Page 75 of Royal Desire

Tomorrow I’ll have to face the consequences of bringing my troubles home—straight to the doorstep of the people I love.

And one of those people is Payne.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

TRAVELED, TRAVERSED, AND CONQUERED

Ruby

Iblink my eyes open only to see the dark shadows cast across the room. The sun isn’t up yet. I have no idea what time it is. I could sleep for another week and not be fully rested.

I don’t see him, but I feel him.

I never went to the sofa. He wouldn’t allow it. Instead, he ripped off his T-shirt, held me tight, and warmed every chilled bone in my body. I took it all and sank into him. I couldn’t get close enough and cried myself to sleep in his arms.

It was like the last twelve years never happened.

Only it did. And even more has happened in the past week.

You know when people say they wake up and it takes a moment for reality to sink in? I wish that were the case.

The moment I open my eyes, everything from last night flooded back. The fire. Grandma trapped inside.

It was all because of me.

“You’re awake.” Lips press against my bare shoulder followed by the sensitive skin below my ear.

I pull in a shaky breath. I don’t know if Payne is the distraction I want or don’t need to deal with, but I do nothing to stop him. “Good morning.”

His hand found its way beneath the hem of my tank during the night. He presses in on my stomach at the same time he presses his long, hard cock into the crack of my ass.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to change the subject. “I’m sorry about last night. You have clients to woo. The last thing you need is my drama.”

He buries his nose in my hair, inhales deeply, and the tips of his fingers dip below the band of my sleep shorts. “My clients are wooed just by being here for a free weekend. They’re the last thing you need to worry about.”

“I’m not worried, per se. It’s the guilt that gets me.” He works his way farther south, and I do nothing to stop him. In fact, I do the opposite and shift my legs. “The guilt is heavy this morning for all kinds of things.”

The way he’s working my body into a sexual frenzy while talking me off a ledge is a true talent. “Let the guilt go, Ruby. You didn’t set the fire. You didn’t ask me to be here instead of being somewhere else. Let it all go.”

“Easier said than done,” I echo and tip my head back to his shoulder. “There’s too much going on, and it all points back to me. I can’t let anything go.”

His fingers move below the panties that aren’t even mine. They inch closer and closer to my clit with every word uttered between us. He’s not asking permission, and I’m not pushing him away.

This is not uncharted territory.

Quite the opposite.

This territory has been charted. Studied. The land has been thoroughly traveled, traversed, and conquered by him during another era. Payne is taking back what’s his.

And he doesn’t do it gently or methodically. He does it with an intensity I feel in my soul. There’s no stroke. No circle. And there’s definitely no caress.

He claims my sex in a firm hold like a warrior reclaiming his homeland. His fingertips tease my sex as he palms me firmly between my legs. The heel of his hand presses into my clit, causing my heart to skip a beat or three. I fight to breathe.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you.” The tone of his voice is as eager as I feel. “It’s like a piece that was carved out of me years ago has been returned and healed.”

I shift my legs farther apart for him.

In return, his other hand slides up my body, claims my breast, and gives my nipple a firm pinch.