Shadows of the Crown

22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Caspian

M y skin flushes with heat as my body drifts to Bastian where he heaves against the wall, the urge to rip that smug smile off his face is overwhelming. He notices me stalking toward him, a glimmer of amusement entering his eyes; he knew what he was doing when he asked Ariella to accompany him to the ball. He had been here for days, watching me interact with her—he has only ever wanted what I have. And the moment he saw how I reacted to her blade at my throat…

What I hadn’t expected was her reaction.

I am not foolish—I know my assassin was attempting to push me away. As if anything less than her gutting me would stop me from following. I chuckle, ignoring the guests that wish to speak with me as I pass.

I break from the thick of the crowd, my cousin’s eyes widening—he could certainly feel my rage from Meridian if he were lucky enough to be home. His smile remains, though dulling the closer I become. A blade through his hand was not nearly enough punishment for touching her.

“Something the matter, cous—” His likely imperious retort ends abruptly as my fist connects with his jaw. He grunts, catching himself in time to avoid meeting the floor. Gasps ring behind me. I’m causing a scene. One that will surely get me a lecture from father later and cause gossip within the court…

He touched her.

I grab his collar and shove him roughly against the wall, smirking when he winces at the force. With my arm against his throat, pressure enough to cut off his air and keep him in place, I lean forward until my mouth is at his ear. He will hear every word.

“If you ever touch her again,” I throw a punch to his abdomen, not relenting in my hold or allowing him to double over. “ I will kill you .” I force him to see the promise in my eyes before releasing my arm. My blood hums at the pathetic, sputtering breaths he heaves as I jog out of the ballroom in search of my angel.

My shoulders drop at the thankfully empty hallways. I do not have the will to plaster a princely smile on my face right now…there is something much more important to do.

I finally reach the guest wing, my speed increasing the closer I am. My feet swiftly turn the corner that will lead me to Ariella’s door as I desperately hope that she didn’t choose to go anywhere else. The hairs along my skin rise when I see her walking toward her room, not quite there yet .

“Ariella,” I call, my abdomen clenching when she pauses, her body tensing. She doesn’t turn at my voice, and I grin.

This woman is impossibly stubborn; she would make the Angel wait for her, if she so wished.

I step around to stand in front of her, and my breath ceases to exist. Her softened features break through every one of the practiced conversations I had with myself on the way here. Those piercing green eyes are missing the hardness they often hold to keep everyone at a distance.

She studies me, a question in her gaze. Her brows furrow when I say nothing, but those soft lips are so enticing that I need to forcibly keep myself still to avoid my imminent foolishness. If I stay near her much longer…

“What?” she whispers into the silence I created, her voice not holding its typical sharp, accusatory lilt. I breathe deeply, heat spreading through my face.

I don’t know…why did I chase after her?

I just had the strongest urge to find her—an abysmal need to be near her after Bastian put his slimy mouth on her lips. My eyes widen—I’d intended to replace his taste with my own. To remove the memory of his touch from her skin and brand mine into it instead.

Yes, that’s exactly what I need to do.

I do not allow myself to think about the consequences of grabbing the realm’s deadliest woman and reach for her face, pressing my lips to hers. She doesn’t push me off, though she doesn’t kiss me back either. Fuck me…did I misread all the tension between us?

Pulling away just far enough to peer into her discerning eyes, I keep her face in my hands, stroking a thumb over her silky skin. None of the fabric in either realm could compare to the feeling of her. Her pupils dilate, cloaking the disarming green I love so much, and I cannot tell if she’s contemplating laughing at me or killing me.

I’ll take either, so long as she allows me to stay.

But she surprises me… “Fuck it,” she mutters to herself as she grabs my jacket and drags my mouth back against hers. She devours my lips, and my legs nearly give out when she sighs. I slide one hand to the nape of her neck, holding her to me tightly.

I may be just a little afraid she’ll pull away.

My other hand grazes down her throat and over the side of her breast—it takes everything in me not to reach my hand in the slit showcasing her abdomen. There’s a desperate need inside my chest to grab it and tease the bud until I learn exactly what kind of touch makes her come undone. She seems like she enjoys pain with her pleasure, and I’m eager to give her whatever she demands.

My tingling fingers reach her waist, sliding along her back to press her flush against me. If I didn’t know any better, I would say the Angel created our bodies to mold perfectly together .

Every defined curve of her melts into me. It’s as if my body is simply just a placeholder for hers to rest on. She gasps when I tighten my hold—I try to loosen it, but that is impossible at this point.

I need her.

I need to witness the look on her face when I bring her the best pleasure she’s ever known. I want to examine every inch of her body and memorize each place she likes to be touched. I have to know what kind of pressure drives her wild, and just how she likes to be taken.

I wonder if she prefers to be fucked hard and quick, or more soft and sensual?

It doesn’t matter…I’ll give her both. I’ll give her all of it. I’m desperate to show her exactly how good I can make her feel.

She tugs me forward, twisting a hand to disarm her wards and lead us inside. I use her body to close the door, shoving her against it and swallowing her moans like a starved man. So she does like a little pain…I smile to myself as I kiss my way over her jaw and down her throat, pausing at her pulse point to bask in the speed of her heart.

She may be able to hide her outward reaction to me, but this isn’t something she can control. It reveals all I need to know about how she feels.

She begins unbuttoning my shirt, her movements frantic, groaning when she cannot get them undone fast enough .

I chuckle against her jaw. “This doesn’t feel like you hate me, angel.”

“This changes nothing, prince.” My cock twitches at her breathy voice, responding to the sound of her pent up need. I drag my lips back to hers, shivering as she slides her incredibly wicked hands over my abdomen, gripping just above my hips to meld us together.

“We’ll see about that.” I breathe against her swollen lips and claim them again before she has the chance to speak the denial I know is waiting on her tongue. I suck her words in, groaning at the intoxicating taste of her. I have to have all of her—I need to know if she’s as sweet as I’ve imagined.

Stepping back to release her from the door, my hands make quick work of her dress, undoing the belt and sliding the straps over her shoulders. The fabric falls to the floor, and I don’t have one moment to appreciate her incomprehensible body before she’s shoving my shirt and jacket off. One would think her no better than a rabid animal as she reaches down to just as swiftly bare my lower half, freeing my painfully hard cock. She grasps my length in one hand, squeezing and stroking as I jerk in her grasp. This beautiful creature has no hesitations in taking what she wants, and I’m unashamedly just a man ready to give her anything she desires. She will have whatever she asks for.

I bend to grab her legs, lifting and never taking my mouth from hers as I lead us to the bed. Her sultriness encases me, a significantly finer scent when it’s from the source. Fingers grip onto my hair and neck like I’m their lifeline as I lie her down on her back gently, though I want nothing more than to ruin every inch of her. I want to fuck every hole, bruise all of her skin with my mouth, and bite into her neck until she bleeds.

Maybe these urges of mine are not so crazy, because it feels as if she would like the same thing.

But before I do any of that, I must suck her throbbing core into my mouth. I lift myself from the bed and pause for a moment to admire her. Her skin is soft everywhere—not just her lips. Her breasts showcase hardened, dusty pink nipples that I want to twist and pinch until she comes undone. I run my fingers along her waist, down to her hip and over her toned thighs. I’m in awe that something so beautiful lies before me—that I have the honor of bearing witness to a phenomena very few get to see.

My jaw clenches. No one else should ever see her like this…it will never happen again.

She’s mine.

“Have you never seen a woman before, prince?” I jolt like the idiot I am—standing here as sinful thoughts consume me instead of giving her everything she needs. Her bright eyes narrow, obvious amusement dancing along her features.

If I had any artistic capabilities, I would paint the stunning sight before me so that I could hold on to this memory forever. Though I know even the finest painter in the realms would spend a lifetime striving to perfect her beauty and still fail to capture it fully.

I want to stare at her forever, but she’s waiting for me. My eyes travel to her glistening pussy and roll. Fuck, every bit of her is perfect.

Why did it have to be her?

I bend to sink my tongue through her arousal, but stop when one of her heels connects with my forehead. My brows furrow as I look up at her smirking face.

“Beg.” I smile menacingly at the demand, dragging my lips over the straps of her heel.

“I think you underestimate just how badly I want to taste you.” The huskiness in my voice surprises even me. My mouth works slowly up her legs, removing her shoes while I continue. “My desire reaches much further than meager begging …I would crawl across the lands to you under the judgment of every curious eye in the kingdom. I would forfeit my claim to the throne without question, merely because you asked. I would stand against the Angel itself just for the chance to sit at the foot of your altar.

“Ariella,” I breathe, reaching the apex of her inner thigh. My gaze slides to her hooded eyes, swimming with questioning hunger. “Every heartbeat of mine is a promise to you. And if you so wished, I would force both realms to bear witness as I sliced the organ from my aching chest and placed it in your hands—so there would be no question about who I belong to .

“So…” I hover over her heat, barely able to restrain myself. “Will you allow me the pleasure of tasting you?” I refuse to point out the confusion on her face, and how I never thought the assassin could ever be so befuddled. My declaration was quite intense, though—even I am addled by how strongly I feel.

Her parted lips do not say a word when she gives a barely perceptible nod. Not a moment later I descend, running my tongue along her swollen core. My eyes scrunch closed as I groan, muttering something about how I’ll refuse death’s every call—because the only way I will accept my demise is from drowning in her.

My arms slide up her hips, grabbing her waist and tugging her closer. She gasps when I flutter my tongue, my skin flushing even more at her pleasure-filled sounds. I am so consumed by her that everything else in my life pales in comparison.

I should fear these feelings. Push her from my mind because the Angel ordained societal tiers, and royals do not belong with anyone under a noble status. I chuckle when Ariella latches onto my hair.

Fuck the Angel. And my father—he believes himself discreet, though I am aware of his dislike for the woman below me. And after Gavriel informed me of my father’s visit with Ariella—in the treasury, no less—I’ve been watching him and Varrick more closely than before .

I suck my angel’s clit deeply between my lips, barely containing my smile when her thighs squeeze my head. She mutters curses to herself as her hips gyrate against my tongue. I reach a hand under my chest, struggling with how hard I press into the bed. Once high enough, I circle the heat of her entrance lightly and nearly come when a shuddering moan leaves her.

“Fuck me,” she drags on a whine, gripping my hair so hard it borders on too painful. I continue to circle my fingers, pressing further into her slit with each rotation.

I hover just above her pulsating core. “Don’t worry, angel, I will.” Her inebriating taste floods my tongue once more as I relent to her cries and sheathe two fingers inside her walls, pressing my cock into the bed for any kind of relief.

This woman is unbelievable.

I undulate my hand, becoming possessed when her thighs begin to shake—I need to unravel her. I maintain the same rhythm when her breathing deepens, peering up her tense body, silhouetted only by the moonlight drifting through her window.

To have this deadly, cunning, unforgiving assassin melting at my touch…

Her body tenses a heartbeat before she comes, her coarse moan settling into my abdomen. I slow my movements as her spasms lessen, wringing out every spec of pleasure I can. When her legs release me—much to my disappointment—I lower my head to gather the waves of cum seeping from her.

Fuck, does she taste good.

Her hips jerk when my tongue sinks into her heat. “Fuck, Caspian, I can’t—I need you inside me.” I pause, sitting back to look where she leans elevated on her elbows.

“Was I not just inside you…” I tease, running the top of a finger over her slit.

She groans, snatching my hand to haul me over her. Her legs wrap around my hips in a manner that tells me they will not let go until I oblige. She pinches my chin, pulling my face down until our lips connect.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” My cock twitches at her sex-addled voice, and I line myself up to her entrance, swaying my head to massage her swollen mouth.

“You’re right,” I chuckle as I drive my throbbing cock into her with one thrust.