Page 70 of The Forsaken Heir
Elle’s body shook, and for a horrifying moment, I thought she was crying. Terror and agony threatened to shatter me, and I quickly rolled off her, an overwhelming sense of loss filling me. I wanted to stay inside her, connected to her. Had I hurt her?
Then I realized she wasn’t crying, she was laughing.
“You didn’t hurt me,” she said as she shoved her sweaty hair away from her face. “But I’m gonna have a hard time walking tomorrow.”
Sighing with relief, I rose and went to the bathroom. I cleaned up quickly, then wet a wash cloth with warm water and went back to the bed. After I’d cleaned Elle up with long, languid strokes, I pulled a blanket over us and pulled her close.
“I’m going to sleep for a week after that,” Elle said through a yawn.
“That sounds nice,” I said, feeling exhaustion drag at my consciousness. I stroked her neck as I let my heartrate even out, loving the heat of her body on mine.
“I don’t know if I need to ask this after hearing and seeing you, but was that good? Did you enjoy it?” I thought I knew the answer, but still wanted to hear it from her mouth.
She gave a sleepy little chuckle and splayed her hand on my chest. “It was amazing. I’ll probably walk a little weird tomorrow.”
Laughing softly, I pulled her close. Elle nestled her head into the crook of my shoulder and fell asleep within seconds. A stillness wrapped around us, her deep, steady breaths the only sound. As my eyes drifted shut, I thought about what kind of life I might have with her.Couldwe have a future? She was a wolf, and I was a dragon. Not only that, but our families loathed each other. Though her own family seemed to hate her as much or more than they even hated dragons. Could there be more between us? Ever?
Tossing those thoughts aside, I pulled Elle closer and fell into a deep sleep.
16
BRIELLE
Sometime later, I awoke with my head nestled in the crook of Aurelius’s arm. For a moment, I stared at his sleeping face. Ithadn’tbeen a dream. Wereallydid have an amazing night together. If lying naked against his body wasn’t enough to confirm that, the pleasantly painful ache between my legs told me the truth.
A smile formed on my lips as I watched his muscled chest rise and fall slowly with each breath. For several seconds, I replayed the previous night over in my head, and despite my exhaustion, lust flared within me once more. No man had ever taken me the way he had. The carnal aggression had been such a turn-on. I’d fed on his desire, and he’d fed on mine. Biting my lower lip, I contemplated for only a few seconds waking him for a second round, but that would be crazy. We’d worn each other out, and I needed to get back to my room.
Damn it. Delphine is probably freaking out.Shit.
I slid from beneath Aurelius’s arm and eased out of bed as quietly as I could. He grunted, snuffled, and rolled over, stillasleep. Shit, I had nothing to wear. I couldn’t very well go traipsing back to my room completely naked like some nudist hippie. The ballgown lay in a heap on the floor, several seams torn from when I’d ripped it off. My bra hung from the headboard like shed snakeskin, completely useless. The only thing I could wear was my panties, which I slipped on while trying to figure out what to do.
Deciding it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission, I wandered into Aurelius’s closet and found a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I dressed quickly, surprised the clothing was baggy on me even with my larger frame. With one final look at Aurelius, I crept out of his room and closed the door softly.
I hurried down the halls toward my room, the floor cold beneath my bare feet. As I walked, I could hear muffled conversations. The scandal of what had happened at the gala had spread to the servants, and I was sure the other noble families were having hushed discussions about what to do next. I felt awful. This was all my fault. If it weren’t for me, none of this would be happening. The thought put a damper on what had happened between Aurelius and me. Those few blissful minutes had been enough to wipe away thoughts of my family—Bastien looking at me like I was something to be scraped off his shoe, the way he’d raised his hand as if to strike me, the sanctimonious glare my parents had given me. Aurelius had washed all that away.
Part of me wished I was back in the sewing shop, dutifully stocking, cleaning, sewing, and ringing up customers. Lorraine had been concerned when I’d called her and explained I wouldn’t be back at work for a few weeks, but she hadn’t pushed. Now, as I crept down the hall of a massive mansion and castle, I wondered if I’d ever get back to that life, or if everything hadchanged. And if it had, was it going to be a change for good or bad?
At my door, I glanced around once more, paranoid that someone might have seen me leaving the prince’s room. That paranoia, as well as the irritation at my family, dulled my exhilaration, but it didn’t stamp it out completely. When I stepped into my room, it was like I was walking on clouds, and I replayed what Aurelius had done to me again.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Jerking in surprise, I slammed the door shut. Thebangresonated through the room.
“What?” I said, spinning around to find her staring daggers at me, her fists jammed into her hips.
Delphine rolled her eyes. “You heard me. You and the prince vanished from the gala, and that was hours ago. I asked everyone where you went, but no one would tell me.
“Oh. Yeah. That. Uh…”
Delphine’s eyes skimmed away from my face and traveled down my body, taking in what I was wearing. Her mouth fell open and she pointed a finger at me. “I knew it,” she hissed, though she didn’t look wholly upset or outraged.
“Knew what?” I asked, crossing my arms over my breasts. I felt naked under her gaze.
“You and Aurelius,” she said. “When you left the gala, I saw the way he was looking at you. I had half a mind to go barging into his quarters to find you, but Ithoughtsomething might be going on in there. I didn’t want to walk in on that.”
I thought back on Aurelius slapping my ass and fucking my brains out, and my cheeks burned. Yeah, probably good she hadn’t done that.
Seeing my blush, Delphine crossed her arms and gave me a self-satisfied grin. “Well? At least tell me how it was.”
