Page 44 of Princess and Country

Dahlia

Ikicked the air as Jeff carried me over his shoulder, and I watched him as he fumbled with the door lock. Was I making him nervous?

He dropped me to my feet and studied me.

I cringed. Why did I ask him how many times he had sex before? It didn’t matter. Jeff was mine. All mine. Why was I being weird?

“I’m not sure I knew what love was before you. And I’ve loved nobody else but you, Princess.” He leaned over and skimmed my lips with his, shutting all the voices nagging me in my head. “We don’t need to do anything you’re not comfortable with. We have all our lives to be together.”

His words sent my heart into overdrive.

He laid me down on his bed, his eyes trained on mine, and a small smile peeking at the corner of his lips. The opposite of the seriousness painting his face.

With steady hands, I peeled Jeff’s T-shirt over his head and threw it on the floor, the pads of my fingers tracing the planes of his abs and chest muscles. I breathed fast. I tried to look casual, but an earthquake raged inside me. Ready to shatter my composure and fake confidence.

I wanted to pinch myself. This was finally happening.

We were still dressed—well, I was—and already my body could rip at the seams any second.

Jeff’s lips landed on mine, stealing every bit of oxygen from my lungs. Lightheaded and breathless, I’d never felt so alive in my entire life. My body pulsed with need. Jeff and I had made out countless times, and our hands had ventured all over each other in the past, but right now, nothing compared to how I felt. My body had caught on fire, and I craved the burn. A whirlwind of sensations took over. Flutters danced in my lower belly. Goosebumps popped all over my skin. Warmth rippled the length of my spinal cord, kissing each vertebra. It turned me into a puddle in Jeff’s skilled hands.

I hooked one leg around his lower back, craving the closeness of our bodies.

A growl escaped his mouth, and the tingling inside me increased.

His thick erection nested between my legs, and I gasped. How could our bodies fit so perfectly together? As if mine had been carved with the only purpose to fit his.

My boyfriend tilted his head back and looked at me—really looked at me—his eyes dark and overflowing with lust. Could he set me on fire with just his gaze? “You’re beautiful, Princess. I love you. Tell me this isn’t a dream.”

My tongue darted out to run along my lower lip.

The room exploded in a rainbow of lights. My senses highlighted.

“I love you so damn much.” My lips quivered. “Love me with all you’ve got.”

A train of curses left Jeff’s mouth. Then his lips claimed mine, ravaging my mouth.

Words I’d never dared to speak before swirled in my head. Sexy words. Dirty words. I couldn’t get them out. When did I become sex-crazed? My hormones. Yeah, my hormones were to blame. Or Jeff’s body as he ground against mine. Or his manly scent taking over all my senses. Or was it his hands clutching my waist? Jeff’s lips traced a trail of kisses from my jaw to my collarbones, sucking, teasing, and licking my sensitive flesh. His mouth lowered down to the swelling of my breasts, sprinkling kisses over my skin, titillating my hard nipples with his teeth over the fabric of my shirt.

My back bucked off the mattress.

“Oh Jeff—”

Nothing had ever felt so good before.

“Princess, I’m addicted to the taste of you.”

His eyes locked on mine, and jerking my hips to his, I let out a loud cry. A sound I never knew could escape my mouth.

One of Jeff’s fingers traveled from my neck to the valley between my breasts, then to my belly button. My breath quickened—harsh and jerky—echoing his. Was he as aroused as I was?

I was a combusting bomb, ready to detonate. Jeff’s hands slid under my shirt and bunched it around my ribcage. Holding on to my hipbones, he drew circles with his thumbs on my skin. His head dropped to my stomach, and with his tongue, he licked and kissed every inch of my bare flesh.

With my clothes burning my skin and getting in the way, I crossed my arms and gripped the hem of my tank top to take it off, leaving me exposed in my lilac cotton bra. Jeff’s eyes darkened. His Adam’s apple worked hard. He stared at me like a starving man.

Feeling self-conscious, I crossed my arms over my chest. Jeff sat on his ankles, his heavy gaze never leaving me. In a sweet gesture, he uncrossed my arms and knitted our fingers together. “Never hide from me, Princess. I love every inch of you. Every cell. Everything about you is beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

All my restraints split open. Warmth spread inside me. I tried to clench my thighs as the desire between them became too hard to contain, but I couldn’t move, having lost all control over myself. I squirmed on the bed, unable to breathe or swallow or even think.