Chapter 21

21

CHARLOTTE

H e thinks it's a trap. And maybe it is, but for both of us.

My wolf is ready to roll over and submit. Even knowing that he's not going to claim us, she can't resist him. His scent. The look in his eyes, like he wants to devour me, is intoxicating. I want to feel that power and that hunger all focussed on me.

But I'm not stupid enough to think I'd ever be able to recover from having this man and then being shoved aside. Just being close to him now is hard enough. I want a taste too, but it has to be on my terms.

His belt jangles as I open it with surprisingly steady hands.

Killian stares down at me, hands buried in his thick, dark hair, a tortured look on his face.

"I don't understand." He's not stopping me, but he has no clue why I'm doing this. "You said not to make this more complicated."

I did say that, but I don't think there's any way this can be uncomplicated. We're about to be fated mates who are fake dating until we can reject each other. There's no way that can be anything but messy.

"We both have needs. Our wolves need connection and closeness. I'm not going to let you take me to bed knowing full well you're going to reject me soon." I hold his gaze, and his eyes flash, but he doesn't correct me. "But this is going to be hard enough as it is. Maybe, I'd like a happy memory or two to keep me company in my bed at night."

Killian's eyes darken. "Your empty bed."

As I lower his zipper, I roll my eyes. "That's going to be none of your concern shortly."

Being so cheeky probably counts as treason, but I don't think Killian cares right now. His wolf stares right back at me, fascinated, as I pull the front of his trousers apart. His huge bulge presses against his black boxer briefs. When I drag my fingernail along the length, a string of unintelligible swear words fall from his mouth. Some I've never even heard of before.

"That's not very princely language," I tease as I stroke harder this time, feeling a rush like nothing I've ever known at seeing Killian completely at my mercy.

"I don't feel very princely right now."

His swollen cock peeks out of the top of his boxers, long and thick, and I lick my lips, dying to taste him. As I release him fully from the black material, I shuffle closer and hum gently as Killian's musky, masculine scent fills my senses. Resting one hand on his hip, I grip his cock and lean forward, pressing a tentative kiss to the top before licking all around the head, like it's a lollipop.

"Holy shit." Killian grunts, one hand finding my hair, but cradling the back of my head, rather than trying to force me onto him. "Charlotte, you should be first. I want to…"

Before he can finish that sentiment, I take him deeper into my mouth and let my tongue trace the vein on the bottom of his cock.

Killian loses the ability to speak, growling loudly and then panting hard as he struggles to regain control.

I know exactly what he wants. He wants to make me come first, and then take whatever I'm willing to give. Because he's a gentleman, and I'm his mate. He's hardwired to please me.

But I don't want this to go his way. I want him off kilter.

I want to be in control.

Using my hand to stroke the base of his cock in time with the movements of my mouth, I surround his entire length, worshipping him, savouring the burst of pre-cum that hits my tongue, as I hollow my cheeks and take him deep. His cock hits the back of my throat, and I relax, letting him in as far as I dare, before swallowing around him.

"Charlotte. I can't… I'm going to come."

He tries to move back, but I grab his firm, muscular ass with both hands, and keep him pressed to me as I take what I want. He tastes so good. And his thick thighs and rippling abs are hard not to admire.

As much as I'd love to have this man naked in bed with me, even for just one night, I'd be hooked. It would break me to have to give that up.

"You're fucking perfect." His tone is wistful despite the frenzied way he's pulsing his hips in and out of my mouth now. "Look how pretty you are on your knees for me."

Tenderly, he pushes a stray strand of hair back from my face as I blink up at him.

Our eyes lock, and something deep and powerful passes between us. I can feel his affection for me.

The longing. The regret.

It's too much. Too emotional, and I can't handle it right now.

So, I shut my eyes and concentrate on this moment, the way his cock feels as it drags along my bottom lip, and the way his fingers tangle in my hair. I growl in satisfaction when his breath hitches, and his movements become more erratic.

He's close.

Sliding one hand into the front of my trousers, I stroke my clit, hard, needing the pressure and a firm touch to satisfy my needs.

If I don't break the dam of want and emotions welling up inside me, I'm going to implode.

"Yes baby, yes. Come with me." There's urgency in his raw, husky tone. I can feel his gaze burning into me as I whimper and writhe on my own hand while bobbing up and down with my mouth. His grip on my hair tightens, stinging my scalp, and I moan at the delicious pleasure-pain combination.

That's enough.

With a guttural shout, Killian comes, jet after jet of his cum, spraying the back of my throat.

"Fucking hell," he gasps, chest heaving.

Purring, I swallow it all down, licking and sucking every last drop from his body, as he rocks forward unsteadily, continuing to empty his seed into my mouth.

"That was fucking incredible. You're fucking perfect, Charlie." His tone is reverential, and his fingers stroke my cheek gently, sending tingles dancing across my skin. As he pulls free, he reaches for me and pulls me to my feet. While he tugs at the side of my shorts, a desperate hunger in his eyes, I press down hard on my clit, and my climax hits.

I let out a quiet whimper and flick my head back, eyes squeezed shut.

The relief is immense. My stomach clenches, and my thighs twitch with each flutter inside me.

When I finally open my eyes, Killian is staring at me like a man possessed. His eyes blaze with fury and betrayal as I come down from my orgasm, like I stole something from him.

"Your orgasms are mine." His nostrils flare, and his fists are tight balls resting on his knees. "It should have been my hand you came apart on. I wanted…"

When I raise my eyebrow in warning, he grits his teeth, rethinking his next words.

"Next time you come. I want you looking in my eyes, screaming my name, not swallowing those sexy sounds down like this is a fucking sin."

He's pissed that I didn't climax shouting his name to the heavens.

Typical alpha.

"It was my fingers that I came on. Should I have screamed my own name?" I pull my hand from my trousers and rock back, staring at him innocently.

Killian's features morph into an expression of frustration as he stands to his full height, his sheer size looming over me, suddenly intimidating. He's livid. His pride doesn't like the idea that I took care of myself.

"Don't be a brat, Charlie. Not after that." The silence as we stare at each other, unsure what to do next, is physically painful. From being intimately connected and in complete sync, we're now at sea again.

I can't handle this tension, so I continue to act up with an insolent shrug of my shoulder. "It's Charlotte. And there won't be a next time."

He ignores my correction and continues to stare down at me. His fingers twitch at his sides.

"It would feel so much better when it's me making you fall apart. You know it would." He tucks himself back into his boxers. Killian might want more, but he's not going to push me. "You won't be able to keep my name from your lips when I'm buried deep inside you. You're going to beg me to let you come."

My pussy clenches, pleading with me to go to him. If he just sat back down on the bench, I could climb over him, and sink… fuck!

Killian is my mate. I know it would be incredible. Mind blowing. Life altering, even. Which is exactly why it's a terrible idea. I can see myself becoming addicted to this man.

"I already told you, that's not going to happen." Standing on trembling legs now, I pretend to feel stronger than I am.

Killian says nothing, but his jaw is working. The muscles in his cheeks clench and move as he struggles to maintain his composure.

"This was great, but you don't want me as your mate, and I don't want this ." Swinging my hands around, out wide, gesturing to the entire royal set up. The palace, the grounds, the staff. All of it.

With my mother directing every aspect of my life, and very little real freedom, it was nothing more than a beautiful prison. And I have no intention of exchanging one prison for another.

Killian's expression softens when he sees I'm upset, the cruelness of our pairing physically painful.

"If the circumstances were different, I would have claimed you the moment I picked up your scent," he whispers. "I would have chased you into the forest and taken you right there. Your ass would have been red for days for even daring to run from me."

Gulping hard, I blink at him, stunned by the rawness in that admission.

Killian prowls forward slowly, like the apex predator he is, and like the prey that I am, I stay rooted to my spot.

When he pulls me into his arms, I let him. His heat wrapping around me feels so good.

"You think that I don't want you? I crave it. You're everything I've ever dreamed of in a mate. Strong, capable, beautiful. But the second I acknowledge who you are to me, you'll be in danger, and I can't have that. Not when I have no intention of staying here."

He's leaving.

I close my eyes against the wave of anguish that's running through me.

There was no promise in his admission that he'd take me with him when he goes. No suggestion that just maybe, he'd wait until he goes home to claim me as his.

He still has every intention of rejecting me and breaking the bond.

He's not going to be prince, yet he still doesn't want me?

The pain of this realisation is staggering.

"This was a mistake," I whisper, spinning away from him, needing to get out of here before I say something I'll regret.

Like begging him to change his mind.

Killian's hand shoots out, and he catches my wrist. His strong grip is impossible to break as he tugs my arm up higher. I watch in stunned silence as he yanks my fingers to his mouth and sucks my lingering juices from them, his tongue flicking and swirling, till he gets every last trace.

My knees almost buckle imagining what else he can do with that talented tongue.

His hold on me loosens, and I tug my hand free.

"This isn't over, Charlie. We might not get our forever, but it seems a shame not to make the most of the time we do have."