Chapter Seven

”Ican”t believe you cooked for me.” Thalia looks at me from beneath her lashes, a sweet smile dancing on her lips.

”It”s just dinner,” I murmur, caught off guard at the way she looks at me as if I”m some kind of hero. I”m definitely not. Thanks to me, she could have been seriously hurt today. Cooking her a meal was the least I could do to make it up to her.

Next time she says she doesn”t want to fucking swim, I”ll listen.

I can”t regret what happened between us today, however. Aside from the terror of watching her plummet into the pond, every goddamn moment was perfection. I”ve never felt closer to anyone than I do to her.

She understands me in ways no one else ever has. Not even Samson sees through me like she does. I”ve known him my entire life, but he sees what I want him to see. Not Thalia.

She sees what festers under the surface—all those parts I tried to bury a long time ago. With her, I can”t pretend I don”t feel anything. I feel all too fucking much.

And God help us both, but I love every second of it.

She”s in my head—in my heart—and I don”t want to let her go. I feel…protective of her. I”ve never been afraid for anyone like I was afraid for her today. For a brief moment, I thought I”d lost her.

I saw a future without her—one as cold and bleak as my past. A piece of my soul died. It blazed back to life when she pressed her lips to mine, wrapping her soft body around me.

I”m keeping her. Come hell, high water, or a war with my father, this curvy little angel is all fucking mine.

”I didn”t know princes could cook,” she says, teasing me.

”Oh, I see,” I smirk, leaning back in my chair. ”You think we”re useless layabouts, huh?”

”I mean…” She shrugs, her smile turning sassy.

I narrow my eyes on her.

A soft laugh escapes her lips. ”You said it, not me.”

”Well, sweetheart, I hate to disappoint you,” I drawl, folding my hands together over my stomach, ”but this prince can cook; he can clean. He can even spank your gorgeous ass without breaking a sweat.”

She laughs again, a wicked, delighted sound that makes my cock throb. Jesus, she”s so fucking beautiful. And so fucking sweet.

Where the hell did she come from?

I watch her eat, curiosity raging through me. I want to know everything about her, but I know next to nothing. She knows so much about me, yet she”s a gorgeous little mystery.

”Where did you come from, sweet Thalia?”

She lifts her eyes from her plate, glancing across the table at me. ”What?”

”Where did you come from? You didn”t spring up out of the ground.” My brows furrow. ”Unless you really are a wood nymph.”

”A wood nymph?” She shakes her head, smiling. ”I”m not a wood nymph, Troy.”

”How”d you end up in my cabin?”

”I stumbled across it. It was getting dark, and I figured it was safer in here than it was out there.”

”Why were you out there alone?”

She hasn”t mentioned her family, her home, or anyone waiting for her. Is anyone looking for her? Is she alone in the world?

She places her fork on her plate, glancing away from me. The vibrant Thalia I”ve gotten to know today fades, drawing into herself. I don”t like it. Not at all.

”I ran away,” she says.

Jesus.

”Why?”

”It doesn”t matter.”

Oh, I think it matters a whole hell of a lot.

”Tell me, Thalia,” I demand.

She squares her jaw, silently refusing.

”Now,” I growl.

She glares at me, those sapphire eyes flashing fire at me. ”Do you think you”re the only one with a father who has plans for your life that you don”t agree with, Troy?”

”What do you mean?”

”You aren”t the only one being sold into marriage,” she snaps. ”Mine informed me that I was to marry on my 21st birthday. It didn”t matter to him that I didn”t want the marriage. He said either I followed through or I”d suffer the consequences. He intended to take my freedom. So I made my choice and left.”

She says it matter-of-factly as if it doesn”t hurt her at all, but her eyes tell a different story. Her father broke her fucking her when he said that to her.

Jesus.What a fucking prick.

Perhaps I”m no better. Because even in the face of her pain, possessive jealousy churns through me. Someone else thinks they have a claim on her. Her father thinks he has the right to give her to someone else.

She isn”t his to give away. No one has a claim on her except for me. Hell will freeze over before I allow her to marry anyone else.

She belongs to me and only to me.

Is this why she”s so willing to give herself to me? To keep herself out the hands of her father and the motherfucker who thinks he can take her from me?

If I were an honorable man, I”d tell her that she doesn”t have to fuck me to ensure my protection—that it”s hers no matter what. But I”m not that man. I want her in my bed, and I”m willing to play dirty to get her there. My protection is hers; no one will take her. But if they come for her, it”ll be long after I”ve possessed every fucking hole on her delectable body.

”Are you finished eating, Thalia?”

”Yes,” she whispers.

I push my chair back from the table, rising to my feet. My boots are heavy on the floorboards as I circle around the table toward her.

She stares up at me, her eyes wide, confusion swirling through them. ”What are you doing?”

She asked, so I tell her. I let her see the jealousy raging through me—the obsessive need to possess and claim. She”s seen everything else. I won”t hide this from her either.

”No one has a claim on you except for me,” I growl, leaning down to scoop her up into my arms. ”I”m taking what”s mine so everyone knows who you belong to, sweet Thalia. Including you.”

”Oh,” she whispers, shivering.

I stride toward the bedroom with her in my arms, holding her tightly. My heart pounds against my ribcage, anticipation an ache in my balls.

She trembles in my arms like the sweetest little treat.

We don”t say a word as I kick the bedroom door closed behind us. I don”t waste time stripping her bare. Her clothes fall in a pile at our feet before I lay her out on the bed and step back.

She watches me with wide, dilated eyes as I yank my shirt off over my head and then strip out of my pants.

Her tongue runs along her bottom lip as if she”s trying to taste me on her. I have bad news for her, but she won”t be getting her mouth on me tonight. If she does, this will be over far too soon, and I intend to gorge myself on her delectable body.

”Are you ready for me, angel?” I ask, wrapping my fist around my cock. I squeeze, working my fist up and down my shaft in rough pulls while she watches, pressing her thighs together and squirming.

”I…” Her gaze flickers to mine, her throat working. ”I”m a virgin, Troy.”

Fuck.

I squeeze hard, trying to keep myself from coming all over myself at her trembling confession. Even then, my balls throb, a thick rope of cum spilling from the tip.

I crawl onto the bed, the mattress dipping beneath my weight as I prowl over her. Leaning down, I claim her lips in a hot kiss, pouring everything into it—my desire, my need, my fucking heart. Every nerve ending comes alive as our bodies intertwine, screaming for release, for her.

”Do you think I don”t know?” I breathe against her lips. ”Do you think I can”t taste it on you? Do you think I didn”t feel it when I had my fingers buried in your cunt, sweet Thalia?”

She whimpers, writhing beneath me as my rough hands sweep over her body. She”s so soft, so eager. I touch her everywhere, gliding my fingertips across her silky skin, pinching her nipples, tormenting her the way just touching her torments me.

I run my lips across her cheek, seeking her ear as I give her my own truth. ”When I take your virginity, you”ll be claiming mine too.”

Her eyes fly open on a sweet gasp. ”Troy? Do you mean it?”

I nuzzle her throat, feeling raw and vulnerable in a way I never have before. Fuck. What is she doing to me?

”I told you I”ve been waiting for you.” I don”t give her a chance to answer—half afraid of what she might say. Of what she thinks. The mighty prince, saving himself for someone he thought was a dream. I know how it sounds. Sam”s been giving me shit about it for years. But I knew. I fucking knew she was waiting for me. Even when I thought I didn”t want it—when I was certain I didn”t want to risk ending up like my father—I was still faithful, unable to betray her when I knew she was out there, waiting for me.

I lean down, capturing one hard nipple between my teeth. She cries out, arching toward my mouth. My name breaks from her lips in the sweetest cry.

I kiss my way down her body, exploring every dip, every curve, setting us both ablaze.

Christ, I love the way she burns.

By the time I settle between her legs, she”s chanting my name. It leaves her lips in tiny exhalations that make my cock throb.

”Keep your eyes on me, Thalia,” I demand. ”Watch what I do to you.”

She whimpers, already writhing, already pleading. As if she needs to beg. My tongue and my cock are hers.

I spread her wide, growling at the sight of her pretty pink cunt. ”So pink,” I murmur, running my nose up the juncture of her thigh, inhaling her sweet scent. ”So wet.” I flick my tongue out, running it from her clit to her little fuckhole. ”So fucking mine.”

”Troy!” Her hands fly to my hair, pulling as if she intends to rip it from the roots as I force my tongue into that tiny little hole, fucking her with it. I want to possess every inch of her, consume her completely.

Her eyes roll back in her head, breaking from mine.

I pull away to smack her pussy.

She shouts, her hips jolting upward. I drive them back down onto the bed, holding her down beneath me.

”I said, eyes on me, Thalia.”

She whimpers, her eyes meeting mine again, dilated with lust, filled with trust.

Fuck. Does she even realize she has me wrapped around her little finger?

”Troy,” she whimpers as I bury my face in her pussy again, dragging my lips across her slit before circling her clit with my tongue. She tastes like heaven—like honey and innocence.

”Please,” she begs, rocking against my face.

I plunge three fingers into her, curling them up to hit her G-spot. She claws my shoulders, sobbing my name.

I drive her higher and then higher, fucking her with my fingers until her inner muscles clench and tremble around my fingers.

I stop suddenly, flicking my tongue over her clit and then taking another lick of honey from her dripping hole.

Fuck me. I want to keep her here like this all night, trembling on the edge and pleading. She quivers at every touch, every lick, every stroke.

She”s mine. No one else”s.

I won”t share her.

I won”t give her up.

She”s. All. Fucking. Mine.

I drag my tongue around her clit again, plunging my fingers in and out of her. My tongue trails lower and then lower again.

”Troy!” she gasps.

”Take it, Thalia,” I growl, pressing the tip of my tongue to her back entrance, claiming that hole, too. It”s mine just like the rest of her. Every inch, every hole. Every fucking piece of her belongs to me.

”Oh God,” she sobs.

I fuck her with my fingers, running my tongue around her tasty little asshole, stripping every last inhibition from her. When she”s on the edge again, pleading for mercy, I give her more instead.

I press my tongue firmly against the tight ring of muscle, forcing the tip of it inside of her. I fuck her with it, my tongue and fingers working in unison to drive her mad.

She shouts my name, shattering apart in my arms. I don”t stop. I have no mercy for her. I keep going, taking what I want, consuming her alive.

She shatters again, convulsing beneath me.

I slam my hips against the mattress, humping it like a fucking rabid dog. Jesus Christ. The things this beautiful little angel makes me crave. I always thought the dark things I craved were wrong—that they were fucked up. With her, they feel exactly right.

This is what we are together. This is what we were meant to be. She”s the reason I could never imagine doing any of this with anyone else. It was never supposed to be anyone but her.

It was always, always her.

I crawl from between her legs, dragging her on top of me. She”s still trembling as she straddles my hips, her eyes glossy and dark.

”Ride me, Thalia,” I command, my fingers digging into her wide hips. ”Fuck me.”

Understanding blazes in her eyes. She knows what I”m saying—what I”m doing. For once, I”m ceding control, willingly giving it to her.

She places her hands on my chest, adjusting herself over me. Her hand wraps around my cock, guiding me to her entrance. We both groan as I slide through her sticky heat.

She hovers over me, our eyes locked.

Emotion pulses in my chest, fighting to break free.

”Troy,” she whispers.

”Thalia,” I breathe.

Determination blazes to life in her eyes. A second too late, I realize what she”s going to do. I grab for her to stop her, but she slams herself down on me, taking me all the way in one hard thrust. I tear through her barrier, shouting her name.

Her hot cunt wraps around me, leaving me writhing in the sweetest fucking torment. Jesus Christ, it”s heaven. Every silky inch of her is heaven.

She writhes, too, squirming as if she”s in agony.

I tumble her over backward, roaring in fury as I follow her over, still buried to the hilt inside her. I pin her beneath me with my hand around her throat, worry and anger crashing like cymbals in my chest.

”I should spank your perfect fucking ass for doing that,” I growl, mad as hell.

She smiles up at me, the devil in her eyes. ”Why? We both know you loved it.”

My cock throbs, and I roar again, pissed because she”s right. Pissed because she hurt herself to please me.

She leans up, pressing her lips to my ear. ”I loved it too, Troy,” she breathes. ”You feel so good inside me.”

Jesus Christ. She isn”t in agony. She”s in heaven in, too.

That realization sets off a bomb against my self-control, annihilating it.

I roar like a wild fucking animal and begin to move, fucking her like a man possessed. I can”t stop. I pound into her, driving deep, only to pull back and do it again.

She sobs in rapture, clawing my back, biting me. She”s a little hellcat beneath me, giving as good as she gets.

”Look at you,” I growl, tightening my hand around her throat to subdue her. ”Fucking look at you taking my cock like a good little girl, Thalia.”

”More,” she begs, leaving claw marks down my arms. ”More.”

I gently squeeze the sides of her throat, not cutting off her air supply but the blood flow. I lean down, sucking her nipple into my mouth as she sobs in ecstasy.

”Is this what you wanted, angel? You want to know exactly how fucking good I can make you feel?”

She bobs her head, looking for all the world like she”s in heaven.

”Good.” I drag her nipple through my teeth. ”Because when you”re coming all over my cock, I”m going to be planting my fucking kid in you, Thalia. I hope you”re ready, angel. Because I took your cherry. Now, I”m taking your womb.”

”Oh, God,” she mouths, her pussy clenching around me as I drive into her again.

I release my grip on her throat, watching as the rush hits her.

She arches off the bed, her eyes rolling back in her head.

She screams the fucking roof down as she comes, soaking my cock. I slam myself inside her, losing the rhythm, losing reality…losing my damn mind.

”Thalia,” I roar, the hot clench of her body sending me careening over the edge. I bury my face in her throat, breathing hard as my cock twitches, my balls emptying into her again and again.

It”s agony. It”s bliss. It”s us.

When I can move again, I reluctantly drag myself from her body, groaning when I lose her heat. I”d rather stay right there, buried inside her all fucking night. But she”s wrecked beneath me, a mess of sweat and cum, streaks of her virgin blood dotting her thighs.

”I”ll be right back, angel,” I murmur, running the back of my hand down her cheek.

She mumbles incoherently, making me smile. I drag myself to my feet, groaning as every muscle in my body protests, and stride down to the bathroom.

”Jesus.” I stare in shock at my reflection in the mirror. Angry red scratches crisscross my shoulders and arms, some deep enough to have drawn blood. There are bite marks on my throat and chest.

She didn”t just give as good as she got. She marked me like a fucking warrior.

My cock twitches at the sight, rapidly stiffening.

I ignore it, grabbing a washcloth from the stack under the sink and running it under the water. Once it”s warm enough, I stride back to the bedroom to clean her up. I don”t bother cleaning me up. I fully intend to wear her like a badge of honor.

My cock twitches again when I see she hasn”t moved an inch. She”s still sprawled across the bed, her thighs parted, her perfect pussy peeping from between them.

I settle beside her, running my hand down her thigh.

”Mm,” she moans, those sapphire eyes fluttering open.

”I”m going to clean you up, sweet Thalia,” I murmur, carefully washing away the traces of blood on her thighs before I clean between her legs.

She watches me the whole time, shivering.

I toss the rag toward the door, crawling back onto the bed with her to pull her into my arms. She burrows into me with the happiest little sigh.

”Are you sore, angel?”

”No,” she lies.

I chuckle, knowing she”s full of shit. I took her hard—harder than I should have.

”There”s a hot spring nearby. We”ll go in the morning so you can soak.”

She”s quiet for a minute. ”Does it have fish?”

”No.” I smile, brushing my lips across her shoulder. ”There are no fish in it.”

”Okay,” she whispers, seeming relieved. ”I guess I”ll go.”

I don”t tell her that not going wasn”t an option. She”s absolutely going. I don”t want her in pain. The thought alone is intolerable.

”What do you have against fish, hmm?”

”Nothing. I just don”t want to swim with them.”

I laugh quietly, dragging her deeper into my arms. ”You”re perfect, sweet Thalia,” I breathe, holding her close. ”So fucking perfect.”

She hums, already on the verge of sleep.

I cuddle her against me, listening as her breathing evens out and her body goes lax in my arms. My heart pulses with a strange mix of love and possession, and I realize that it”s no longer enough to simply have her body.

I want her heart too.

No matter what it takes, I”m claiming every piece of it as my own.