Chapter 10

My heart lodged in my throat. For one wild moment, I considered whirling and running for the Covenant. But I quashed that idea. I was the Princess of Winter. The future queen. I didn't run from anything.

But the cold fury in Ronan's eyes made my stomach quiver. Just as quickly, anger filled my chest. What did he have to be furious about?

"Glesso," I called. "How kind of you to secure my horse."

Ronan looped Davina's reins around his pommel and swung to the ground. Snow swirled around his shoulders as he stalked toward me. He wore no cloak. Moonlight glinted off Summerbane's hilt. He no longer bore the traces of hard travel. His hair was brushed, and he'd changed his clothes.

I forced myself to stand firm as he stopped in front of me, yanked his gloves off, and grasped my chin with his strong, bare fingers.

"You've been at the Covenant," he said in a low voice.

The anger in my chest flared hotter. Only my awareness of the knights watching us with rapt gazes stopped me from wrenching my face from Ronan's grip. But I matched my tone to his. "Let go of me. Right now."

He slid his hand down my neck, his palm splayed over the exposed skin above my bodice. "You're warm." His voice dipped into a silky menace that lifted the hair on my nape. "What were you doing on the other side?"

For a moment, I wished I'd thought to strap Sigurn's dagger to my thigh. But I'd hidden it in the tunnels behind my chamber wall. "Remove your hand, Ronan," I said.

He held my stare as he kept his hand in place. Just a bit lower, and he would graze the spot where he'd sucked my nipple through my gown.

My heart beat faster. From the look in his eyes, I knew he felt it. Despite the outrage building inside me, moisture pooled between my legs. As it had in the library, being at odds with Ronan only seemed to fuel my desire. My nipples tightened, and my breasts felt heavy. Somewhere in my mind, an irresponsible voice urged me to provoke him just to see what he would do.

"We'll speak more at the castle," he said, dropping his hand. "Get on your horse."

Arguing would gain me nothing but embarrassment. He'd proved he was willing to compel my obedience with the Old Language. I didn't trust him to hold back in front of the knights.

I let an acid smile curve my lips. "Of course, Glesso," I said, dipping a curtsy. "Whatever you command." As disapproval darkened his face, I brushed past him and went to Davina. I was mounted by the time he joined me, and I didn't look at him once on the ride back to the castle.

But I was hyper-aware of his presence. My body betrayed me, responding to his silent, brooding proximity. The skin where he'd rested his hand tingled. With every hoofbeat, the memory of his touch sank deeper—and spread, becoming a familiar, restless ache.

By the time we clattered into the courtyard, the tension between us was a pile of dry kindling just waiting for a spark. Grooms rushed from the stables and took our horses. The knights melted away. I swept past Ronan and entered the castle, quickly moving to the staircase that led to my chamber. He was on my heels in seconds, his gaze a weight in the middle of my back. By the time I entered my room, my heart was knocking against my ribs. Something was going to happen. The knowledge buzzed around me, brushing my skin and priming my senses.

I was so distracted I didn't notice Cyra until she jumped up from a chair in front of the hearth.

"Oh! Princess, you're safe." She rushed forward, only to stop when Ronan entered behind me. "Thank the gods you found her, Lord Ronan."

"Yes," he said. "All is well, Lady Cyra." He stepped back, one arm slung along the open door. "You can retire for the night."

Cyra looked at me, her big eyes full of so many emotions I couldn't untangle them all. But I thought I glimpsed an apology. I glanced at my bed, where the blankets were pulled back, revealing the line of pillows I'd stuffed underneath. Cyra must have discovered my absence—and then alerted Ronan. I couldn't be angry at her for it. She'd protected and cared for me when my mother wasn't up to the task.

"It's all right," I told Cyra. "I'm fine." When she continued to hesitate, I went to her and placed a hand on her arm. "We'll talk in the morning."

She gave me a weak but grateful smile, then went to the door. Instead of stepping through, she stopped in front of Ronan.

"The princess is young," she said, "and she's been under a lot of stress with all the suitors coming and going. If you plan on hurting her?—"

"Cyra," I said, my face heating.

Ronan ignored me. "I understand, Lady Cyra. Rest assured, your charge is in no danger from me."

I clenched my jaw against the impulse to call him a liar.

"Go on, my lady," Ronan said softly.

Cyra cast me a final, anxious glance and left. And, finally, I was alone with Ronan.

"She cares for you," he said, turning from the door.

The tingling, buzzing awareness ramped up. Face heating, I crossed to the writing desk under the window. Too late, I realized I'd put myself in a position similar to the one in the library. More heat seared my cheeks as I stepped away from the desk and folded my arms.

"Cyra loves me," I said.

Ronan stalked forward. "Am I supposed to interpret that as a declaration that I don't?"

"Not everything is about you, Ronan."

He stopped, anger flashing in his eyes. "You're right. Tonight is about you. Namely, your bad choices."

"Like what? Kissing you?"

His nostrils flared as he stepped closer. The dreadravens peeking from his collar glittered with power. "I'm not playing games right now, Princess."

"Neither am I. It's none of your business where I go. You lost any authority you had over me the moment you decided to steal my crown."

"You're wrong on both accounts. I'm not trying to steal anything from you." In a blink, he was right in front of me, his fingers around my jaw. His expression was deadly calm as he gazed down at me. "As for your second claim, I assure you my authority is very much intact."

I yanked my face from his grip. Fueled by anger, I slapped both hands against his chest and shoved him. He stumbled back, but the look on his face let me know he'd allowed it to happen. He'd given up just a little bit of power, and it was nothing to him— because when it came to the balance of power between us, there was no balance. He held all of it.

"Get out of my room!" I cried.

His voice stayed infuriatingly calm. "Where did you go tonight when you crossed the Covenant?"

I held his stare, refusing to back down. Not that I had anywhere to go with the desk behind me. "Nowhere. I crossed the boundary and saw a forest that looked exactly like ours. It was boring, so I left."

"Try again. I tracked you from your horse to the barrier. I held my knights back to protect you, although I'm sure some of them are smart enough to figure out you crossed the Covenant. Time will tell if those rumors spread. My men and I waited next to your mare for two hours." Ronan's icy facade cracked, revealing some of the fury simmering underneath. "If that's not plain enough for you, Princess, let me make it clear: You weren't in Nordlinga to look at its trees."

My throat went dry. Only lie when you're certain you won't get caught. I wasn't at all certain I could get away with lying. But I couldn't tell him about Sigurn. I could tell him something else, though. The best lies always held a kernel of truth.

"Fine," I said. "I went looking for the woman you've been seeing there."

His brows slammed together. "What woman?"

Unless he was a better liar than I thought, the confusion in his eyes was genuine. Before the library, I would have been relieved to know he wasn't involved with a human. Now, it didn't matter.

I shook my head. "Forget about it."

His frown deepened. "You think I've been crossing the Covenant for a woman?"

"I couldn't think of another explanation for why you pushed me away in the maze." I huffed a humorless laugh. "I can only assume you were wrestling with a crisis of conscience for kissing your ward. It only took you two days to get over it, and you were right back here and suddenly in love with me. I'll give you this, Ronan. It was an impressive performance. If being king doesn't work out, maybe you can join a mummers troupe." I shoved past him.

He caught my arm and jerked me to a stop. "One of us is giving a performance, darling, and it's not me." As I gasped, reeling from the endearment, his voice dropped to a growl. "You're determined to make me a villain."

"No, I'm not," I fired back, my blood pumping harder. Pressure built between my legs, and I wanted to scream at my body for being so stupid. "You're doing a fine job of that all on your own."

"You'd love to believe that, wouldn't you?" He tightened his grip, his hand snug under my armpit and his knuckles pressing hard against the side of my breast. "You want me to be a scoundrel who hides women in Andulum and despoils his ward instead of a man so deeply in love with you I can't think. I can't fucking think, Liria, but you choose not to believe me. You cling to your denial because you're terrified to admit what we both know to be true. You can't keep the cold."

My slap echoed through the room. He had my wrists pinned behind my back before I could blink.

"That's the only one you're getting," he growled, his cheek an angry red from my blow. His pupils were huge as he stared me down like a predator that just caught its prey—and couldn't wait to devour it. "Hit me again and I'll put you over my knee and heat your ass. I should probably do it anyway for this little stunt you pulled tonight."

His threat should have repulsed me. His anger should have terrified me. Instead, my body softened, the pressure between my legs twisting into an ache so intense I squeezed my thighs together in an attempt to quell it. But that made it worse. I gasped, then covered it by jerking against his grip.

"Why do you care if I cross the Covenant?" I snarled. "You should be happy to get rid of me."

"You stubborn, infuriating little fool." He released my wrists and tangled his hands in my hair. But he didn't yank my head back. No, he caressed my scalp, his long fingers achingly gentle. But his eyes were stark as they searched mine, and his voice was a rasp that seemed scraped from the bottom of his soul. "I'll never be rid of you. Never. You're under my skin, Princess. I'm in love with you. There's never been another woman. Just you. It's always been you."

"Stop," I whispered, unsure if I spoke to him or my traitorous body, which didn't care about duty or truth. It just wanted his hands and mouth and wicked tongue. He'd given me a taste of what it meant to be in his arms. At his mercy. Gods help me, I wanted more than a taste.

Ronan eased me away from him and stepped back, leaving plenty of space between us.

I swayed, startled by the sudden change.

"Tell me again," he said softly.

"What?"

He circled me, prowling the edge of an imaginary perimeter. "Tell me to stop."

I turned with him, wariness stealing over me.

"Tell me," he said.

My breath hitched. I didn't dare take my gaze off him as he continued moving around me, a challenge blazing in his eyes. If I told him to go, he would. But then he wouldn't touch me. Did I really want that? My body knew the answer. Heat built between my thighs. My heart fluttered like a bird trapped between my ribs.

I drew an unsteady breath. "You don't love me."

"Yes, I do." He moved closer—so close his breath drifted across my cheek as he whispered, "And that's not what I asked you to say." His hand slid around my waist. "Tell me to stop, Liria."

"I…" My throat closed, and any words I might have said ended in a choked sound suspiciously close to a moan. "I can't," I whispered, hating myself for wanting him. But not enough to send him away. Never that.

Ronan moved with the speed he was known for, sweeping me into his arms and carrying me to the bed. He dropped me among the pillows, and I stared up at him, stunned and needy, as he removed his sword belt and tossed Summerbane aside like it was nothing. Then he was on me, his body stretched over mine and his tongue plunging deep into my mouth.

My hips lifted, my body seeking him without my permission. But who was I kidding? I'd wanted him for so long. All those nights alone in my bed, tossing and turning until I finally pressed my fingers between my legs and fumbled my way into discovering pleasure. But it had always been lacking. Because it hadn't been with him.

"Touch me," I rasped against his lips. In case my meaning wasn't clear, I arched harder, thrusting my aching center against his groin.

Still kissing me, he gave me his full weight, pressing his cock between my thighs. His groan rumbled against my lips as he rolled his hips, grinding against my pubic bone.

Lust roared through me like a fire, scorching everything in its path. I clutched at his shoulders, feeling the rounded muscle contract under my hands. A sort of giddiness spun through me at having the freedom to touch him the way I'd always wanted to. I pushed my hands into his hair, letting the soft strands sift through my fingers.

He kissed down my neck, trailing a fiery path as he nipped and sucked at my skin. When he reached the neckline of my gown, he made a frustrated sound, reared back, and flipped me onto my stomach.

"What…?" I levered onto one elbow, but my protests died on my lips as he undid my laces. He moved quickly, handling the ribbons as deftly as he wielded a sword. The second my gown loosened, he flipped me back over and yanked my bodice down, taking my chemise with it. My breasts sprang free, my nipples puckered to tight, pink points.

"Fuck," he muttered, tugging my gown lower and working it over my hips. My breasts jiggled, and his eyes followed every movement as he tossed my gown away and sent my underskirts after it. I braced for him to give my drawers the same treatment. Instead, he sat back on his heels, his hair streaming over his shoulders and his blue eyes locked with mine. His erection strained the front of his pants, the outline both alluring and intimidating. Without breaking my stare, he found the slit in my drawers and stroked a finger down the seam of my pussy.

My sharp intake of breath was loud in the hushed room.

"Tell me to stop," he murmured, tracing a slow, featherlight path up and down. Teasing. Maddening.

I squirmed as need gripped me, everything between my legs hot and swollen. My breasts shivered as my breathing grew labored. The glyphs and white fawns that swirled down my arms began to glow softly as magic built under my skin. But it wasn't Winter's power calling it forth. It was Ronan.

"Tell me," he rasped, dipping his finger between my lips. Parting me just enough to graze my clit. "Because if you don't, I'm going to keep going until we finish this."

His meaning was clear. I could end it now, or I could give myself to him completely. There was no middle ground. No half measures.

The haze of desire receded. Maybe Ronan told the truth about loving me. But he was also playing for a crown.

"Why now?" I demanded, my voice rough with lust. I licked my lips. "You think I'll marry you just because you put your dick in me?"

The ghost of a smile touched his mouth. The next second, his body covered mine, his weight pinning me to the bed. His rock-hard erection lodged between my thighs as his lips touched my ear.

"Not at all," he said, his silky voice letting me know he was still furious with me. "Most married nobles have sex. They rarely fuck. I'm never going to have sex with you, Princess, but I will be fucking you."

"Not if I tell you to go fuck yourself," I said through clenched teeth. It was either that or grind my aching pussy against his cock until I came so hard I passed out.

"You might." He bit my earlobe, making shivers course down my neck. "You're stubborn. You may get it in your head to marry someone else. Maybe that pompous fool Velador. You're so determined to think the worst of me, you might take him into your bed. But when you're having sex with him, you're going to wonder how it feels to be fucked. You're going to want it, and you'll come running."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"You'll find me," Ronan continued as if I hadn't spoken. "And I'll be waiting, Liria. I'll wait centuries if I have to, but I don't think it'll be that long. So you have a choice to make. You can take your fucking now, or you can wait and wonder. Either way, I'm going to end up inside you, and no one is ever going to make you feel like I do." He placed an achingly gentle kiss on my temple, and his breath stirred my hair as he whispered, "That's a promise, my love."

Coming from anyone else, I might have laughed. But this was Ronan. And he wanted me—badly. I wasn't sure a man could fake the kind of desire he'd lodged between my thighs. I was so wet for him. Desperate for him. And now I could have him.

I just couldn't let myself fall for him.

"All right," I said. "Finish it."

He lifted enough to meet my gaze. Then he slid down my body, the ends of his hair trailing over my breasts as he worked a hand between my thighs. He closed his lips around one of my nipples as he slipped his fingers into the slit of my drawers and stroked down the center of my sex.

I groaned and thrust my hips up, urging his finger deeper.

He denied me, pinching my folds together, his fingers like a vise clamping me shut. At the same time, he flicked his tongue hard over my nipple, sending ripples of desire through my breast.

"Don't stop," I begged, my voice cracking. I wriggled my hips, desperate to free my pussy from his grip. He squeezed harder in response, putting pressure on my clit when all I wanted was friction. I bucked and moaned, feeling my shoes slip off. One by one, they clattered to the floor.

Ronan sucked and licked my nipple, swirling his tongue in skillful patterns that sent shivers coursing through my body. All the while, he maintained his grip on my sex, as if he was determined to dole out pleasure one morsel at a time. Anticipation built within me like waves, cresting and then rolling back only to reform seconds later. After a minute, he moved his mouth to my other nipple and started all over again, rolling his tongue around the rigid peak. His hair spread over my chest and tickled my sides. The wet sounds of his mouth cranked my need higher.

My back arched, and my lips parted on one long, continuous moan. The nipple he'd abandoned buzzed from his attention, the peak damp from his mouth. More heat flooded my sex, and I imagined it trickling from between my lips and wetting his fingers.

"Please," I gasped, squirming. I clutched at his hair and tugged. "I need… Oh gods…"

He sat up. "I know what you need." In one rough, sudden movement, he released my pussy, grasped either side of the slit in my drawers, and ripped the fabric wide. He paused, his searing gaze on my bare sex. Then he kept going, stripping the ruined fabric from my legs.

Heat spread down my chest as I lay before him, nude except for my stockings tied with glossy ribbons above my knees. My nipples stood up lewdly, the tips wet and red from his kisses. He loomed above me, the look in his eyes something far beyond possessive. It branded me, the expression so intense I glanced down to see if he'd somehow added his own mark to the glyphs and sigils on my arms.

"Look at me," he said, and when I obeyed, he trailed his fingers between my breasts and down my stomach, making me shiver. "Tell me you don't want me." He leaned over and licked around my navel, briefly dipping his tongue inside.

"Please," I gasped, beginning to writhe as a bonfire built inside me. "I… I want it. You. Please."

He slid his lips lower, sucking at the soft mound that shielded my sex. "Are you sure?" he asked, his breath fluttering over my heated flesh.

"Yes."I could feel how slick I was. How swollen.

"Gods," he growled against my skin. "I have to taste you."

"Do it," I panted, spreading my legs wide. "Put your mouth on me. I want it on my clit."

He drew back, and something dangerous glinted in his eyes. He cupped my pussy, his fingertips grazing my opening. "You're not shy about this."

"I…" Memories of the knights, courtiers, and occasional servants I'd glimpsed through the peepholes surfaced. I couldn't tell Ronan any of it. "I know what I like," I said finally.

His jaw tightened, and his voice dipped into the velvet tone that never failed to raise the hair on my nape. "And how did you acquire this knowledge?"

The part of me that was heir to the throne bristled at the proprietary edge in his voice. But another part of me—the part that loved provoking him—thrilled at the knowledge that he hated the thought of another man touching me. Some deep, feminine instinct bade me stretch my arms over my head, lifting my breasts so I was more fully on display.

"You sound jealous, Glesso."

Ronan's nostrils flared at my use of the title. The danger in his eyes intensified as he moved his fingers, teasing my lips apart and covering the entrance to my body. "Answer my question."

Apprehension prickled through me, and a quiet voice whispered it was unwise to keep pushing. "I used a phallus. And…other things."

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and the glint in the icy depths slid into a different kind of danger. Slowly, he pushed his middle finger all the way inside me. "Someone introduced you to the wonders of the Summer Court."

"Oh…"My cry caught in my throat as my muscles clamped around the intrusion. When he pumped his finger in and out, plunging to the second knuckle, I whimpered. "Yes," I said, unsure if I confirmed his guess or begged him for more.

"One of your ladies?" He withdrew his finger and sucked it into his mouth. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and plunged his finger back inside. He repeated the gesture, dipping inside me and then sucking his finger clean. When he returned it to my pussy, he circled my clit once, twice before pushing back inside. "A woman in your household taught you how to please yourself?" He did something inside me, wiggling his finger over a spot that made a thick wave of bliss crash over me.

"N-No," I gasped, clutching at the sheets. Gods, was my vision wavering? Whatever he was doing with his finger, I wanted more of it. "No one taught me."

Glacial eyes traveled a scorching path from my pussy to my flushed face. "You experimented on your own, then." Ronan thrust his finger over that elusive, wonderful spot. "Making yourself come in your bed at night. What did you think about when you used your toys, Princess?"

"Nothing," I gasped, bucking my hips. Sweat dampened my hairline. I couldn't decide where to look, so I bounced my gaze between Ronan's narrowed, burning eyes and the sight of his thick finger plunging into my glistening pussy.

"Hmm." He spread my slickness around my opening, stroking big circles that never quite reached my clit. "Do you know what I think?"

I groaned, desperation wending through me. Release hovered just out of reach. He dangled it in front of me, his slick fingers trapping me on the edge of ecstasy.

"I think you're lying," he murmured, pushing two fingers inside me.

"Fuck me," I said, shamelessly spreading my legs wider. "I'm ready."

He shook his head. "Not yet. I don't want to hurt you."

"I've used a phallus."

"I'm a lot bigger than a phallus."

It wasn't a boast. If the bulge between his legs was any indication, accommodating him might pose a challenge. But I wanted it. Despite everything wrong between us, I wanted him inside me.

He thrust his fingers deeper, fucking me with them. Every few strokes, he brushed my clit. And he knew what he was doing, damn him, nudging me closer to release only to yank me back. It was sweet, exasperating torture.

"Let me come," I pleaded, pulling at the sheets. Desperate, I reached for my clit.

He swatted my hand away. "What did you think about when you played with yourself, Liria?"

I threw my head back in frustration. "I don't know!"

He pulled his fingers from my body and delivered a wet, stinging slap to my clit. I cried out and tried to slam my legs together, but he stopped me with his hands on my knees.

"Tell me," he demanded, pushing my thighs open.

I glared at him even as the sting melted into a deeper, darker kind of pleasure. "Your knights running drills in the courtyard."

His lips curved as he resumed finger-fucking me. "I think you liked your spanking. Since you're begging for another one."

I tensed, but he didn't repeat the smack. He just kept up his infuriating edging, pumping his fingers and occasionally teasing my clit. And he held my gaze, the smile fading to something softer.

"Tell me what you thought about," he said.

I closed my eyes on a long blink. "You. I thought of you."

That was the right answer. He pulled his fingers from my sex and began to strip, finally revealing himself to me. The sight of his muscular, bare chest and thick shoulders covered with dreadravens made me stifle a moan. When his cock sprang free, the thick shaft bobbing, I dug my teeth into my lip. Eyes hooded, he wrapped his hand around the veined, rigid length and stroked. As he worked his dick, he flicked his head, tossing his long hair over his shoulder.

"Gods," I whimpered, my mouth watering as a thick bead of moisture appeared at the tip of his shaft. Finally, I had everything I wanted, and he still made me wait. "Please, Ronan, I need to come."

He settled between my legs and smoothed his hands up my thighs, pushing my knees higher. As I trembled with need, he stroked his thumbs up either side of my pussy and pressed my lips apart, opening me so wide that cool air touched my inner walls. "You can come," he rumbled, "as long as you do it all over my face." With that, he bent his head and sucked my clit hard.

My back bowed off the bed as pleasure burst like a dam inside me. I scrabbled for his head, gripping his hair and holding his face against my pussy as I flew apart. He lapped and sucked, low moans rumbling from him like he couldn't devour me fast enough. Then he shoved two fingers inside me.

"Yes!" I cried, my eyes rolling back in my head. One orgasm flowed into another. I panted and squirmed, the wet sounds of his mouth and fingers warring with my cries. I clutched at his head with both hands, my thighs shaking as he tongued my clit and pummeled my sex. For a minute, it was as if I could see us from above, my body splayed under him and his silver-white head between my stocking-clad legs.

"Good girl," he rumbled against my pulsing sex. He continued licking and sucking, drawing out the pleasure. Just as I grew too sensitive, he pressed a final kiss to my clit and pulled back.

I lay spent, aftershocks rippling through me as sweat cooled on my skin. Fatigue tugged at me, but it fled as he rose to his knees and swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. He lowered his arm slowly, letting me look my fill.

I drank him in, running my gaze from his tangled hair to his sculpted arms covered in glyphs and dreadravens. His abs were ridged with muscle. His cock strained from his hips, the bulbous tip almost purple with blood. Moisture gleamed at the slit, and his balls underneath looked so swollen they must have ached. The bead of precome drew my gaze again, and my mouth watered as I imagined myself going to my hands and knees and swiping my tongue over the tiny opening. Maybe sucking him into my mouth and tracing my tongue over the plump veins that covered his shaft.

Before I could make a move, he grasped my waist and flipped us, landing on his back with me straddling his hips.

"Ronan!" I gasped, bracing my hands on his thick pecs. My damp, throbbing pussy nestled against his stomach, and his cock lodged between my cheeks. The thick length rubbed against the most private part of me, sending a strange little thrill shooting up my spine.

"Do you want more?" Ronan asked, reaching up and cupping my breasts. He squeezed and kneaded, then flicked his thumbs over my sensitive nipples.

I shuddered, my eyes sliding shut. "Yes. Gods, yes."

"Look at me." He ran a thumb between my breasts down to my stomach. As my eyes flew open, he pressed his thumb to my clit. "Now look at yourself, Princess."

Trembling, I followed his gaze to his hand between my legs. My clit swelled slick and shiny from its sheath as his thumb made lazy circuits around it. Shivers of molten pleasure coursed over my skin. Soft smacking sounds lifted around the bed as Ronan continued circling my clit.

"Please," I croaked.

Ronan's eyes glittered as he slipped two fingers inside me. "You're so wet, Liria. Wet enough for me to fuck you, I think."

I moaned as I rocked my hips, grinding on his fingers. But I needed more. "Don't make me wait."

"Lift up, then." When I obeyed, he gripped the base of his shaft and held it steady for me. "Sit down. Nice and slow."

At last, nerves set in. He was so much bigger than the toys I kept in the chest beside my bed. My heart beat a frantic rhythm as I positioned my entrance over the broad, leaking tip of his cock. Then I was sinking down, my pussy flaring around him. We both gasped as my muscles clenched.

"More," he growled, moving his hands to my waist. He held me steady as I sank lower, and he sucked in a breath when I swiveled my hips, struggling to take him. There was no pain, just an overwhelming sense of fullness. Possession. His heat seared me. His cock stretched me, pushing past all my boundaries and leaving no empty spaces. With a deep breath, I slid the last inch, taking him all the way inside me. Immediately, my inner muscles clamped hard.

"So tight," he rasped, his voice low and hoarse. He squeezed my waist and gave me a gentle thrust.

"Ronan…" I whimpered, my head falling back as his cock nudged my clit.

"Good girl," he said, giving me another thrust. When I moaned wantonly, he started to move in earnest, pumping his hips in a steady rhythm. "I'm not going to last. Your pussy feels too perfect squeezing my dick." He used his grip on my waist to angle me forward. The next time he thrust into me, his shaft rubbed my clit hard.

I dug my nails into his chest as I sobbed my pleasure. The pressure was bearable now, and his dick filling me was so, so good. But I wasn't going to last, either. Already, warm, tingling ecstasy hovered, ready to fling me into the stars.

"Ride me," Ronan ordered. "Use my shaft the way you used my fingers. Take what you need, love."

I obeyed, setting a hard, fast pace. My breasts bounced. My fingers curled against Ronan's chest. He matched my rhythm, and the air filled with the sounds of his dick driving into me and the sharp slap of skin on skin. The bedchamber fell away, until it was just us, our eyes locked and connection sizzling between us.

And I realized just how foolish I'd been to agree to this. Because it was so much more than fucking.

No one is ever going to make you feel like I do.

My orgasm slammed into me, bowing my spine and tearing a scream from my throat. My pussy clenched hard, spasming over and over. Ronan was right behind me, thrusting a final time and coming on a roar. Heat flooded me, and his fingers bit into my hips.

Then he was pulling me down, one arm wrapped around my shoulders and his head turned into my hair. His heart thudded against mine. His cock still pulsed inside me.

No one.No one was ever going to make me feel like Ronan.

I pushed against his chest until he let me go, and I scrambled off him, wincing when his dick slipped from me.

"Liria." He caught me against him. The sheets were twisted beneath us. Pillows from my escape were scattered on the floor, along with our clothes. My hair was damp with sweat. An ache blossomed between my thighs.

And I'd just given myself to Ronan. Gods, what had I done?

As I quietly fell apart, he rubbed a thumb over my bottom lip. "I love you, Liria."

Pounding on the door had me gasping and reaching for the sheets.

Ronan lifted onto one elbow and raised his voice. "What is it?"

The pounding ceased, and I could almost hear the gossip about Ronan and me racing through the castle. When no reply came, Ronan sat up. "Speak!"

A man's voice drifted through the door. "Queen Maeve has died, my lord. And it looks like King Haluven will shortly join her."