Page 100 of That Prince is Mine
“Jeongseong?” He pulled her close and dropped a kiss on her temple.
“It means putting your heart—your very best—into something.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you? It’s my life philosophy. Everything worthwhile and beautiful in life requires jeongseong.”
“I love that philosophy.” I love everything about you. The ring burned in his pocket. It wanted to be presented to its rightful owner this instant.
“Ooh, I think your sinseollo is ready. Can I try it?” She picked up a small bowl and a ladle before he could protest. She blew on the hot broth and took a careful bite. A dreamy smile spread across her face. “Oh, Michel. This is delicious. I could taste your jeongseong in it.”
“I had the best teacher to show me the way.” He took her spoon and sampled some himself. His eyebrows rose up to his hairline. “Bloody hell. This is good.”
Laughing with delight, Emma pecked him on the cheek and left to attend to her other guests. Spending time with her made him feel… weightless. She helped him stop walking the tightrope of duty and resentment, of gratitude and burden, and focus on just being. With her by his side, he felt whole—like he was enough, crown or no crown. She brightened everything she touched—including him.
Marion was family and he loved her. His cousin quickly warmed up to Emma, and she, his royal guard, and his girlfriend had made teasing him and Gabriel their favorite pastime for the last week. It was wonderful to see Emma getting along so well with the important people in his life. Even so, he’d been counting the days until his little cousin left tomorrow.
But he couldn’t wait another moment to propose to Emma. His heart might burst from the hope and fear churning inside him unless he spoke to her as soon as possible. He would task Gabriel and Sophie with keeping Marion occupied so he and Emma could have his suite to themselves.
One way or another, the rest of his life would be decided tonight.
CHAPTER FORTY
When they reached the foyer of the presidential suite, Gabriel wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulders as Sophie sandwiched her from the other side and they bodily ushered Marion away from Michel’s suite. Emma raised an eyebrow at Michel, and his brilliant smile made her knees weak.
Yesssss. She finally had him to herself. Anticipation coursed through her.
He held open the door for her, and Emma walked demurely into the suite. But as soon as he followed her inside, she slammed him against the door and crushed her lips against his. His hands found her hips and pulled her to him as he moaned into her mouth. He spun them around and pinned her against the door, his tongue tangling with hers in a desperate dance. He slid his palm down the side of her thigh, and she wrapped her leg around his waist, reaching for his belt buckle.
“Emma, wait.” His voice was guttural and ragged as he gripped her wrist.
He didn’t put up a fight when she shook his hand off and drew him out of his boxer briefs. She pumped her fist none too gently over him, and he hissed, his hips jerking helplessly into her hand.
“No.” She smiled when he shuddered. “I don’t think I’ll wait.”
Michel surrendered with a helpless groan, kissing her as though he was claiming her. He hiked her dress up with unsteady hands and tore off her lacy panties. She was too turned on to lament the loss of her pretty lingerie. In one rough motion, he lifted her by the waist and drove into her. She wrapped both her legs tightly around him and hung on to his broad shoulders. The hard ridges on the door jabbed into her back, but she couldn’t have cared less. Having him deep inside her, filling her, stretching her… She needed this.
“Harder,” she demanded.
Cursing under his breath, he hooked his hands under her thighs and carried her a few steps to the living room. He withdrew from her as he lowered her feet to the ground. Before she could protest, he turned her around and bent her over the nearest chair.
“Hold tight,” he growled, and plunged into her just as she scrambled for a handhold.
She braced herself against the back of the chair as he pounded mercilessly into her. Her back arched as she lifted her ass, wanting him deeper. More, more, more. He cursed again and reached around to press the heel of his palm against her clit. They were lurching too wildly for more precision. But the pressure of his hand and his deep thrusts from behind sped her toward a blinding orgasm. She cried out his name as she came, and he pumped into her a few more times before he stiffened and shuddered against her.
As she drifted down from her climax, Michel’s desperate hold on her hips loosened, finger by finger. “Are you okay?”
“Mmmfinoofke.” Her face was buried in her arm, and she felt too limp to enunciate.
The silky lining of her dress felt cool sliding over her bare ass as Michel carefully set her clothes to rights. Then he lifted her into his arms as though she weighed nothing and carried her to his bedroom. He was still fully dressed in a dove-gray dress shirt and black slacks. She looked forward to watching him undress for her—slowly—once she got enough strength back.
After laying her limp body on his bed, he excused himself to the bathroom. Emma patted her hand on the nightstand and found a box of tissues for a hasty wipe down. She would clean up in the bathroom once her legs were fully functional. When Michel returned a few minutes later, she was already half-asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and tucked away a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Emma, darling.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Gabriel and Sophie are going to do their best to keep Marion away, but I don’t know how much longer we have.”
She managed to pout without opening her eyes. “We don’t get to go again?”
“We’ll see what we can manage.” Michel chuckled and dropped a tender kiss on her forehead. “But for now, we need to talk.”
Emma finally forced her eyes open to find him studying her with an expression that made her breath catch in her throat. “Michel?”
“I never wanted a fling with you,” he said as he studied her face with solemn, searching eyes. “You know that, right?”
