Page 28 of A Kiss From a Faerie King

“Are you ticklish, my blossom?” I chuckle.

“Yes!” she cries, trying in vain to escape my fingers. “Will you torment me with this knowledge?”

My grin deepens as I lift off the ground.

“Perhaps,” I say and double my efforts.

Using both my hands to touch her. I skim up her sides and her hips and even reach beneath her to the soft curve of her stomach. She thrashes in my grip, rolling onto her back to shove me off as she laughs. Tears form in her eyes as she babbles and tries to push my tormenting hands away. Her legs tangle with mine.

With her thighs open, I settle between them as my hands fall to either side of her head. Our chests meet as we breathe in deep. Both of us are acutely aware of how close we are. How easy it would be for my cock to slip inside her. How her hot cunt is warming it even now as if inviting me to take her.

Our lips are barely a breath apart. Her hands come up to my sides and curl into my shoulder blades. Her brown eyes are alluring—encouraging me with no words to kiss her. I wait for her to command me, yet it doesn’t come.

That’s the only reminder I need before I get too carried away.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I pull back.

“I’m being a poor host.”

Laurelle lowers her dark brows as I nod towards the water.

“You said you wanted to swim, and we haven’t even taken a step into the water.”

Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, Laurelle averts my eyes.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Laying in the sun suits me better anyway.”

When her eyes meet mine again, I see the wariness clouding them. Her mouth mumbles something about there being sharks or other creatures who could eat her. I shake my head, gently pulling back from her body.

“The Kraken knows better than to send his vermin to my realm. The water is safe. I promise.”

Still, the wariness remains in her eyes.

After a moment, it clicks. My hand is gentle on her arm as I pull her up and brush the sand from her soft skin. I keep my voice even and meet her gaze.

“Can you swim?”

Laurelle grimaces and looks away. Capturing her face in my hand, I don’t let her hide from me. After a moment, she sighs and shakes her head.

“One of our servants taught me when I was little. We’d sneak off to do it at this small pond right outside my family’s manor.” She wrinkles her adorable nose. “That was until my mother found us and forbade me from ever doing it again. The next morning, that servant girl was sent to who knows where.”

After another beat of silence, Laurelle continues.

“I thought being here—doing this—would be the first step in reclaiming some of the freedom that was stolen from me. But now…looking at the water…it’s so much bigger than the pond where I learned. What if I’ve forgotten or?—”

Rising to my feet, I offer her my hand.

“I’ll teach you. You’re safe with me.”

Laurelle hesitates before I feel her skin slide against mine. Pulling her to her feet, I walk her towards the open water. We both let out a yelp as the cool water reaches our knees, then our hips. Being a good foot taller than her, I can still stand long after she can’t. Once the water hits her shoulders, I grip her waist in my hands.

“Kick your feet and your arms at the same time, that will help you stay afloat.”

She does so. Her legs brush mine as she treads water. The foamy spray tickles my nose as I hold fast. My feet drag along the sandy bottom as she continues to move in my grip.

“Move with the water, not against it.”

Slowly, her moves are less silted and more fluid. She glides against the incoming waves. I watch her long limbs slash through the calm surface as she keeps herself upright. She barely notices when my hands leave her skin. Laurelle’s face is a picture of concentration as she keeps herself above water.

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