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“No one except me,” he growls, “will ever touch you again. I will be your husband, your king, and your lover for all the days of our lives. If anyone even thinks about harming you, I will end their life with my bare hands. I am yours and you are mine. For now and forever.”
When he kisses me again, it’s like he’s branding my lips with his so everyone who sees us knows we are one. Blood pumps through my heart like a rushing river. Oberon releases his hold on my wrists so his hands can travel to other parts of my body. The overlapping slit at the front of my dress gives him easy access to the most sensitive part of me. As his hand slides down my underwear, I have no time to think, only react.
I break our kiss to drag in a deep breath as his fingers bring me to the peak of ecstasy. For hundreds of years, I denied myself the sensation of feeling a man pleasure me. Or maybe, I was simply waiting for Oberon’s return.
“No other man will ever touch you like this except for me,” he murmurs gruffly in my ear. “Is that understood?”
I nod, incapable of forming a coherent thought much less a word.
His other hand cups the side of my face.
“Emily, look at me,” he gently orders.
I open my eyes to meet his gaze. Carnal desire fills his blue eyes, making them appear lit with pleasurable promises. His fingers begin to move faster against me, stoking the flames between my legs, bringing me to the brink of inescapable fulfillment.
“Don’t close your eyes,” he says. “Keep looking at me.”
I lean my head against the wall at my back, but I don’t close my eyes, not even when my body begins to shake uncontrollably from the intensity of his touch. With both hands, I grab fistfuls of his hair and yank as my body reaches its crest and falls into a puddle of bliss.
Oberon rests his forehead against mine as he pulls his hand away from my body. My dress falls back into place as we both try to catch our breaths. His lips gently pluck mine with tender, undemanding kisses.
“That’s what I wanted earlier,” I finally say. “I wanted you to take me. To claim me as yours.”
He smiles. “Of course you did. I’m irresistible.”
All I can do is laugh. “Don’t get too full of yourself. It’s been a few hundred years since I let a man touch me.”
“You were simply waiting for me,” he says, mirroring my earlier thoughts. “Like I’ve told you, we are meant for one another. I’ve never doubted it, and now you shouldn’t either.”
He lifts the hand that brought me so much pleasure and inhales my scent deeply from the tips of his fingers.
“You smell sweet and salty,” he murmurs before flicking his tongue out and licking them. “You taste that way too. I can’t wait to delve even deeper on our wedding night.”
“Speaking of which, we need to get to the ball so our wedding night can be followed by a coronation.”
With one last demanding kiss, Oberon reluctantly pulls away.
I readjust my dress as he waits for me.
“You look perfect.” His eyes rake me from head to toe. “Everything about you makes me want to rip that dress off right now and make love to you.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I say, genuinely feeling the same way. “We have to find Lord Finch and secure his vote. After that, we can do what we want.”
“Do you promise?” He holds out a crooked arm for me to take.
I loop my arm through his. “I promise.”
As we exit the alleyway, I try to mentally map out what I want to say to Lord Finch. Walking up to him and offering him a ship in exchange for his vote seems crass or something my father would do. I would rather reassure him that he’ll be leaving this world in better hands. There’s certainly no love lost between him and my father, so I know it won’t take much convincing to secure his vote.
When we enter the castle, a great fanfare is made about our arrival. This is, after all, supposed to double as our engagement party. We’re quickly ushered into the ballroom where most of the guests are gathered. I spy Iris standing between two glass vases on pedestals.
“She won’t budge from that spot,” my father says irritably as he strides through the crowd toward us. “She says she plans to check every vote that’s cast to make sure no one cheats.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I tell him.
“I don’t need to cheat.” He lifts his head high. “I’ll win this vote easily.”
“Said like a true narcissist.” Oberon stares my father down. “Has it ever occurred to you that your people don’t like you as much as they pretend to?”
