Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
I slide an arm beneath Gwen’s lower back and fuck her ruthlessly. There’s no help for me. I’m lost in her and she invites it with encouraging gasps of my name, with eager pulls of my hips, cries of pleasure. She watches me turn into an animal with breathless excitement and it drives me higher, faster, my willpower vanishing when she reaches down and plays with her sexy, little clit, her mewling sounds reaching my ears and finishing me.
Our gasps mingle and we begin to tremble at the same time, the tremors increasing in intensity with every passing second, her pussy clamping down on my erupting shaft, our flesh smacking in the dimness of the tent, moisture flooding the place where our sexes lock us together. Bliss is like liquid metal blasting through my veins, rendering me a servant to the pulsations between my thighs, the spurting end of my misery. The fact that I’m releasing into this woman, possibly even getting her pregnant with my child, is a gift I never knew enough to expect. And so is wrapping her in my arms and watching her drift into exhausted sleep moments later, a deep sense of belonging pulling me after her in the darkness.
9
Gwen
My eyes fly open, taking in my surroundings even though I know damn well where I am. With two mighty arms wrapped around me, there is no mistaking that I’m with the king. But the feeling I got lost in earlier is no longer draping this tent in some magical dreamlike fog.
I’ve woken to real life.
And in real life, I’ve just willingly given my virginity to Corbet.
My hand comes up to cover my mouth, heat pressing behind my eyelids.
What excuse do I have for myself? None. Not unless I count the incredible connection I experienced with this man. How I felt at one with him, the joining of our bodies as inevitable as the sunrise. Nothing but getting closer, solidifying that breathless bond between us, had been important in that moment. I’d wanted it so badly. I’d wanted him, this man I’ve fallen in love with, more than stability. Or a husband. Or anything.
Now I have to own what I’ve done.
My mind has not changed when it comes to being Corbet’s mistress. Not even my immense sympathy for the abuse he suffered as a child can sway me. I might be a poor farmer with little material worth to offer a king, but I have my pride. I have the respect of my sisters and I will keep it at all costs.
Unfortunately, I can no longer take part in the wife auction.
Not now that I’ve given my virginity to the king.
Part of me is almost relieved, I find, quite unexpectedly. Now that the option of marrying is no longer available to me, I will have to find a way to go it alone—and at least I know I can depend on myself. Perhaps I can take on a second job in the evening. Cleaning or cooking for a wealthier family. Returning correspondence.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
With a deep exhale, I slide out from beneath the king’s arms, indulging myself in a few moments of watching him sleep. He really is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in my life. Brave, protective, secretly damaged and even more secretly sweet. Egotistical when it counts. A man who will make a fine leader of his kingdom, though I won’t be there to see it.
My chest is so hollow, it takes me an effort to stand up and get dressed, my movements as silent as whispers. I’m going to collect my sisters and explain that we won’t be participating in the auction tonight. That we’ll be going home in the morning. Just the three of us. And I realize now that auctioning myself off would have gone against the example I wanted to set for them, anyway. So perhaps this was for the best.
It doesn’t feel that way, however, as I take one last look at Corbet and leave his tent.
It feels as if my insides are withering.
What has this man done to me?
I’ve always been able to take a hit and keep on going, but my steps feel sluggish and I’m carrying an awful, sharp weight in my middle. There is a pressure in my lungs that has never been there before, moisture refusing to stop blooming behind my eyes.
“Excuse me, Lady Gwen,” a voice says to my right.
I stop in my tracks, surprised to find the king of Lavere approaching, a bevy of guards at his sides. Before I can stop myself, I compare him to Corbet, a king who needs no protectors, save himself. Shaking the thought from my head, I drop into a curtsy, only then realizing the king called me by name. How does he know who I am? “Yes, Your Majesty?”