Page 29 of Back to Claim His Crown
‘Manners in what setting?’ he answered with more calm than he was feeling.
‘The bedroom.’ Her cheeks were scarlet and the pink blotches extended down to her neck.
She really wanted to go there right away? Of course she did. This sweet princess could be astoundingly brave. And blunt. Well, so could he.
‘I don’t recall us making it to a bedroom, Zara.’ His muscles rippled with the recollection of her on that table, her soft body pressed beneath his as he’d cupped her hot, slick core.
‘Sexual relations then, you know what I mean.’
‘Did I not please you?’ he asked quietly.
She swallowed. ‘The problem is more thatIdidn’t please you.’ Her voice was low and husky.
His entire body tensed as he was engulfed by a sexual ache so strong he had to grit his teeth.
‘It pleased me to please you.’
There was another moment where he just knew she was summoning her strength too.
‘Was that really enough for you?’ she asked.
He couldn’t answer.
‘You didn’t have to do anything at all if you didn’t really want to,’ she said resentfully.
His hold began to slip. Her guilelessness and her dauntlessness were both unique and irresistible. ‘I was the one who started it, remember?’
‘And then challenged me to take more if I wanted.’
Yes. He’d selfishly sought her attentions—greedily aching to know she desired him the way he did her, and then he’d lost himself, desperate to discover her and yes, to please her. But he lost control with no one, and she threatened that rule so completely with her all-in softness and heat. Hell, she’d only had to look at him and she’d made his resolve evaporate. When he desperately needed to be better for his country, this self-indulgence was unacceptable.
‘And then you just left,’ she added.
She was right and that had been unacceptable of him too. He cursed himself inwardly. He needed to be mindful not just of his duty to his country, but of his duty of care towards her.
‘It was better to walk away than to do something that couldn’t be taken back,’ he said tightly.
‘Was that what was about to happen?’
His gut twisted. ‘Zara...’
Her vitality andhonestychallenged him. She had such courage. Maybe he needed more of the same. His hunger for her wasn’t going to disappear. But maybe they could restrain it—allow a manageable, acceptable level of release. Maybe that was the only way through here. Because theycouldn’tgo all in. That wasn’t right for either of them. But if they compromised just a little they could at leasteasethe ache enough to survive it.
Zara furiously stared at him, trying to work him out. He’d given her such pleasure, only then apparently regretted it so intensely that he’d walked out on her. She wanted to knowwhy. Why, when he’d kissed her, when he’d made her come apart in complete pleasure...why had he left so quickly?
Because for her it had been a revelation and she wanted more of it.Withhim.
‘Would you walk away without taking pleasure from me again?’ she asked.
She wanted to be intimate with him, but not if he wasn’t going to allow her to give him that pleasure too.
His tension mounted. ‘You can trust that I will not take your virginity.’
She did trust him. With all of her body. ‘So you’ll only go so far, is that what you’re saying?’
He closed his eyes briefly. ‘Yes.’
Her blood hummed. He would touch her but not take all of her. And he wouldn’t give her all of him either.
