You won’t, she thought, but didn’t say it.Instead, she said, ‘Touch me the way you did before.’
But instead, he moved lower, kissing her navel.She began to tremble when his mouth drifted between her legs.
‘I’ve been wanting to do this again,’ he murmured, lifting her to his mouth.
A sudden surge of raw pleasure erupted within her as he explored her with his tongue.He kissed her intimately, and she arched against him, suddenly realizing that everything was different with this man.He treated her as if she meant everything to him.His mouth drove her higher, the rising storm pulling her under until she was drowning in him.
She had never felt like this in all her life, and Mairead gave herself up, surrendering as he pushed her over the edge again.Her hands dug into his hair, and she guided him up, reaching down to caress his hard length.More than anything, she wanted his body inside her.
He groaned as she explored him in the same way, stroking every part of him with her palm.Then he guided himself to her entrance and slid inside, joining them together.He hesitated a moment, but she kissed him, welcoming his thrust and squeezing him within her depths.
He shuddered, his own breath mirroring her own withheavy panting.She took him in deep, lifting her knees and then wrapping her legs around his waist.
He was slow and careful at first, and though it frustrated her, slowly the penetrations began to reawaken her.She was dying a slow death, and just when she trembled, he sheathed himself fully, and she cried out as the ecstasy washed over her.She was shaking as he quickened his thrusts, covering her body with his own as he invaded again and again.
I want a life with him.
Tears spilled from her eyes at the fear of losing this man.Balor had fought alongside her, protecting her own life with his.She couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to him.
His thrusting continued, and when his mouth covered her nipple again, she took his hips and ground herself against him.He lost control then and continued driving himself in hard until he gave a sharp exhale and pulled out as he released himself against her hip.
It startled her, though she realized the risk of pregnancy.Balor collapsed on top of her, and she caressed his back, pressing a kiss against his shoulder.
But a part of her was terrified that this night would be their last.
Chapter Nine
Balor barely slept that night.Not only because of their lovemaking, but also with a realization he didn’t want to face.He had been truthful with Mairead, that he had never been intimate with a woman—he’d only learned how to give pleasure.
But he knew enough, from the stories of other soldiers, that there was usually blood and pain the first time.Yet for her, there had seemed to be no pain, no blood.
And he didn’t know how to feel about it.Was he wrong?Was it simply his own ignorance causing suspicions?Or was there another reason, one he didn’t want to admit?
She nestled against him in sleep, her body warm and soft.The urge came over him, to take her again and lose himself in her arms.But it felt as if an unspoken secret hung between them.
Did it matter if she’d been with another man first?The thought filled him with raw jealousy, and he tensed.Had it been her choice?Or had someone hurt her against her will?The thoughts swarmed over him, darkening his mood.
But then she turned to face him, resting her cheek against his heart.‘Are you awake?’
‘I am.’His voice came out cooler than he’d intended, and he leaned in to kiss her softly.She kissed him back,winding her arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of her.His body instantly responded to the touch, and she opened to him.
A fierce jealousy made him want to drive every memory of any other man from her past and replace the man with himself.He wanted her to remember no one but him.
Balor took his rigid erection and slid it against the seam of her, tempting Mairead, just as he aroused himself.Then he bent to take her nipple in his mouth again, trying to pleasure her.
He wanted to be the one who could meet her needs, the one who consumed her thoughts.The edge of his jealousy was a shard that slashed through his control and left him hanging by a thread.She gasped as his tongue slid over her, tasting the sweetness of her nipple.
But then she guided him inside her, and he slid within her wetness.He pinned her wrists to the soft fur beneath her, thrusting slowly.He continued to tease one erect nipple, then the other, noticing how she moaned and tried to move her hips to take him.
‘What is it, Balor?’she asked quietly.‘Something’s wrong.’
She’d read him so easily, sensing his change in mood.But he forced his anger back and lied, ‘It’s nothing.’He gentled his pace, watching her expression as he took her slowly.He remembered how much she had liked it when he’d teased the hooded flesh above her entrance, so he brought his thumb there and circled slowly.
‘Balor,’ she whispered, closing her eyes.‘Gods above, don’t stop.’
He obeyed, but when she met his thrusts with her own hips, welcoming him home, the insidious voice inside him whispered words he didn’t want to hear.
You’re not good enough for a king’s daughter.You’ll never be the man she needs you to be.
