Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 34243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
This didn’t change anything.
Her eyes never shying away from his as he bent his head, her lips parting under his, and ah, this kiss—
This didn’t change anything.
Because he couldn’t fucking afford otherwise.
This MUSTN’T change anything.
Because already, the feel and taste of her, the very scent of her that was uniquely Tiara—all of it was making him forget who he was, what he meant to do, and why it had to be so.
The sound of her whimpers, the pressure of her nails digging deep into the panes of his back—
This MUSTN’T change anything.
His lips moved down her body until he found what he was looking for, and at the first touch of his lips, she was already arching involuntarily, and ah, to hear her crying out his name—
“Arkane!”
He covered her mouth, and when her pleasure-hazed eyes sought his—
“I need you to stay silent, princess.”
That was the only warning he gave her, and she was left grabbing the pillow and biting into it as he continued with the business of giving her what they both wanted.
Pleasure that could never be put into words, the kind that rocked their worlds and made night into day, and as she arched against his lips one last time—
This MUSTN’T change anything.
He no longer knew if the words were a blessing or a curse. Everything was just a fucking blur, pain and revenge melting into lines that he had forced his soul to cross—
This COULDN’T change anything.
She fell back against the bed. A tremulous smile touching her lips as her dazed gaze sought his. And then she was slowly reaching up to touch his cheek—
“I love you.”
And even though a part of his soul still was still lost in the darkness, unwilling to let go of everything—
Arkane still found himself capturing her hand and bringing it slowly to his lips.
“I love you.”
Chapter Five
THERE ARE TIMES WE remember, times we forget.
And that morning I woke up, and I’m still in his arms—
It’s a moment I know I’ll always remember, even if it proves to be the last one.
“Princess...”
Arkane rolls me to my back, and he looms over me, his dark hair falling forward, the morning light coming in pale through the heavy bedroom curtains and catching the edges of him, and—
“You’re awake.”
My beautiful and noble prince...
“Good morning, love.”
Oh, the way my cheeks burn the moment I realize what I just said—
Dark eyes gleam down at me. “I like that.”
But my embarrassment doesn’t last, with Arkane already sweeping me up into his arms, and all I can do is gasp and hold on to him as he carries me across the room—
“Where are we—” The words die in my throat. I already know where he’s taking me because we’re here. The en-suite that’s as modern and fancy as the rest of his fancy bachelor townhouse in Foxtown’s fanciest neighborhood for eligible noblemen—
My heart is pounding so, so hard as he gently lets me slide down to my feet on the cool marble floor. He turns the shower on without taking his eyes off mine, and jets of water stream down on our bodies, our clothes turning translucent under the water, and oh...
This moment of our lips meeting as he pulls me close...
This moment of his fingers following the lines of my body, and my own hands pressing against the solid expanse of his chest.
It’s one of those moments I’ll keep in my heart even if it turns out to be the last.
Arkane’s gaze never leaves mine, not even after we shower, and I change into a beautiful Regency gown that’s just magically appeared in the bedroom when we step out of the en-suite. Pale blue silk, ivory lace at the sleeves, a sash the same turquoise as my earrings from the night before. Foxtown, of course. Someone has been paid to make sure I have the right thing to wear at the right hour, and the dress was waiting on the bed, draped just so, when we came back from the en-suite.
I can feel his eyes following me even when I sit down on the edge of the bed to put on the stockings that come with the dress, and a self-conscious laugh finally slips past my lips.
“What’s wrong?”
He kneels down in front of me. “Nothing.”
Arkane insists on helping me tie the ribbons of my silk slippers, one at a time, his head bent over the work, and my eyes start to sting at how gentle he is. His hands at my ankles. The careful loop and tuck of each ribbon. He has never been clumsy with anything that has to do with my body, and apparently that is also true of slippers.
I suspect this is just one of the many, many moments that I was meant to cry—
And when he lifts his head, and he sees the tears I’m hastily trying to wipe away.