Page 19 of Vows to a King
“Such modesty, Princess? Or is it to hide those melting panties?”
“You wish you knew, Prince,” she retorted, and his laughter deepened.
Her heart thundered with excitement as the dress fell into place, kissing her skin like a whisper of a caress from the man taunting her even now. Without even looking at her reflection, Jemima knew, with the flattering V neckline with a subtle scalloped edge and the tailored bodice highlighting her waist, the dress made the best of her curvy figure. That it had been made for her.
When she stepped out from behind the screen, it was to find Adonis within touching distance. And a pair of elegant gold sandals with intricate straps to wrap around her ankles.
For what felt like eternity, he stared at her, from her hair to her bare feet, and then back up. His eyes gleamed. “You’re beautiful, Princess. You should own it more.”
And when he went to his knees—uncaring of ruining the creases of his trousers or the cut of his jacket, Jemima’s breath whooshed out of her. Her trembling legs would have taken her to the floor if she didn’t lean down and balance herself on his shoulders. His hard thigh muscles clenched under her digging toes.
Every inch of the skin he touched with his nimble fingers sizzled. He made a quick, efficient job of wrapping the gold straps around her ankles.
Something she’d never thought possible released inside of Jemima, breaking all barriers. She pushed her fingers into his thick, stylish waves, giving in to the urge to touch him, to claim some small part of him for herself.
The line of his shoulders stiffened under the jacket, but he said nothing.
“Am I imagining it? Please, Adonis, I need to know.”
His hands moved from her ankles, one to her knee, and one to her thigh, steadying her. “What, Princess?”
She licked her lips, pressing her fingers into his scalp. It was so much easier to ask without those penetrating blue eyes peeling layers off her. “This thing I feel between us, this attraction, do you feel it too? Or am I just projecting my silly fantasies onto you again?”
“I did not realize you had fantasies about me,” he said, pushing back against her hold and meeting her eyes. If she was indulging any ideas that he would simply let her live in delusion land, he told her no with those eyes. Nothing with this man would be easy. Not even her own surrender. “That is the sort of thing you should put in your famous memos for me.”
“Please, can I have the truth for once? Just between you and me.”
Whatever languid humor had been swimming in his eyes seconds ago disappeared in an instant. “And what do I get in return?”
“I’ve already admitted that I’m beyond attracted to you. If your hand sneaks up my thigh any further, you will find the evidence that I’m melting for you.”
For just a second, a feral kind of satisfaction glittered in his eyes, making them sparkle like rare sapphires. In the next second, it was gone. “What is the guarantee that you will believe me if I tell you the truth, Princess?”
With one push and swoop, he was on his feet, his gaze clashing with hers. But he didn’t let go of her, for a second.
His large hands spanned her hips, his thumbs digging into the sharp divot of her waist, as if he meant to leave fingerprints behind. Stamping her with his possession, but refusing to actually claim her.
Frustration gouged through her. “Is it so wrong if I can’t believe in…this? In things being so different from before?”
He didn’t even seem angry at her anymore. Not that he ever was. Instead, she saw the same exhaustion in his eyes that she’d complained of on that first night. “I tire of having to provide proof for everything I say, Princess.”
When he tugged her, she went like a doll. Suddenly, she knew the hurt she had dealt him had been fathoms deep, building on an already festering wound.
“It is a curse I’ve lived with before and I find it extremely…boring,” he said.
She stared at herself in the gilded full-length mirror, her cheeks full of lively color. Her eyes…the black eating out the amber in voracious desire. Even her skin felt different, tingly…as if an electric charge had been fed under it.
Her chest rose on quick breaths as Adonis framed her from behind. Tall and broad, he engulfed her, making her feel like the center of the universe.
The small hairs on her skin stood erect as his fingertips danced over her nape, and his breath coasted over her neck. She stared, fascinated, as his long, dark fingers collared her throat before he clasped a simple, elegant gold necklace with delicate platinum beading and flowers.
Arousal—sharp and sweet—flooded her entire being, and she had to clutch her thighs together for fear of betraying herself.
It’s too late, you fool. You’ve already admitted it, her inner voice said.And he’s not treating it as a weapon, much as you worried that he would.
He bent his head until his chin rested on her shoulder, the rough nap of his cheeks like velvet against her own. His chest against her back was a wall of warmth and hardness. “I think it could be real, this…heat between us. Pity you aren’t that bold girl who could steal life-giving kisses anymore.”
With that, he patted her on her shoulder, told her they were late, and left the chamber with a brisk efficiency she couldn’t emulate.
