Bound to the Prince (17 page)

But no man had really wanted her before;
desired her so much that he found it hard to breathe when she was
near; longing for her when she wasn’t around. Sex with Stephen had
been quite good most of the time, but never like what she had
shared with Elathan last night. Towards the end of their
relationship, they hadn’t made love anymore. Before going to sleep,
Stephen would just place a kiss on her cheek and turn away from
her, leaving her lonely and miserable on her side of the bed. Now
she knew that he had been finding his satisfaction elsewhere, long
before he ended their engagement.

Igraine knew that no matter what she did, she
just didn’t attract love. So she would enjoy every second of the
time she had been given by a merciful God to spend with Elathan. Or
Goddess, she thought. If a higher power had decided to throw her
into the arms of this beautiful elven warrior, then maybe God was a
woman, after all!

She had no doubt that the prince would
eventually tire of her; even if they had shared their blood. It
wouldn’t be long until the attraction of this new sexual experience
would wear off, and Elathan would seek his pleasure with other
females, human or elf, but all of them more beautiful than her. He
had sworn to protect her; his honor would not allow him to do
otherwise but keep his word. But her fate would be unbearably
cruel. Even if he didn’t want her anymore, she was bound to him
forever, forced to be near him, yearning for him but unable to
touch him.

When she moved, soft leaves rustled under
her, but she also felt something soft on her back. It was a dark
red blanket, made of the same fabric as her clothes, light like a
feather but warm and comfortable on the skin. She assumed that
Elathan had covered her with the blanket before he left, and that
it had slid off her when she turned in her sleep. She asked herself
if it was his saddle cloth, but it didn’t smell like horse at all.
His wonderful scent still clung to it, mingled with the earthy,
slightly musky fragrance of their lovemaking. Sighing, she buried
her face in the blanket, inhaling deeply to keep his essence in her
nostrils as long as possible.

The clothes he had torn off her body still
lay nearby on the ground, his beautiful armor dropped carelessly
beside them. Small shivers of pleasure ran down her back when she
thought about what had occurred between them last night. Suddenly
she couldn’t just lie there and wait for his return. She had to
find him.

Igraine wrapped the blanket close around her
body, thankful for the warmth it gave her. Then she slowly stood
up, still feeling a bit dizzy. The light on the clearing was
gloomy, indicating that night would soon fall. Obviously she'd been
so exhausted that she had slept all day. Her stomach was rumbling,
and she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since the day
before. When she looked around, she found a small pile of fruit,
nuts and berries he had left for her on a few young leaves, along
with a slim silver flask filled with fresh water. She went down on
her knees and devoured everything, not having realized until that
moment how hungry she was.

She had just finished eating when a rustle in
the trees made her jump up. Quickly she grabbed her sword from the
forest floor and raised it, ready to attack whatever came out of
the shadows of the wood.

A deep chuckle greeted her. “Interesting
position to start a fight, human.” Elathan stepped out of the
shelter of the trees, carrying a dead boar over his shoulder. He
looked stunning without his usual armor, wearing only the soft,
wide-sleeved shirt that was nearly open to his waist. She couldn't
help staring at the alluring hollow at his throat and suddenly
wished to kiss him there. His skin was gleaming, moist from the
physical exertion of the hunt. The smile on his lips was devilishly
naughty as he looked her up and down, apparently satisfied with the
sight of her.

Igraine lowered her gaze and gasped. She had
held the fabric together over her breast with her free hand, but
further down her body, the smooth fabric had parted and revealed
everything to the prince’s eyes. Quickly she lay down her sword and
covered herself, a sudden heat rushing into her cheeks.

“I see that you have already eaten. But I am
sure that you still have an appetite for something more …
substantial.” Grinning, he swung the heavy boar forward over his
shoulder and let it fall to the ground right before her feet,
golden leaves flying up and all around. Igraine saw that an elven
arrow still stuck in the dead animal’s heart.

“Show-off,” she murmured to herself. She
wanted to say that she was a vegetarian - which she wasn’t -, but
the joke died on her lips as the elf came dangerously near to her.
His powerful presence seemed to confuse her senses. She wasn’t able
to think clearly whenever he was so close. “Where have you been?”
she breathed, trying to ease the tension.

“Before I engaged myself in hunting, I paid a
visit to my old friends, the Will o' the Wisps,” he said, and there
was no trace of humor left in his voice. “I think in your world
they are called ‘fairy lights’. I had a little chat with them.
They’ll never try to harm what is mine again, I can assure you.”
With a sharp intake of breath, Igraine remembered how the little
fairies had enchanted her, pretending to show her the way out of
the forest. Instead, they had lured her into a deadly bog.

Although she was a tall woman, he towered
over her and made her feel delicate. She loved the thought of his
strong body protecting her. He stood so near that she could have
easily reached his neck with her lips, tasting him there. Instead,
she lifted her chin and, looking up, dared to meet his amber gaze.
The smoldering flame she saw in his eyes startled her. She could
feel the heat of his body, his strength, drawing her to him like a
magnet. They seemed to be frozen in time while they were standing
so close together and looked into each other’s eyes. The only thing
she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears, and the frantic
beating of her heart. A delightful shiver ran through her as she
moved nearer to him, drawn to his strong body like a magnet.

One moment she stood there, the next she was
enclosed in his embrace. He pulled her roughly, almost violently to
him, and his mouth covered hers hungrily. The touch of his tongue,
boldly seeking entrance and plunging between her lips, sent a
sudden wave of heat through her belly. It accumulated in the place
between her thighs. It didn't take long before she felt the honeyed
wetness gathering between her sensitive folds, opening her like a
flower for him.
Groaning, he threw away the blanket that covered her body. His
large hands grabbed her softly rounded buttocks and lifted her up
to him. Effortlessly, he wrapped her legs around his waist, never
breaking the kiss while he took a few long steps forward. He tore
off his clothes with one hand while he walked, then crushed her
against a tree.

Igraine moaned into his mouth when her naked
back hit the trunk so hard the air was knocked out of her lungs.
With a single swift movement of his hips, his thick, hard shaft
entered her until his whole length was buried in her warm, wet
flesh. She cried out in surprise, unable to decide if she felt
pleasure or pain.

Instinctively, she placed her palms against
his muscular chest to push him away, but he sank his teeth deep
into the side of her neck like a wolf, keeping her in place so she
could not escape their mating. He lifted her even higher,
supporting her with his strong arms, and pinned her to the tree,
helplessly impaled on his rock-hard manhood that stretched and
widened her. The sensation made her tremble with lust.

Then the prince began to thrust into her, not
gently this time, but with long, hard strokes, hitting her
innermost core with deadly precision. He had placed her at just the
right angle, so his flat stomach rubbed against her throbbing
little pearl every time he moved in and out. She closed her eyes
and lay her head against the rough bark of the tree, surrendering
to his passion that took her away with him. The elf pounded into
her mercilessly while covering her with small love bites, his
tongue leaving a hot trail on her neck where his teeth hadn’t
marked her.

Igraine abandoned herself to the whirl of
sensation, yielding to the searing need to become one with him.
When she felt her climax rising, her body vibrating with liquid
fire, the strange draining feeling claimed her again, leaving her
weaker with every move of their lovemaking. But Elathan was
prepared this time. Closing his eyes, he touched her forehead with
his. “No, Igraine,” he commanded into her mind, fury in his voice.
“Do not even think about it. Look into my eyes.”

Igraine lifted her eyes to his face,
revealing her pure, vulnerable soul to him. She saw his face, raw
with passion, but his golden eyes betrayed him, too, showing her
something beyond lust or desire. He couldn’t deny the pain, the
loneliness that held his heart in its icy grip after ages of living
in eternal darkness.

Suddenly, she wanted to make him her own, as
well. She wanted him to belong to her, with every single part of
his seductive body and his beautiful old soul. Her hands wandered
down over his broad back and grabbed his tight buttocks, his
muscles flexing under her touch while he thrust into her. She
squeezed him shortly, urging him to go deeper, and he did. Then she
began to push herself down on him hard, gliding along his shaft,
meeting his movements. Now she was the one in control. The elf
seemed to like it, for he uttered a satisfied growl and increased
his own pace.

The moment he began to move his hips in
circles while thrusting was when she came, crying out loud with
sheer ecstasy. Her whole body shook so violently that she had to
hold on to him with all her remaining strength. When Elathan felt
her inner muscles contract around him, he went over the edge with
her, giving in to his desire at last. He lost himself in her sweet
embrace completely, all the while whispering endearments in his
elven tongue into her ear. Although she couldn't understand his
words, he told her how beautiful she was, how much she pleased him.
Maybe he had said even more, but he couldn’t remember
afterwards.

After a long while, he pulled away and lifted
her limp body onto his arms, carrying her back to the middle of the
clearing. He wrapped her up in the blanket before he gently lay her
down on the leaf-covered ground. Igraine watched him as he went to
the middle of the clearing, where he had already piled up firewood
this morning. She just couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

Clad only in his glorious hair that was
flowing down his back like a silvery waterfall, the elf looked like
a wild, untamed creature. He walked beneath the giant trees with a
natural grace that showed her he belonged to this forest. She had
never seen him so much at ease with himself. His every movement
revealed the pure joy of just being here. These woods were his
home.

The prince stretched out his hand, and a
magic flame burst out of his palm, igniting the fire.

Then he turned back to Igraine, who stared at
him, wide-eyed and disbelieving.

“Now I’m really hungry,” he said simply.

Chapter 12: Water
Lilies

Igraine wandered idly along the wooded path,
clutching the warm blanket around her naked body. Somehow the elven
fabric managed to keep her comfortably warm from head to toe,
although it looked very light and delicate. Not wishing to watch
while Elathan skinned and disemboweled the dead boar, she had told
him she needed a few moments of privacy. He had agreed, yet warned
her not to go too far alone. “But I will always know where you
are,” he had added, his amber eyes searching her face.

He seemed to have changed since they came to
this forest, dark and sinister as before but also contemplative, as
if he was wondering about something. She asked herself what it was
that occupied his thoughts. But he was also calmer, almost jovial –
she even saw a slight smile playing on his lips from time to time.
Back in the caves, he had always been alert, his body tense as if
he expected an unknown enemy to attack him from out of the
shadows.

Igraine could still smell the scent of their
lovemaking, his wonderfully male essence on her skin. Suddenly she
had to smile. Although she loved his scent that still lingered on
her body, she urgently needed a bath. Well, she wasn’t a vision of
delight, covered with bruises and smeared with blood after the
fight with the centaur, and she didn’t even want to imagine how her
hair looked. She drew her fingers through it, feeling the dried
blood and leaves that clung there.

“What wouldn't I give for a long, hot
shower!” she murmured to herself. Somehow, the forest seemed to
have noticed her wish and decided to answer, for she suddenly heard
the gurgling sound of water nearby. She left the path and followed
it, making her way through dense undergrowth until she discovered a
shadowy glade, adorned with white blossoming elder bushes. Some of
them had grown to the size of small trees. Their smell was so
strong it made her feel dizzy, and she staggered for a moment.

She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed a
thicker branch of a bush, trying to regain her balance. Maybe the
strenuous hunt and being loved by a passionate, demanding elf had
been too much for her, after all. When she felt better and dared to
open her eyes again, she gasped in wonder.

The glade looked like a place only known from
fairy tales, with a pond surrounded by reed grass and soft green
moss. Little star-shaped flowers in different shades of purple grew
everywhere; the calm surface of the water was nearly completely
covered with blooming pink and white water lilies, their alluring
scent mingling with the stronger one of the elder blossoms. The
sight was so beautiful that she stood at the edge of the pool
before she even noticed that her feet had moved towards it.