Page 41 of Back to Claim His Crown
‘Zara...’ His passionate whisper echoed so deeply within her.
She swept her hands over his broad shoulders. In his huge pupils she saw wonder—despite that storm of emotion before. Yet another storm brewed now. Emotion of an altogether different kind. Hunger and need and the determination to satisfy and be satisfied. Nothing less than everything would sate either of them.
‘Don’t hold back.’ She instinctively arched, encouraging him to ride her.
‘I won’t,’ he muttered.
And then he proved it—covering her mouth with his as he moved. He was so strong. So intent. And it was so good. Every atom within her quivered. It was all she could do to kiss him back, to hold him close, to wrap her arms and legs around him and cling as he surged into her.
‘Zara—’
‘Yes. Yes!’She let go and let desire swamp her entirely.
He growled and pumped furiously, utterly lost in her embrace. She revelled in the fever glazing his eyes and the need bunching his muscles. She was as incomprehensible, as uncontrolled as she arched to meet him with every muscle, loving the ferocity of their dance until they slammed into that end point, shuddering through tumultuous wave after wave of orgasm.
Long minutes later they were a loosened tangle of limbs, torn clothing and sweat but still intimately, deeply entwined. Zara never wanted to move again. But slowly their breathlessness ebbed and her wariness prickled.
‘I’m too heavy,’ he muttered with a small smile. But still several long moments passed before he finally summoned the strength to lift away to sit beside her with his back against the wall. Maybe he needed to be able to see the door, but his alert gaze was utterly focused on her. That smile turned rueful.
‘We will marry immediately,’ he said huskily.
‘We will not,’ she whispered sadly. That wasn’t what either of them wanted. Especially him.
‘You might be pregnant,’ he pointed out. ‘We just had unprotected sex.’
‘I won’t be pregnant,’ she muttered obstinately.
‘Sometimes it only takes the once.’
She looked at him. ‘I’m on the pill.’
‘What?’ His eyes dilated and she felt him tense. ‘That’s impossible. Weren’t you supposed to provide Anders with an heir?’
‘Yeah, well, I wanted to wait a few months to see what married life was like first. I didn’t want to get pregnant instantly like some brood mare. And most of all I wanted to control my cycle so I wasn’t struggling up the aisle with cramps and a bloated belly. Call me vain, I don’t care. There were so many cameras in there.’
He stared at her. ‘Then we won’t have a public ceremony. Ours can be private.’
‘Wewill not haveanykind of ceremony.’ She shook her head. ‘Youwill give them a whole public performance with the perfect princess bride eventually. In a decade, right? But not with me. I’m never facing that scrutiny again, not after—’ She broke off bitterly. ‘Not even for you.’
She felt the crush inside at what her words had given away—not even for you. And, besides, it wasn’t true. She would put on another stupidly sparkly dress and stand in front of millions all over again if he really wanted her to...but the point was he didn’t really want that. He’d thought he had to ask in case he’d just got her pregnant. But he didn’t want to get married for a decade. He’d made that more than clear. She suspected he didn’t really want to ever marry anyone at all.
‘But if youarepregnant—’
‘We’d have to be extremely unlucky.’ But her heart twisted. In her world it wouldn’t be unlucky at all. Except while he wanted her, he wasn’t inlovewith her. And she couldn’t be in love with him, right?
‘Stranger things have happened.’
She shook her head. ‘No, Lucian.’
He glanced down at her. ‘Your dress is ruined. I’m sorry.’
‘I don’t give a damn about my dress. And don’t you dare apologise for ruining anythingelse. That was the most sublime experience of my life and you’re not wrecking it with your regrets.’ She threw her arm over her face so she didn’t have to see him and he couldn’t see her. ‘Take them and leave.’
She heard him draw in a deep steadying breath. ‘Zara—’
‘You arenotruining the last of my afterglow.’
‘Fine.’
