Carved in Ice and Glass: A Snow White Fairy Tale Romance

25. The Princess

I am yours, Eira.

The words rang in my mind again and again, like the chiming of a bell, the echo endless and eternal.

I am yours. I am yours. I am yours.

With desire thrumming through my body, I tugged on his collar and brought his mouth fully against mine.

His lips were moist and deliciously warm as they moved over mine, claiming me, devouring me, tasting me thoroughly. His tongue slid between my lips, and I responded with my own, ravishing him fully.

My hands slid under his tunic, roaming the firm expanse of his broad shoulders. He shrugged out of his shirt, allowing it to drop to the floor, leaving him bare-chested before me.

Gods, he was a masterpiece. His tan, sculpted muscles rippled with each movement. My fingers ran along the ridges of his abdomen. He groaned from my light touches, and satisfaction bloomed inside of me.

Yes, I certainly did love to torment him.

“Eira.” The sound of Theron murmuring my name, his voice hoarse and ragged, nearly undid me.

His mouth was on mine again, his kisses more urgent and desperate, as if he couldn’t hold back any longer. His hips pressed against me, pinning me fully to the wall. With a moan, I raised my legs, wrapping them around him and bracing my back against the wall. Heat and longing throbbed in my core, yearning for more. Grinding myself against him, the friction of our clothes and bodies elicited a gasp from me.

More. I needed more.

“Take me to the bed,” I ordered.

His mouth was on my neck, and I threw my head back, offering more skin for his lips to explore. When he responded, his breath tickled my throat, making me clench my legs more tightly around him.

“That tiny bed,” he whispered, panting against my neck, “will not suffice. There is not enough space… for the things I want to do to you, princess.”

Flames of desire and need coursed through me mercilessly. Shivering bones, this man drew out the most intense arousal I had ever experienced in my life. Nothing—nothing—had ever felt this potent, this violent as the sensation swept over me. I was torn between shoving him onto the bed myself and begging for him to take me right here against this wall.

All I could manage was a small whimper, and I hated myself for it. It gave him power over me.

He chuckled, and his teeth scraped against my throat.

Oh, yes, I was done for. There was no point in fighting it.

My fingernails dug into the skin of his back, and he rolled his hips with a low growl. Encouraged by this, I raked my nails along his shoulder blades, rubbing my core against him. He moaned, the sound strangled, and I knew I was driving him mad, too.

We would undo each other completely. A frenzied collision that ensured mutual destruction.

Nothing sounded more appealing to me.

“Take it off,” I gasped, my hands tangling in his hair as he ran his tongue along my neck. “Please.”

“What? Your clothes? Or mine?”

“Yes. Both. Everything.” I couldn’t think straight. All I knew was his hot tongue was gliding up and down my throat, and good gods it was the most intoxicating experience, to have him taste me so completely.

His mouth remained on my skin while his hands dipped just beneath my rear, his fingers brushing my ass. He shifted slightly, and then his trousers fell to the floor.

And, blood and ice, he was there. Every glorious inch of his length was taut and pressed fully against me.

But he wasn’t finished. His hands were on my waist now, his fingers sliding beneath my trousers. He curled one finger down low, just above my center.

A sharp gasp burned in my throat from his touch. It was so close, yet still so far from where I needed it to be. “Gods, Theron,” I moaned.

“You aren’t the only one who knows how to torment, princess,” he breathed. “Tell me what it is you want.”

“I want…” Shivering bones, I couldn’t think. Stars burst in my vision as his finger trailed lower. I bucked against him, my hips grinding. “Theron—” His name was a weak sigh on my lips.

“Mmm.” His mouth was on my throat again. “Yes, my queen?”

He had never called me that before, and I liked it a little too much. The desire to taunt him bled through the heated chaos of my thoughts, and I teased, “I command you to service your queen.”

“I believe that’s what I’m doing.”

I tugged on a fistful of his hair, jerking his head backward to look into his eyes. They scorched into mine, burning with intensity.

“Touch me,” I said. “I want you to do despicable things to me, hunter.”

A sly grin spread across his face. If one look could melt me, this was it. The way his lips curled upward, the glint in his eyes, the pink swollenness of his mouth from kissing me… All of it was enough to set me on fire.

“As you wish, my queen.”

He tugged on my trousers, and the fabric ripped until they fell in pieces to the floor, leaving my legs naked. His grip tightened around my legs as he pinned me against the wall, then shifted me upward until my legs rested on his shoulders.

And then he brought his mouth to my center.

I stiffened, the back of my head slamming against the wall with a loud thud.

He pulled back and laughed. “Careful, my queen, or you’ll cause a disruption in the servants’ quarters.”

I was burning, burning, burning. I couldn’t even form a clever response.

He brought his mouth to my core again and flicked his tongue between my legs. Oh gods, I would die right here. My thighs tightened around him, bringing his face closer. His tongue slid deeper into me. My hips rolled as I moaned. If not for his body pressing me to the wall, I would have collapsed. My fingers worked their way through his hair, scratching his scalp.

“I can’t—I can’t—” I didn’t even know what I was trying to say.

“Can’t what?” he murmured against me.

“Can’t… breathe. Can’t…” I broke off with a curse, my eyes closing as he dragged his tongue up and down ever so slowly.

When his teeth nipped at me, a scream built up in my throat. Hastily, I shoved my fist in my mouth to block out the sound.

Theron laughed. He was enjoying this.

“I’ve never felt more satisfied to weaken my prey,” he said, his tone smug.

“I swear to the gods, if you don’t take me right now, Theron,” I said, my voice ragged, “I will piss all over you.”

“Hmm, I might still enjoy that.”

“Damn you.”

“Tell me you’re mine, Eira.”

I had to pause to take a breath. Stars were burning in my vision, and I feared I might pass out. “I?—”

“Yes?”

Gods, his arrogance was infuriating. There was no way I would let him win this. “I’ll say it if you take off my shirt.”

He chuckled. “So demanding.”

“Well, I am your queen.”

“Yes, you are.”

Slowly, he slid me back down until my legs were around his waist once more. His hands tugged at the laces of my corset until that fabric ripped, too. The pieces fell, and he pulled at the undershirt until it tore as well.

“No need to ruin a perfectly good shirt,” I chided.

“Oh, I think there’s every need. It was in my way.” His hands were on my shoulders, then traveled down to my breasts. His thumbs circled my nipples, and a riot of pleasure coursed through me. My heels dug into his back. My core, now slick with moisture, rubbed more persistently against him.

“Bed,” I moaned. “Now.”

“No, I like you right here, princess.”

“It’s queen.” I shoved against the wall until he stumbled backward, his hands on my ass. Together we staggered, and with a loud thump we sank to the floor. He laughed as his head fell backward, his arms still around me, keeping me from sliding off him.

Now straddling him and fully in control, I wriggled my hips, feeling his arousal nudging closer to my core. His eyelids fluttered, and a low, husky sound emitted from his throat.

“What was that?” I teased, dragging my center against the length of him.

His moans grew louder, his head thrown back, his back arching. The muscles and veins stood out against his neck and shoulders. “Eira,” he panted.

“Hmm, I like the sound of that.” A smirk played on my lips. “It sounds like you want something from me.”

He laughed, but the sound was more of a wheeze. “Well played, princess.”

“Queen.” My hand gripped him firmly, and he cursed.

“Queen,” he said in a rasp.

“That’s better.”

“Eira—Eira—” His words broke off with a strangled groan as I squeezed. “Shit, Eira.”

“Consider this retribution for the torture you put me through.”

I ran my fingers up and down his length, stroking and teasing.

“Please,” he begged. “Blood and ice, please…”

The sound of desperation in his voice made me ache. I was torturing myself as well as him, prolonging this.

No more. I couldn’t take it.

In one swift movement, I sank onto him, allowing him to fill me completely. I gasped as heat filled my core, spearing right through me. His flesh was hot against mine, throbbing and pulsing within me. I closed my eyes, biting my lip to keep from crying out.

“Oh,” he panted. “Oh.” His hands tightened on my thighs, and I rocked against him, driving him deeper. He lifted his hips, and I couldn’t stifle the moan that burst from my mouth.

“That’s it,” he breathed. “Harder, Eira.”

My hips rolled, my legs spreading wider. Pleasure, intense and volatile, rocketed through me until I couldn’t see. All I felt was him, slamming into me, deeper, deeper, deeper…

“Theron,” I gasped, leaning forward, bracing my hands along his chest. He grunted, thrusting harder, faster.

Together, our bodies found a rhythm. The floor shook beneath us. My sweat mingled with his, making our skin slick. His hands pressed into the small of my back, grounding me. The friction of him burrowing into me was too much. Too much.

I threw my head back with a breathy sigh of satisfaction, the only sound I could manage with the sensations firing through my body. I couldn’t even feel my own skin; my bones had melted from the sheer intensity of it. He had pierced through me, shattering me into pieces. Mind-numbing release split through me, dissolving me until there was nothing left.

This man, this hunter, had completely destroyed me.

I was his. Now and forever.

No force in the world could rip me away from him.

* * *

After our violent lovemaking, I’d collapsed against Theron’s chest, too tired to speak. Eventually, I felt his breathing slow as he succumbed to unconsciousness. His eyes were closed, his arms around me now limp.

For a moment, I watched him with a soft smile, pleased with how at ease he looked. His eyebrows were raised, his expression relaxed. I was so accustomed to seeing him scowl, his brow furrowed, the weight of the world darkening his face, that for just one second, I allowed myself to enjoy this carefree Theron.

There was so much we had to do still. But for a few minutes, I could give him this respite from the world.

I only wished I could join him. Though he’d effectively exhausted me, I couldn’t sleep.

There was too much on my mind.

Carefully, I eased off him, keeping my hands against his chest to hold him steady. When I was certain he wouldn’t wake, I crept over to where our bags lay and dug through them until I found what I was looking for.

The mirror.

With everything going on, I’d almost forgotten about it. But the poison spreading through my body was constantly in the back of my mind, reminding me I was on borrowed time.

Just as I raised the mirror to my face, I heard her voice.

“I see you, Snow Princess.”

My blood ran cold. For one horrible moment, I thought she’d found her way into our room.

But no. Through the reflection of the mirror, I saw her smirking at me, her eyes full of triumph.

Calista. My stepmother.

She’d found me.