Crown of Fire (Book 3 in the Crown Trilogy)

Nineteen

Raelle groans in disapproval, and my body responds, grinding my pelvis against her soft stomach. I pull my fingers from her mouth and drag them up the inside of her exposed leg. The tops of her thighs are wet with her arousal. She is so responsive to my touch, so easy to please. My fingertip slides along the seam of her, teasing her until her hips rock against my hand.

"What if my wife doesn't get turned on by pleasing me? It's only fair that I try to meet that need for her, too. I am nothing but a gentleman after all," I say, pressing against her clit. "Will it bother you knowing I'm touching her like this, working her close to her release so she can take me deep?" Emphasizing my point, I sink a finger into her slick, warm center.

"You're not playing fair, Kyron. I can't think straight when you're touching me like this," she says with a moan, as my thumb draws circles over her sensitive nerves.

"You set the rules, princess. I'm simply out to beat you at your own game. Stop deflecting and answer the question. Will it bother you to know I'm touching someone else like this?"

"Yes."

I ease a second finger inside of her. My anger slips from my control and I pick up the pace. "Why? Why does the thought of me with someone else get to you?"

Her cheeks burn red, and her teeth gnash together as she says, "Because you're mine."

I fuck her harder, wishing it was my cock moving in and out of her. The sound of us connecting over and over again fills the room with lewd noises. I can't get enough of it. The way her body accepts me and enjoys my invasion is my one addiction.

"I'm yours?" I question with a growl. "Then why are you willing to settle for fractions of me? Why are you allowing an uncontrollable force to dictate your future with me? Why are you giving up so fucking easily?"

Raelle's hips move in sync with my hand, pressing down, searching for the pressure she needs to find release. I deny her. I will not give in. She will not come until I have answers, and she discovers how wrong she is.

She groans in frustration and says, "I'm scared."

"Of what?" I ask.

"Of making things worse. Of gambling with lives. Of having you completely ripped away from me. Of severing our bond. I don't want to be too selfish and ruin all the good I still have."

I take a step back, withdrawing my fingers from her. I hold up the glistening digits and watch her essence slide down my skin. "I need you to be selfish when it comes to me, Raelle. Those outside of this room can have the king, the general, the friend, but they don't get all of me. The lover, the husband, my demons. There is not a part of me that isn't yours. I've given them to you freely and that you are willing to ration them out guts me." I slide my fingers in my mouth and let her taste consume me. All of her. I selfishly take every single piece of her. And my heart fractured the moment she settled for less of me.

"I don't understand," she says, pushing away from the ladder and straightening her nightgown. "You would have shared those parts of me with Leif."

I chuckle and shake my head. "No, I wouldn't have. I was strategizing from the moment we kissed. You would have never slept with him. If you carried a child, it would be mine. Leif could claim them as his to the kingdom, but your heir would be ours. That plan doesn't work so well in reverse. Another person can't claim your child. As far as the wife thing goes, a marriage bond is not as strong as a parah bond. I was content with that notion until I learned I could have more. I want it all, and I'm begging you not to give away the parts of me that I trusted to only you."

"Shit," she says. The tears welling in her brown eyes tell me that my words have hit their mark.

She paces the room while running her fingers through the hair flowing over her shoulders. I stand back and give her some space to gather her thoughts.