A Dance Of Twilight: (A Fae Dark Fantasy Romance Stand-Alone )

Chapter 36

Iknew she would be nervous about this evening, but I didn’t anticipate how nervous she would be. It wasn’t surprising however when I found she’d drunk at least four or maybe even five glasses of wine. It had been Morgana’s idea to offer the drink up after she aided Ornella in the library.

I knew I was pushing my luck when I hugged her, and it surprised me when she didn’t push me away or get angry with me. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she was annoyed. I needed to stop giving her so many mixed messages and simply tell her I wanted to have her around as my wife.

Not in name alone, but fully when she was ready. Standing behind the screen, I removed what little clothing I had and looked at the fabric April happily commissioned for me to wear. However, it hid little to the imagination and I couldn’t really make sense of which side was the front or the back.

As there were plenty of bubbles already in the bath, I decided to not wear it. If Ornella were to catch a glimpse of my bare ass, I could claim the fabric simply fell off somehow in the water.

Stepping toward the water as quickly as I could, I paused and watched a shadow play against the painted mural ceiling above her screen. I didn’t want her to step out and see me as I hoped she would think the same as me and join me without the fabric on.

I still would not do anything. I would wait. As difficult as it was, I would wait until she gave me permission, and then I would likely pounce on her, never allowing her to leave my side.

A few minutes ran past me as I sat down on the bath steps. The water sat just below my chest line as I leaned my head against the cold marble tiling. Maybe she was waiting for me to turn around or close my eyes, so that is what I did. I closed my eyes and waited with bated breath for her to finally join me.

A sigh escaped my lips once I heard the water splash lightly. I felt the brush of her skin as she sat down next to me. I was glad of the bubble placements. I didn’t wish to scare her with my body’s reaction.

“It’s lovely and warm,” she whispered, her soft voice sending shivers down my spine as she spoke. “So now what do we do?”

I opened my eyes and saw her hazel orbs staring back at me with a questioning look. The way my heart raced anytime she looked at me with such innocence in her stare would likely condemn me.

“We are to relax. We can ask each other things we wish to know, and then when you are ready, we will wash each other’s hair and skin.”

Oh, how I craved her sweet-smelling skin. Her long hair covered her chest as she leaned against the bath, and I dared not to stare longer than a few seconds. The small piece of cloth tied neatly around her chest, and I expected the same on her bottom half.

Although I wanted to see all of her, I understood and respected that she wasn’t ready. Even seeing how much she bared me now was enough to make me wild for her.

“His majesty should go first then,” she said before winking at me with a hint of a smile. I adored it when her playful side came out. It was rare now since I treated her so poorly.

“Something personal…hmmm, that is a tough one. I don’t really have time for secrets or personal hobbies.”

She rolled her eyes at me as I played back. It would never be as simple as me pouring my heart out to her. She would need to wear me down first.

“I am sure a king has hobbies. What about the horses?”

“You’re right, I do adore horse riding, but I much prefer when something else rides me,” I quipped coyly.

She slapped me hard on the shoulder as her eyebrows drew together in a moment of anger. She then laughed as I began to chuckle at her response. Even if that was pushing it, I only wanted to hear her wonderful laugh.

“Nicholas, serious answers only please,” she scolded me then resumed her position of sitting with her back against the bath and closed her eyes.

“My apologies, princess. Yes, I do enjoy horse riding. I love how powerful and pure the animals are. Some may seem angry and full of rage on the outside but once they begin to trust you, you can learn a lot about them. They teach you to build a relationship. At first, you must learn their boundaries and go at their speed.”

“Are you comparing me to a horse? Will you learn my boundaries and go at my speed?”

“I already know your boundaries and am willing to wait for them to be taken down, piece by piece.”

I kept my eyes closed, daring not to look at her now as I knew I’d break more with each glance. She looked even more beautiful as water dripped from her skin against the warm light.

“It is your turn to answer now, Annwyl, and please, make it a good one.”

She fell silent for a few minutes as I guessed she thought of an answer. I didn’t wish to tell her I already knew a lot about her. Simply from sneaking into her mind while she slept, walking through her dreams of fantasy, wonders, and the places she wished to run to.

I wished only to keep those a secret for me. I knew how embarrassing and deeply it would hurt should she find out I knew things about her without her permission. I remembered when April did it to me when we were kids. It was how she and my sisters found out about Ornella, snooping into my mind when I didn’t know how to block them out.

“I have this secret library in a tower back home, which I’m sure isn’t really a secret but deep inside there, tucked away I had a secret place where I hide things I have found or were given to me. Books, pressed flowers, and a certain purple flower a young stable boy gave me one summer,” she admitted, and I opened my eyes to her looking shocked.

“Until now, I’d forgotten it was the flower you first conjured for me. When I found it in the box months later—after you left—I just assumed it was one I found on one of my walks. Now I can remember you gave it to me. It explains why I have always been drawn to the flower …because of you.”

She turned to look at me then, her eyes glistening with a mixture of happiness and a hint of sadness. I wanted to take the sadness away. I hated how I took her memories away, but I knew if my parents found out about her and how she knew of my existence, she would have been in danger. If her parents would find out, I would have been killed.

“I also kept Lord Cole’s—your jacket—there as well. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give it back to you. It was the first thing to my knowledge at the time a man had even given me, and you’d mentioned how it was a way for a man to claim me as his. Was that your way of trying to claim me then?”

I lowered my eyes as I thought deeply on her question. It wasn’t something I even meant to do. I hated how her mother looked at me as if I were scum of this world and how other females kept their eyes on me. When all I really saw was Ornella. From the moment I turned up at that dinner sitting in the courtyard, I wanted to speak to her, to get to know her again.

Even if I showed up disguised as someone else, she spoke to me as if I were a friend. When I was the man in the woods, she treated me differently. She too was two different people, and I wondered if she knew it or even realised.

“At first, I just wanted to give you the jacket as you seemed cold and shaken up. I knew it was because of Dorian but I couldn’t tell you who I was then,” I explained while looking at her. She seemed deep in thought as she listened to my every word. “Then after I saw how annoyed the other ladies of the court were when they heard you had my jacket and how stuck up some of the men were, I didn’t want you to give it back. I wanted you to march into the dining hall wearing it. So yes, maybe in the end it was my way of claiming you.”

“If I never agreed to your deal, would you have stolen me anyway?”

Now that was a question I did not expect. Although I thought about it numerous times, I wasn’t sure what I would have done if she said no.

“As a king and someone who respects the boundaries and rules placed upon my land, I wasn’t too sure how the Goddess would react. Would she destroy my land if I took a princess from her land without permission?” I paused, still contemplating my answer. “If I took you, I was sure you’d hate me. I needed you to realise who I was before I could bring you here. I am anything but a liar, or at least I always try to tell the truth, and I couldn’t ask you to come with me if you didn’t know who I really was.”

“But I didn’t know you were the king. You were my shadow man from the woods who seduced me and danced with me under the moonlight. Even if you never pretended to be Lord Cole, I would eventually have let you claim me.”

She shifted and moved into the bath more, almost swimming before her feet touched the bottom. As she stood up, I could now see her midriff and the curve of her body more. She was gorgeous in so many ways. Even if she wasn’t completely showing herself off, I was certainty being spoiled.

I moved closer to her, but still gave her enough space so she felt comfortable. The bubbles thankfully were still hiding my ever-growing cock.

“If I asked you now to let me claim you, would you let me?” I asked curiously.

I swam closer, making the gap between us smaller. I could see her blush run down her neck. I desperately wanted to kiss every inch of it, to hold her on my lap and thrust deep inside her. She bit her bottom lip, and I leaned closer, ready to replace her teeth with mine.

“I…umm,” she hesitated, watching my tongue as I licked my lips. “I don’t know.”

Her admission made my cock grow even harder. The heat between us was almost enough to cause me to go into a frenzy. She snaked her hand up my forearm and rested on my shoulder. Even the slightest touch from her fingertips sent shivers through me.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I brought her closer, praying she wouldn’t know how exposed I was. Yet, when her eyes flicked from me and down towards the water, I knew I’d be exposed. But she did not move. We didn’t breathe and I wondered what was going on in her devious little mind.

I didn’t have to wonder for long as she closed the distance between us. She dragged her fingers through my hair, pulling enough to have my head tipping back. I held my breath, my lips parted the slightest bit, as she dipped down and slid her tongue across my bottom lip. I groaned, bringing both my arms up to wrap around her waist.

As her chest pressed against mine, I wished I could rip that pathetic cover up off her and sit her on my lap. My hands roamed down to her ass, cupping her cheeks as they sat perfectly in my hands.

Ornella pulled her face away, only enough to look into my eyes. “I have been thinking about doing that for a very long time,” she admitted breathlessly.

Goddess bless me.

Our tongues and teeth clashed with the others the moment our lips met again. We couldn’t get enough of each other as a moan escaped her lips. As much as I wanted to hear her moan, it would likely tip me over the edge.

Leaving her lips, I began kissing and biting the skin on her neck as she pulled herself even closer to me. Her front pressed more firmly with mine as she lifted herself up, pulling at my hair and pointing her head up towards the ceiling.

“Oh—Nic,” she moaned as I brought my lips back up to her jaw.

I traced a path back to her lips and kissed her deeply—passionately. I wanted all of her but would only go as far as she allowed. It didn’t help that she was pushing herself against me. My cock now trapped between both our bodies. I was painfully hard now, incredibly close to tipping over the edge of release.

She continued to moan against my lips, making me growl in response. I wanted her. Needed her. This waiting for our vows wouldn’t do. Even if it was only until tomorrow, I wasn’t sure if I could handle the wait. Especially if we needed to sleep next to each other.

“We need to stop,” I breathed against her lips. She just nodded, sliding her tongue past my lips again. “If we don”t, Ornella, I will claim you right here.”

She released my lips and looked at me. Her pools of brown and green staring back at me, her face filled with a mixture of emotions. I imagined she wondered what her next move would be and even if I knew what I wanted, I needed to wait for her.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Yes?” I asked, confused.

“If we are to be wed tomorrow, when most expect us to consummate. Perhaps, we should—now.”

She bit her lip again, still pressed against me. My cock twitched, as if it were agreeing to her suggestion. I was desperate to be deep inside of her. Her eyes dropped down to peer between us then back up at me. Her mouth moved into a smile before she rocked her hips forward and kissed me again. One of her hands left my hair and moved its way down my chest until I felt her wrap it around my cock.

A shockwave of surprise flooded my body as I shuddered against her. She looked innocently at me and pulled my face towards hers with her other hand. She then began to pump my cock in slow pulls, her hand moving up and down.

How did she know how to do this? I couldn’t control myself as I pushed my hips up, thrusting with her pace as she kissed me deeply. Each swipe of her tongue against mine was filled with lust and desire. This most certainly wasn’t my princess who shuddered at a single touch.

She continued moving, quickly and then slowly, bringing me to the point which I desperately needed and then slowing her movements again. A devious smile tugged at the corners of her lips. To my surprise she knew what she was doing.

I tangled my fingers into her hair with one hand, pulling at it to angle her face towards the ceiling. I brought my lips to her throat, grazing them up to her jaw and then her lips. If only I could move that fabric just to the side, I would feel the greatest release deep within her.

It wasn’t long before I moaned deeply against her lips as my release finally came. She kissed me sweetly before attempting to leave my embrace. I turned her back towards me and sat her on my lap. She was safe for the moment, resting her head back on my shoulder. I would really like to give her the release her body was likely aching for.

“Where did you learn that?” I asked breathlessly.

“I told you, I read a lot,” she giggled, turning to kiss my cheek.