Page 97 of Rags to Royals

I grasp her upper arms and pull her to her feet, sealing my mouth over hers. I pull back, resting my forehead on hers. “Jesus, you’re incredible.”

“I’m sorry I kept us apart,” she says.

I chuckle. “Oh, no. You’re not quite done being punished for that.”

A shiver goes through her. “Oh…good.”

I sweep her up into my arms and turn to the bed. I lay her back on the pillows, then step back, reaching over my head to grab my shirt and yank it over my head. I toss it to the side andbend to untie my shoes, kicking them to the side as I move to push my pants off.

She’s watching me and as I straighten, she props up on her elbows. “What…” She trails off.

I follow her gaze to my left bicep. To my new tattoo. At least, new since we were last together.

She looks down at the bracelet she wears on her left wrist, where Mariah’s birth date is tattooed, then back to my tattoo.

“You got my elephant as a tattoo?” she asks softly.

“I did.” I leave my boxers on but kick my pants to the side. I kneel on the bed next to her, bracing my hands on either side of her hips.

She lies back but lifts a hand to trace a finger over the shape of the elephant holding a gem in its trunk. “Why?” she asks.

“Because I trusted I would return the bracelet to you eventually and wanted to keep that with me.”

Her eyes lift to mine. “When did you get it?”

“On the year anniversary of us meeting.”

“Cian…”

“Listen, Glinda, if you think you’re going to get all mushy and distract me from all the very depraved things I have planned for you, you areverymistaken.” I lean in and kiss her.

God, I want to be mushy. I want to tell her that I’m crazy about her. That I amnotgetting over her. In fact, I’m falling more in love with her every minute. But she doesn’t really want that right now. And once I start all of that, I’m not going to be able to stop. So I need to keep this dirty and fun. There will be time for the rest of that later.

“Okay,” she says, putting her hand against my cheek and giving me a mischievous smile.

“Now shut up and spread your legs and let me at this pussy,” I say against her lips. “Because I’ve beenverygood and have been quick and quiet in the dark forthreenights in Emerald, butnow I want to be very, very bad and I want you wide open, lights nice and bright so I can see every single wet, pink inch, and I’m going to take my time and make you very loud.”

She’s breathing hard again and I’m not sure she could spell ‘elephant’ at the moment.

Chapter 21

Cian

Iskim my hands down her side and grasp the bottom of her dress, dragging it up, then urging her to sit so I can tug it over her head. I toss it to the floor and she reaches back for the clasp on her bra. She tosses it to the floor as my thumbs hook the top of her panties and pull them down her legs.

Then she’s gloriously naked on top of the pristine white duvet.

My gaze tracks over every inch of her as she lays back against the pillow.

“Spread your legs,” I tell her, pushing off the bed to round to the other side where I flip on the lamp on the bedside table.

The one next to her is already glowing, probably left on by housekeeping.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted full bright light so I could see everything.

“I have the image of you ingrained in my mind,” I tell her. “But nothing compares to the real thing.” I climb up the bed from the bottom. “Fuck, you take my breath away, Scarlett.”

“You too,” she says softly, her eyes hot on my skin, coming back to the elephant tattoo on my left arm. “I missed you naked.”

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