she held her ground. Lowering his
head, he kissed her lips slowly. “I’ve
wanted to do that for months.”
She blushed a bit and nodded,
before speaking softly. “Will you stay
with me tonight?”
When Varian had told her he would
come to her at night, he’d had every
intention of staying with her. He
nodded, thinking her question odd.
Isolde shook her head before
lowering her gaze to her feet. His
eyebrows drew together. Finally, she
lifted her head. All the while, he
watched with amusement in his eyes,
a small smile on his lips.
She licked her lips and placed her
hands on his shoulders, pushing
herself onto her toes to kiss him.
Varian’s strong arms wrapped about
her waist and she was hauled against
his hard frame. Isolde whimpered
softly but locked her arms about his
neck, opening her mouth to him.
A groan tore through Varian as his
tongue settled into the sweetest mouth
he’d ever tasted. Her tongue touched
his cautiously, innocently, and he
tightened his grip on her. Instinctively,
his hips surged against her, and she
whimpered into his mouth.
Remembering that she was an
innocent, a princess, a
lady
, Varian
released her. He had vowed to take
his time with her.
“Why did you release me?”
The question didn’t completely
catch him off-guard, but he wasn’t
quite able to hide the look of surprise
he felt settle over his features.
Isolde blushed and turned away.
When she spoke, he had to lean down
to make out her words.
“Don’t you want me?”
A smile broke out across his lips.
Only an innocent would ask that after
feeling his rigid length against her
belly. Just thinking about her made
him hard, but kissing her, holding her,
made him dangerously close to taking
her where she stood.
“I do,” he replied, pulling her into
him and inhaling the flowery scent of
her hair. “And I will have you…after
we’re wed.”
She immediately spun in his arms,
her eyes searching his before a smile
broke out across her face. “You wish
to marry me?”
Varian nodded, staring into those
shining green eyes, and feeling his
heart warm. “Yes. If you will have
me, Princess?”
Her arms latched around his neck
and she planted another kiss on his
lips. Varian returned it eagerly, sliding
his hands along the gown to cup her
soft rear. She gasped into his mouth as
he began to caress her softly, and she
was soon moaning against him.
Feeling dangerously close to taking
her as he’d dreamt these past months,
Varian pulled away. His hands still
remained on her buttocks. Hers were
around his neck. A smile lit her entire
face before she buried it against his
chest.
Confident in his control once more,
Varian swung Isolde up into his arms,
ignoring her slight squeak as he
headed over to her bed. He pulled
back the covers with one hand and
settled her in.
When he made a move to step away
from her, she reached up and grabbed
his hand. A frown marred her lips and
her eyes seemed to challenge his.
“Where are you going?”
Varian chuckled lightly. “To the
other side of the bed.”
Red infused her cheeks and she
dropped his hand immediately. An
amused smile was on his face as he
moved to the side of the bed and
peeled away his tunic and his boots.
He settled in next to her, pulling her
against his side.
Turning his head, he noticed she
was watching him closely. Before he
could ask her thoughts, she moved
closer and pressed her lips against his.
Varian Mor’an was known for his
control. He even reveled in pushing its
limits, but lying half-naked in a bed
with the woman who’d dominated
one’s fantasies, would try even the
most controlled of men.
He could not be blamed for what he
did next.
***
Isolde felt exceedingly warm as she
kissed Varian. She would soon be
joined to him in marriage, but now,
she wanted to get as close to him as
possible. Suddenly, she was on her
back, pinned beneath a heavy, but
delicious-feeling Varian. A moan
escaped her lips as his knees nudged
her thighs apart and his lips lowered to
hers. He kissed her deeply, robbing
her of her breath, of her sanity, and
driving a pool of warmth to the
juncture of her thighs. Isolde knew
what happened between a man and a
woman. She knew of the pain, but
had heard nothing of this feeling of
want.
Tugging away for air, she gasped as
Varian pushed his hips against her.
Something hard brushed up against
the soft and throbbing center of her
being. A quick tremor passed through
her body, followed by a series of rapid
jolts as he repeated the action. His
mouth latched onto her neck, and he
sucked strongly.
“Varian, something’s happening,”
she whispered, feeling slightly terrified
of whatever it was, but anticipating it
as well.
“Let
it,”
was
the
murmured
response from the man covering her.
His lips left her neck and moved to
capture hers once more. He pushed
himself off of her slightly and began
tugging up the material of her gown.
“Varian,” Isolde murmured, unsure
of whether she was telling him to stop
or urging him on.
Her gown pooled at her waist and
she shrieked when his fingers began to
caress her bare thighs.
“Varian, we—” His lips devoured
hers again, and all she could do was
hold on to him, and trust that he
would do nothing to hurt her.
His fingers fluttered across her
intimate region and she would have
clamped her thighs together if his hips
were not nestled there. A fierce blush
stole over her body as she felt his
fingers slide against her, parting the
folds and touching her in a place that
wept for it.
***
Somewhere
between
mounting
Isolde and finding her wet to his
touch, Varian’s control miraculously
returned. He remembered that she
was an innocent, that he wanted to
take her after they were joined before
Gods and King, that he could wait.
His shaft was saying otherwise, but
Varian was always one to think with
the head on his shoulders first.
He saturated a finger with her
essence and moved it to the little bud
that would bring her pleasure. As soon
as he began to circle, she arched into
him, clutching at his bare back, driving
him on. She was so responsive that he
almost lost it once more. It would be
so easy to undo his breeches and
plunge into her. It would offer him the
release he’d sought for months, as
he’d been unable to touch another
without imaging her beneath him.
“Varian!” she cried out, tugging her
lips from his and turning her face to
the side. The pleasure that floated
through her body was unlike anything
she’d ever felt before. She didn’t
know whether she wanted him to stop
or continue, it was so intense. He
continued, flicking his finger against
that part of her that gave her such
pleasure, and kissing at her shoulder
blade.
“Oh
sweet—s-s-something’s
happening. I don’t know—”
“Just let it happen, Isolde. Let it
come.” His hand positioned her face
for another kiss as the other continued
its magic on her body.
She suddenly cried out against him,
her body tensing as she began to
convulse. Varian released her lips and
watched her, memorizing how she
looked when she came for him.
He rolled off of her and breathed
deep, contemplating returning to his
room to take care of that throbbing
part of him needing release. He was
inclined to do just that when Isolde
tossed an arm across his chest,
snuggled close, and kissed his bicep.
Against his better judgment, Varian
placed an arm about her body and
pulled her to him. He tried to focus on
anything but that aching part of his
anatomy, hoping it would go down so
he could get some much needed rest.
Chapter 18
Lydia immediately noticed the
change between Vulcan and Jaisyn.
She would observe him as he glared at
his wife across the table in the Great
Hall, would relish the anger and
hatred that seemed to seep from him.
She had seen Vulcan angry a number
of times but never to a woman, and
never to this extent. Only a few days
had passed since she’d told both
Jaisyn and Vulcan about Bael, but for
all the change in attitudes, it could
have months, even years.
Jaisyn, on the other hand, seemed
crushed, if not completely broken.
The formerly headstrong queen was
but a shadow to this new character. If
she were any other person, Lydia
might have felt an ounce of respect for
any woman who bravely lifted her
head in the face of Vulcan’s wrath,
but she wasn’t.
She was his wife, the woman
carrying his child, the child that could
possibly ruin all plans that Lydia had
set in motion. No, Jaisyn would get
none of her sympathy. As long as she
lived, she was a threat to everything
Lydia wanted. She was but a step
away from completely carrying out
her plan. Surveying Jaisyn and Vulcan
once more, she began to think of the
appropriate time to do so.
***
“Why are you here?”
Vulcan felt her presence before he
heard her enter the room. Standing
before the blazing hearth, he wore
only dark breeches that clung to his
legs. He’d been thinking of her, of
how he would handle this situation
with his wife, when she entered. In an
instant, his anger surged. He could
almost picture her standing between
the doorway that separated the two
chambers,
her
eyes
wide
and
seemingly innocent. His broad back
was to her, and he imagined her
easing into his room, her bed gown
flowing behind her as her curls
bounced with each step.
“Vulcan?”
It was a soft plea, and Vulcan
almost cursed himself for the rapid
fluttering of his heart. Dear Gods, but
he had to be rid of her. Soon. Even
after she’d betrayed him, only Rika
knew how many times and how many
ways, he still craved her. He had told
her before he had no intention of
breaking their marriage but he had not
known as he did now. He had not
known
she
was
an
unfaithful
strumpet, a lying witch, who was
probably carrying another man’s
bastard in her belly. A bastard he
would have raised as his own, loved as
his own, had he not learned of her
treachery.
That was her hold on him, to make
him blind to things directly before his
eyes. It was a hold he would soon cast
off, a hold he despised with the same
vigor as he did his wife.
***
Jaisyn had not know what she’d
hoped for when she entered his
chambers, for she could not lie and
tell him that nothing had happened
between herself and Bael. She could
not bring herself to believe that she
would give herself to Bael, especially
as she loved her husband, but in truth,
she did not know. After returning to
her chambers, her body had felt
different. It hadn’t been the change
she experienced after being with
Vulcan, the warmth, the slight