist. His mouth crashed down on lips with bruising force.
The kiss was nothing like I'd imagined—and I had imagined it countless times. It was raw, demanding, almost punishing in its intensity, as if he were pouring months of denied longing into this single moment. With intense force, he ravaged my mouth, his lips hard and unforgiving, teeth scraping against my bottom lip until I gasped. His tongue slid between my parted lips, claiming my mouth with a savage dominance that made my body yield to him.
There was desperation in the way he kissed me—desperate hunger, an abject need, a chasm of fury at himself for wanting what he'd forbidden himself to have. I could taste it on his tongue, feel it in the way his fingers weaved roughly in my hair, pulling just hard enough to make me whimper. This wasn't tame or tender—he took everything he'd denied himself, everything I was offering, with a ferocity that left me fighting for breath, and in torture.
I moaned against his mouth; the sound torn from deep in my chest as pleasure and pain blurred together. My nearly naked body pressed against his still-clothed form, the rough fabric of his suit scraping at my sensitive skin in the most delicious way. I was desperate for more contact, clawing at his shoulders, trying to eliminate every inch of space between us, needing to feel his flesh against mine with an urgency that bordered on madness.
"Is this what you wanted, Princess?" he growled against my mouth, tugging my head back to expose my throat. His teeth scraped down my neck, sending shivers racing across my skin. "To be fucked hard by your bodyguard?"
"Yes," I gasped as his mouth fastened on the sensitive juncture of my neck and shoulder. "God, yes."
He backed me towards the bed, his hands seemingly everywhere at once—gripping my hair, he cupped my breast, his fingers extended to flick my nipples the sensation foreign but fantastic, sliding down to cup my arse through the thin lace twisting his finger around the lace strap on my hip pulling it up with a force that made the seam of my knickers catch on my clit, rub against me without mercy. When my legs hit the mattress, he pushed me down, closing in over me like some primal force of nature.
"Take off your clothes," I demanded, catching his tie, twisting it around my fist and pulling James closer.
His hand caught mine, unraveling my makeshift leash. He pinned me to the bed. Leaning in close to the side of my head. His teeth grazed the side of my ear as he spoke. "You don't give the orders here." His voice was a rough caress that made my core clench with need. Tonight, you're not Princess Evangeline. You're just mine. Do you understand?"
I nodded, breathless.
"Say it," he commanded, his free hand trailing down my stomach to the edge of my knickers. "Tell me who you belong to tonight."
"You," I whispered, arching into his touch. "I'm yours, James."
Something dangerous and possessive flashed in his eyes. "That's right." His fingers slipped beneath the lace, finding me wet and yielding. A satisfied smile curved his lips. "So eager for me, aren't you? Is this how a princess behaves?"
I gasped as his finger circled my clit with maddening precision. "I told you—tonight I'm not a princess."
"No," he agreed, edging one thick finger inside me, making me moan. "Tonight, you're my slut. Wet and hungry for my cock."
The crude words from his usually controlled mouth sent a shock of arousal through me. He had never spoken to me like that, and I had never wanted it until now. Coming from James, it was unbearably erotic.
"Yes," I breathed, spreading my legs wider to give him better access. "Please, James."
He withdrew his hand, eliciting a whimper of protest from me. With deliberate slowness, he loosened his tie, then unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a torso sculpted by years of military training. Scars marked his skin—a testament to a past I knew little about. I reached out to trace one that curved across his ribs, but he caught my wrist.
"Keep your hands above your head," he ordered. "Don't move them until I say you can."
I obeyed, crossing my wrists above me, feeling impossibly vulnerable and aroused by my submission. James stripped off his shirt and trousers in a choreograph of lust. My eyes widened at the sight of him fully naked—all lean muscle and barely unleashed power. His cock stood thick and rigid, bigger than I'd anticipated.
He saw my expression and smiled, a predatory curve of his lips. "Having second thoughts, Princess?"
"No," I said firmly. "I want all of you."
