Chapter 15
Ciara stared up at Falk. Looking into his dark eyes, she could tell that he was lying. But she didn’t want him to know that she’d brought this debacle on herself. He thought the door had locked on its own? She nearly laughed out loud at the possibility.
Plus, she vividly remembered the footsteps behind her as well as the hard push against her back. And then the crushing, terrifying silence and choking darkness. He really thought that she’d “accidentally” gotten locked in a closet? He should know that she wasn’t that clumsy.
However, if she told him what had actually happened, that someone had deliberately pushed her into a closet and locked her in, what would he do? He’d demand answers! And he’d go directly to Ramit and demand that Ciara’s brother investigate. He’d ruin Maggie’s coming out party and Ciara couldn’t allow him to do that. Not tonight!
“You’re right,” she replied quietly, accepting that he thought she was an idiot.
Of course, he was partially right. She’d panicked in closet, but he didn’t need to know exactly why she’d fainted. Nope. That was better kept a secret.
“Ciara, I think you should stay in bed until the doctor arrives.”
She laughed softly, and touched his cheek. She desperately wanted to kiss him, to soothe away the worry on his face. But she knew what happened when they kissed and it wasn’t soothing…it was glorious.
For a brief moment, she considered kissing him anyway. She could use his strong arms around her right now. She would love to snuggle up against his chest and press her face close to the warmth of his neck. She’d love to tell him that she was scared. No, not just scared. She was terrified. There was little chance of her falling asleep tonight. She’d have nightmares for sure.
However, before she could act upon the thought, Falk turned his head, pressing a kiss to the middle of her palm. She gasped and tried to reclaim her hand, but he held onto her wrist, keeping it still. “Ciara,” he murmured, softly enough that the guards on the far side of the room couldn’t hear, but since they were in what most people would call an intimate embrace, her guards could probably tell that something was transpiring.
She glanced over at the guard closest and saw his jaw clench as he turned away. Suppressing a smile, she pulled back from Falk. Thankfully, he released her hand this time and she scooted further up the bed so she could lean against the mountain of pillows. “You shouldn’t be in my bedroom,” she said, feigning a primness that she didn’t feel.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t be here.” He didn’t move. “I should be in the ballroom, pretending to give a damn about my responsibilities.”
She laughed as he rolled his eyes.
“You should be by my brother’s side, being all nice and polite to the diplomats and business leaders who must be irritated that you’ve vanished and therefore aren’t there for them to offer a proposal or make a connection.”
He huffed his impatience. “They can suffer.” He leaned forward, bracing his hands on either side of her hips. “What…?”
Ciara’s heart stopped at his expression, but a noise in the doorway announced the arrival of the palace doctor. “Your Highness, I heard that you’ve had an incident tonight,” the man said as he bustled into the room.
Ciara truly detested the man. He was about seventy years old and stuck in his misogynistic ways. He’d gone to medical school over half a century ago and was very dismissive of her concerns. And that was why she always went to an outside doctor whenever she had a medical issue. This doctor still believed that most of her problems were in her head, that most women just needed to relax and their problems would somehow go away. In his mind, they were simple creatures that needed to be coddled instead of taken seriously. He was of the mindset that women were “hysterical”, too emotional, most of the time due to their estrogen levels.
She hadn’t said anything to her brother about this jerk’s medical advice, or lack thereof, so it was her fault that he was here now, already opening up his medical bag.
“I’m fine, Doctor Harroby,” she said firmly and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “No need for your services.” She stood up and stared down at the man who had his stethoscope out, ready to listen to her heart.
“But I really should examine you, my dear.” The man had the audacity to step forward, ready to press the cold metal to her chest.
Ciara stepped away quickly. “You know, Doctor Harroby, you’re just going to say I had a scare and that I need to rest. Then, you’re going to offer me a sedative, am I right?”
He hesitated, his mouth moving silently. But in the end, he nodded slowly. “Well, yes. If you had a scare, my dear, then a sedative would give you relief and help you rest.”
“Yes, of course. And I’ll feel much better in the morning. That’s what you’ve told me over and over throughout the years.” As she remembered the number of times that he’d come to her bedside to treat a bruise or a scrape, a panic attack or when she’d passed out from the pain of her nanny’s abuse, Ciara’s temper rose. “Instead of actually discovering the problem, you would just give me a pill and assume I was fine, walking away with your male arrogance intact.” She brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “Well, I will not take a sedative, Doctor. Please leave my bedroom. I’ll speak with my personal physician tomorrow.”
His eyes widened in shock. “You…you see a medical professional outside of the palace? My dear, that’s so dangerous!”
“Really?” she snapped, irritated that he wasn’t gone from her presence already. “Would you have provided me with birth control?”
“Absolutely not!” the man replied, clearly horrified at the idea. “There’s no need for you to use birth control, my dear. You’re not married!”
Ciara ignored the muffled laughter from the guards at his words. “You’ve just proven my point. I am on birth control, Doctor. And because of your patriarchal attitudes, I had to go outside of the palace for medical help.” She took a deep breath, ignoring the older man’s affront. “Leave my bedroom, Doctor.”
The man still hesitated, and Ciara had had enough. She truly abhorred this man, who had ignored every instance of evidence of abuse in her childhood. “Get out!” she yelled.
The man jumped, grabbed his medical bag, his stethoscope still dangling from his ears, and hurried from the room.
Ciara held her breath until the man was out of her bedroom. And even then, she waited until she heard the door to her suite open, then close with a resounding thud.
Only then did she release the breath she’d been holding. Then she remembered that Falk and two of her bodyguards were in the room, and had seen the whole thing. Her guards had to close their mouths while Falk looked…unexpectedly impressed?
Ciara turned, all of the righteous anger leaving her now that the offensive man had gone.
“I apologize for the spectacle and–”
She couldn’t speak because Falk had pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It wasn’t just a sweet kiss. This was a resounding applause and she gasped, her mouth opening so he could deepen the kiss. Ciara wrapped her arms around his neck, basking in his physical praise.
When he pulled away, he said, “That was amazing .” Before she could answer him, he kissed her again. Ciara barely had time to glance over to confirm that her bedroom door had been pulled closed behind the hastily departing guards before she turned back to Falk.
Now that they were alone, Ciara couldn’t stop herself. With frantic hands, she pushed his tuxedo jacket off his shoulders, then began working at the knot on his tie and the buttons on his dress shirt.
“I need you naked!” she whispered.
He’d already found the hidden zipper on her dress and pulled it down, giving her more breathing room. With deft fingers, the dress slipped to the floor in a whisper and she vaguely heard a groan.
“Ciara, if I’d known you were wearing this lingerie under your dress earlier, you never would have made it to the party at all.” And then his hands were on her, smoothing over her back, her hips, pulling her up with his hands on her bottom. The thong she was wearing was ripped away, then his hands were there again, moving over her body.
She gasped when his fingers sank into her heat. They were still standing up but his touch, so hot and demanding, so exactly where she needed his fingers to be, made her knees give out. Falk caught her and carried her back to the bed. They tumbled onto the bed together, ravenous for each other. He pushed her onto her back, his mouth moving over her nipple through the lace of her bra.
Ciara cried out, her hips shifting against his. Reaching down, she fumbled with his zipper. It took her several tries, but finally, she released his erection.
“Hurry!” she moaned.
“I want to–”
He gasped as her fingers found his shaft. Falk grabbed her hand, then slid his finger into her heat, stroking her in return. “Ciara!” he groaned again, then his finger was gone, replaced by his thick, throbbing shaft.
Ciara cried out, arching her back as she lifted her hips, needing to take all of him into her body. Deeper. Stronger. “Harder!” she whispered into his ear, then nipped at his earlobe.
When he started moving inside of her, she moaned, pushing back against each of his thrusts. And that pressed that nub harder against his abdomen, bringing her closer to that desperately needed release. When Falk lifted her leg up and draped it over his shoulder, that was all it took. The new angle brought her right over the edge so fast that she screamed his name, clinging to him as he continued thrusting.
Thankfully, he found his release moments later, pulling her closer as he shuddered, draining himself into her.
For a long moment, they lay together, their limbs entwined, breathing hard as they slowly recovered from the passionate storm.
It was Falk who moved first. Shifting away from her, he pulled out of her body making her whimper, not wanting to sever that intimate connection. He stood up and stripped off the remainder of her clothes. Ciara blushed, suddenly noticing that they’d been so frantic that they hadn’t even finished undressing!
“We’re going to do that all over again, but slower. And I’m going to be a hell of a lot more thorough.” He kissed her nipple, then rolled off the bed. Ciara watched as he walked into the bathroom, admiring his tight butt as he moved. The man’s thighs were so muscular, he seemed to walk differently than the other men. However, she had to acknowledge that she’d never paid that much attention to how other men walk.
When he returned, there was a washcloth dangling from his fingers. She reached out, grateful for his thoughtfulness.
He shook his head. “This is my pleasure,” he told her, standing at the edge of the bed. “Spread your legs, honey.”
Ciara emphatically shook her head. She realized what he intended and scooted back.
But Falk grabbed her ankle, chuckling as he shook his head. “You weren’t inhibited a moment ago. What happened to make you try to hide from me now?’
“Falk, I can do that myself,” she told him, reaching for the cloth.
With gentle but emphatic pressure, he spread her legs. For a long moment, he simply stared at her core and Ciara watched breathlessly as his body hardened immediately. It was a fascinating process that had her mouthwatering, wanting to taste him, to take him into her mouth and drive him wild.
But she didn’t get the opportunity. Not this time. Because the warm cloth against her sensitive, pink folds startled her. He carefully, thoroughly, cleaned off the remains of their previous lovemaking. But before she realized what he was going to do, his mouth replaced the cloth.
Gasping, she arched, pressing her body against his mouth. That magical tongue of his flicked against her nub and she laughed-moaned as her fingers tangled in his hair, angling his head to direct him.
Despite the fact that she’d just experienced a glorious orgasm moments ago, Falk’s tongue and fingers brought her closer and closer to that edge all over again. Within what felt like mere moments, she was screaming her release. She was gasping for air, determined to give him the same pleasure, when he moved up her body and, after nipping at her nipple with his teeth, then soothing the tip with his tongue, he thrust into her.
His movements were slow and steady at first, as he experimented with angles and speed. Sometimes, he pulled out almost all the way, leaving only his tip within her before he thrust deeply back into her, filling her up and absorbing her groan with his mouth. And other times, he gave her short, fast bursts of speed, revving up her body so that she was so close….only to stop and have her hover there, desperate for him to finish the task.
In the end, he gave her the most blinding pleasure, both of them climaxing nearly at the same moment. And then he held her close, stroking her back as they settled into the bed together.
Ciara wanted to talk to him, to tell him that he couldn’t sleep here tonight. But before she could admonish him for thinking that it would be okay to spend the night in her bed, she was asleep, lulled by the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat against her ear.