Page 41 of Royal Rebel

It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner.

And I had absolutely no idea I’d get it with an arranged marriage.

TRISTAN

She’s gorgeous as she bites her lip when I approach. There’s something about the way she becomes coy, almost shy when I let her see exactly how much I want her. Slowly I take first her clothes off and then mine. Still, neither one of us speaks.

I can’t help it now, though. “I didn’t expect you,” I whisper, hoping not to disturb the almost dream-like quality of this room.

“Expect me?” she questions, her eyes running up and down my body.

“There were so many things I expected when I knew I hadn’t picked a wife. I thought I’d get someone who didn’t want to be my friend. Someone who wouldn’t enjoy pleasures of the flesh,” I smirk, following the edge of her collarbone with the tip of my finger.

I run it down completely until our palms meet, our fingers clasping.

“I enjoy the pleasures of your flesh.” She smirks right back at me.

Pulling her into the shower, I run my hands through her hair. The dark locks flow like a river across her shoulders and down her back. I take great pleasure in the way she lets mewash them. The liberties she lets me take as she tilts her head this way and that so I can get all the shampoo out.

“There are so many women who could have been picked for me, Lia. I have to think you were picked for a reason. No matter the things my father has done wrong, this is the one thing he did right.”

I’m half-scared to say the words to her. It gives her power over me, a power no one has ever had. It’s my greatest fear, handing my heart to someone who can crush it. Having already had it crushed once before has made me skittish. So I’ve held on tight, doing my best not to put myself into a situation where I’d have to answer the question—why won’t you give me yourself, Tristan?

The fact of the matter is, I’m not even sure I’ve ever had control of myself to give it to someone else.

But Lia? She’s given me the confidence and security I didn’t know I needed. I may not have known I needed it, but fuck do I feel it. In the way she is with me. The way her eyes look at me, the smile she gives only me, and the way my whole chest gets warm when she finds me in a crowd.

I’ve never had a relationship with any woman the way I have with her. There’s never been trust, or this depth of emotion she makes me feel. Crushing her body to mine, I kiss her neck, letting my lips do the talking, instead of promising things I might not be able to deliver on in the future. I’ve done that a lot. Promised shit I knew I’d never be able to deliver on.

But she’s made me better, made me want to be better. Not only for her, but for myself too.

“Are you okay? You got real quiet there for a second.” She’s worried, I can see it plain as day in her face.

“Just enjoying my time with you. The last few days havebeen some of the most stressful in my life, and all I want to do is be with you. Drown myself in you, and feel you all around me.”

“Use me.” She leans up, nipping her teeth at my ear. “I want to be the person to help you handle your stresses. I’m not here just for the good stuff, Tris. I’m here for everything. The good, the bad, or the ugly. That’s what marriage and a relationship are about.”

Leaning down, I frame her face with my hands, kissing her softly. I long to give her all my feelings in this connection of our bodies. Hopefully they can say what my words aren’t. What I can’t bring myself to say just yet. It’s the prayer I pray as I turn her around so that she’s back under the spray.

The heat from the water causes a haze of steam between us, giving a touch of a fantasy to us. Her hands move along my body, grasping me around my waist, pulling me to her. She steps up on her tiptoes, kissing me brazenly, thrusting her tongue into my mouth, owning it.

I groan deep in my throat because it’s not often she takes what’s hers, and there is no doubt I’m hers. She owns me in a way no one else has owned me in a long time.

My hands palm her ass, carrying her from the shower to our bed.

Lying her down, I feast, look at what she’s offering, before I spread her legs and push myself home.

As I enter her, our eyes meet, and I swear I see the rest of my life.

CHAPTER 24

AMELIA

Tristan lies on his stomach with his arm draped over mine. The only sleep he’s gotten in the past few days is what he got in the back of the limo, this is desperately needed. It does my heart good to see him sleeping so deeply this morning. The muted light of the morning plays hide and seek with the shadows on his muscles. It gives him a mysterious quality. Even more than he normally has.

Running my finger along his jawline, he makes a face, scrunching his eyebrows together, before they relax again. This time his breath evens out, and he turns slightly more into me.

The only other time I see him this relaxed is immediately after we’ve been together. After he’s buried himself so deeply in my body I don’t know where I begin and he ends. Truth be told, having him like that is one of my favorite things about the life we’ve carved out for each other. Carefully, Iroll over onto my side, mussing up his hair. He stirs, but doesn’t awaken. I’m as quiet as can be as I whisper.

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