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His head bowed back as I pumped and he released my grip to stroke him once I got the feel for the movement. The pleasure on his face was a heady thing, tangible. Power like I’d never felt rushed over me. I could bring the King of Oshal to his knees for me. Like he had done with me, I watched him come undone. My hand worked him over just a little harder, just a little faster until my wrist cramped. Still I kept going, wanting to drive him over that edge, but he took the ability away from me and pushed my hand out of the way. Wrapping the fingers of one hand around his shaft, he pumped relentlessly. The other shoved my dress to the side, piling the fabric into my arms so that he could hike up my leg and pull it around his hip. He stared down at my core, with nothing to protect me from his gaze as the tip of him brushed up against my pussy and my upper thighs with every stroke of his hand on himself. He shuddered finally as he nudged my clit and drew a gasp from my mouth. Ropes of his release spilled onto me, staining me with the heat of him. Like a brand against my skin—I stared down at the milky white substance covering me.
"You're mine, Alina." He rubbed the liquid into my skin, pressing it between my legs to slide it inside me. I gave him a wide-eyed look and he shrugged in that unrepentant way, bending down to gather the tattered shreds of my underwear from the ground. He eyed the scraps thoughtfully. “That was foolish of me. I’ll never be able to focus on anything knowing you have nothing underneath your dress.” His mouth tipped into a playful grin, and I swatted at his shoulder to scold him.
There was not one ounce of him that regretted tearing my underwear.
“While other men look at you and wish you could be theirs, you’ll have my cum on you, Baby Bird.” I must have made some strangled sound, just as surely as I felt a squeezing in my throat, because he threw his head back and laughed as he zipped himself back up. I smoothed a hand down my dress, pulling it up and trying my best to ignore the fact that it felt breezier and sticky between my thighs. I looked around and walked over to pick my discarded clutch, cursing myself that I'd forgotten to put a mirror in it.
I tried to look over my shoulder to check if I had stained the pale fabric or torn it as I'd been pinned against a tall hedge. Reece walked over and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, running a hand down my back. "You're beautiful, my Princess. Mussed just like a well-loved woman should look."
I muttered under my breath, "If Aric sees me, he'll kill me."
"He won't. But he'll probably kill me. I would kill me in his shoes." He kissed me on the cheek and took my hand in his. "Should we go back out and pretend to be civilized royals of standing?”
I nodded, blushing at the way he could so casually revert to the cool King with such notoriety.
As we walked back, hope coursed through me. Perhaps there could be some way for Reece and I to make it work. If only it was so easy to defy my mother.
* * *
Istill hadn't come close to remembering my own name when we approached Reece's blanket. He helped me sit, looking down at me with knowing eyes that went soft and hazy as he studied the flush to my cheeks. Averting my gaze, I picked at the navy blanket beneath me with nails manicured perfectly like my mother demanded. The nude French tips felt like a betrayal to everything I wanted to be. Devoid of life. Empty of color.
Missing everything Reece made me feel, they only served as a reminder for the empty life that inevitably waited for me. The hope that would be snuffed out the moment my mother got me back within her clutches.
"Would you like some tea?" Reece asked, demanding my attention with the gruff voice that reminded me of the way it felt against my skin. The very fresh memory of how it had sounded in my ear, the sharp bite of his filthy words growled against my neck, made me desire it all over again.
"That would be lovely, thank you," I whispered, smiling up at him politely. He seemed to sense just how much I needed the time to myself, not even arguing as he nodded at me reassuringly and left me to go to the table of beverages all the way on the other side of the garden.
My lungs heaved with my relief, and freedom from the brutal intensity that he possessed to capture me. Something about the man disarmed all my defenses, and saw through to the core of who I was as much as I tried to hide it.
The time was coming when I would need to come up with a solution where he was concerned. I'd need to get rid of him if I was to do as expected of me, but the prospect of saying goodbye already felt too painful to consider. So I was determined to enjoy my freedom first and damn the consequences.
The bars would be locked behind me soon enough.
"Alina," a male voice rasped behind me. I spun, taking in the old-fashioned loafers and ill-fitted suit as my eyes tracked up to stare into the murky eyes of King Corbin, a visual reminder of the prison I could not truly hope to escape.
"Your Majesty," I said in a rush, pressing my hands into the blanket so that I could stand.
He held out a hand and I stilled from my act of standing. Being on the ground before him while he towered over me made me completely uncomfortable, even if he was a smaller man than Reece. When my forbidden, elicit lover surrounded me with his body all I felt was fire. The ice that flooded my veins at the proximity of my future husband did not bode well for my happiness. "There's no need for that. This will only take a moment."
I swallowed, casting my eyes about the garden to see if anyone watched our interaction. Given their fascination with my relationship with Reece, all eyes seemed pointedly averted like they didn't want to be caught watching the horrific humiliation that was sure to come my way. The thought of what my mother would do if he dismissed me terrified me, but at least I supposed I could hope for Reece's protection.
He'd ruined me for other men, even if one took away the fact that he'd touched me prior to my wedding day. I'd never be able to look at another and not be disappointed that he wasn't King Reece of Oshal. Such was the suffering of a woman who had the devil worship at her body and teach her what passion and temptation could feel like.
"What can I do for you, King Corbin?" I asked, giving him the widest and most innocent eyes I could muster. They felt more false than ever, like the fragments of my soul that survived being locked away like a dirty secret rattled the bars of my cage. Only a matter of time and they'd break free, and then what would come of my world?
"I'm worried for you, my sweet Princess," he murmured softly. The lines of his face smoothed, the harshness of his features from a moment before disappearing as he issued his statement of concern.
"Why ever would you be worried? As you can see, I'm quite safe." I gestured around to the beautiful gardens, leaning forward to snatch a strawberry from the plate and distract myself from it. His eyes fell to the fruit as I bit into it, watching the motion avidly.
Shuffling on his feet, he cleared his throat. "King Reece has a horrible reputation. He may be the King of a very prosperous Nation, but all the beauty in this Kingdom won't protect you from the evil that lurks in his soul. Not to mention the damaging stains he has cast on your reputation."
"My reputation?" I whispered, meeting his eyes finally.
"Do not think that there was anyone who missed the fact that you disappeared with him for quite some time, Alina. I wonder what you did with the privacy Reece seemed so desperate to find? Perhaps he has already ruined you for marriage." He nodded to himself, a disappointed frown on his lips.
Anger pulsed through my veins, mingling with the embarrassment I felt thinking of everyone gossiping about our sordid affair.
But I swallowed the retort that fought to free itself from my lips. Even if it had come out as a mumble to myself, it would have ruined everything for my mother. For my future and my only chance at freedom from her.
"I assure you, Your Majesty, I am still," I paused, gritting my teeth. After my moment of passion with Reece, I wanted nothing more than to experience everything that I could of pleasure before I settled down with a man I'd never desire. "Virginal for my marriage. King Reece and I have established a friendship. That is all." The word intact had hovered at the forefront, but I could only assume the pain I’d felt had been Reece breaking my hymen.
"Do terminate it before it shreds your reputation beyond repair. Reece will only use you and toss you aside along with the rest of his discarded playthings. A Princess as beautiful as yourself deserves far better than to be treated as his latest whore," he responded, turning on his heel and retreating back towards the palace. Staring after him for a moment, my hands gripped the blanket beneath me and squeezed my frustration into it. I wanted not to believe him but there was truth to his words.
Men like Reece were not known for their likelihood to commit. As much as I might wish there would be some way for it to be possible.
Corbin had blown out that lone candle of hope, leaving me in the dark once more.
I'd marry King Corbin as intended, because at least he didn't have the power to hurt me. The pain threatening to fracture what remained of my heart after less than twenty-four hours of knowing Reece was only further proof of how dangerous he was for me. He'd destroy me, and my virginity was the least of my worries.
He'd break my heart and crush my soul with his inevitable rejection.
