Chapter Five
Dominic
I have never once slept with a client. I’ve never been tempted. I certainly never imagined I’d be tempted by the woman I internally thought of as the Ice Princess.
But as I gaze down into Sophaya’s upturned face, I know I’m just inches away from breaking my one rule. I’ve learned more about her in the last two hours than I learned in all the dossiers and articles I read, more than all the time I spent guarding her at conferences and balls.
She’s much more than I expected. And that, coupled with her stunning beauty, is tempting me to sin.
Beneath the royal exterior is an intelligent, caring woman. One with complex layers I can’t help but be fascinated by. I date, but I’ve always kept things brief, focused on the physical.
Yet as I watch her watching me, I accept there’s something more than just physical attraction here.
She’s unpredictable, yet when it comes to taking up the crown her brother threw away, she’s doing what’s necessary.
Her interest in medicine, her genuine heartbreak at having that career taken from her, her kindness to Maryanne, all swirl together into a fierce storm that threatens to pull me deeper.
I recognize her, a lonely soul who shows the world one face while hiding the other.
A connection I’ve never experienced with a woman.
And the way she’s looking at me right now with raw desire in those navy blue eyes…
Fuck.
I’ve never wanted a woman this much. Have never been attracted to one so deeply it aches to not be touching her.
What if I want you to? She’s killing me. “It wouldn’t be right.” I turn and walk into her suite. I just need to put distance between us. Get out of her room and go back to mine.
“Why not?”
My laugh comes out strangled as I head for the door. “You’re my client.” I reach it. Wrap my fingers around the handle. One turn, a few steps, and I’m out the door.
I tell myself to do it. Turn the handle. Leave.
Instead, I look back over my shoulder.
She shouldn’t look so good in a simple sweater and leggings.
She’s not even wearing makeup, I think irritably.
Her hair is still damp from her shower, hanging in wet, dark ringlets around her elfin face.
The light pink of her top makes her look so young, innocent, a stark reminder of the fourteen years between us.
But there’s nothing innocent about the way those black leggings hug the curves of her hips, follow the long lines of her legs down to her bare feet.
Her tongue darts out, flicks over her full bottom lip. I groan as I imagine her tongue on me. On my chest, my abs, my cock.
“I told myself tonight I was going to pretend to be just a woman.” She breathes in, the sound echoing throughout the cavernous room. “No crown, no title.”
She looks at me with such boldness it traps the air in my lungs. Yet beneath the boldness is a hopeful sweetness, a hope I’m suddenly afraid of smothering.
I meant what I said in the gondola. I will never get married.
Will never promise a woman love and all the trappings that come with a ring.
Not after seeing the hell that was my parents’ marriage.
Not after being trapped in that foster home where every so-called gesture of affection came with conditions and expectations.
Loving someone means surrendering control.
Every time I’ve done that, I’ve been ripped apart.
Did you find what you were looking for?
Sophaya sees me. Sees past the walls into parts of me I’ve kept buried in the dark for decades. That should be a warning. But now, in this moment, it only makes me want her more.
“I can’t offer you more than one night. And after tonight, we would be bodyguard and client for the remainder of my contract.”
Triumph gleams in her eyes. “I’m only asking for one night.” She sucks in a breath, the motion making her pert breasts rise and fall beneath the fabric of her sweater. “Will you pretend with me?”
No. “Yes.” I try to keep my breathing controlled, to keep my heart from pounding. “Birth control?”
“I’m on the pill.”
“Are you okay with just that?”
My words register, and her lips part. “I’d like that. I’ve only been with one person, and we always…” A blush steals over her cheeks. “Always used a condom.”
“As have I.” The thought of taking her, of being the first man to take her bare, has me struggling to keep a grip on my control. “I haven’t been with anyone since before I started working with you. My last test was clean.”
Her eyes gleam. “As was mine. So what are we waiting for?”
I nod once, watch as she turns and closes the doors to the balcony before walking over to the wall and flipping a switch. The room goes dark, lit only by moonlight and the lights of the Grand Canal filtering through the gauzy curtains.
I don’t know how long we stand there staring at each other. But when she takes the first step toward me, my restraint shatters. I cross the room, my heart thudding in my chest. I wrap my arms around her, yank her small, slender frame against me and lower my head. Our lips meet.
And my world explodes.
We rip at each other’s clothes. The woman I once thought of as a prim, proper princess grabs the edges of my shirt and yanks. Buttons scatter as she places her hands on my bare chest. Her sharp inhale is like music.
I fist my hands in her sweater and yank it overhead, make quick work of her bra before I fill my hands with her breasts. She moans as she yanks my shirt out of my waistband. Her fingers fumble with my belt, then still as her head drops back on a long moan when I suck one taut nipple into my mouth.
We’re both fevered. Desperate. I try to slow down, but I can’t. My hand splays across her back as I devour her.
She pulls my belt loose. Grabs my zipper and pulls it down, slides her hand past the waistband of my briefs. My chuckle turns to a low-throated growl as she wraps her fingers around my cock. I raise my head from her breasts, reach down and capture her wrist.
“Next time.”
Her eyes widen. “Next time?”
I pull her back against me. Her naked breasts press against my chest as I twine my fingers in her hair and tighten until she’s caught in my grasp. The tip of my cock presses against the heated flesh of her stomach just above the waistline of her leggings.
“You agreed to one night.” I brush my lips over her, savor her moan. “Not one time. Until the sun rises, Princess, you’re mine.”
Sophaya
Heat burns through me a split second before Dominic crushes his mouth to mine.
I’ve never been wanted like this, desired. Louis is the only other man I’ve been with, and our few encounters were never like this. Dominic isn’t seducing me for my crown, for wealth or a title. He made that clear, which means he wants me right now for me.
Empowered, emboldened, I let out a shuddering gasp as I move my hand up and down his hard length.
He grabs my hands, drowning out my moan of protest with another drugging kiss before he pulls back long enough to rip his pants off.
My head spins as he kneels before me, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my leggings and pulling down.
Now there’s nothing between us but heated skin as he leans down, sweeps me into his arms and carries me to the bed. The feeling of his muscled arms wrapped around me, his heart pounding beneath my palm, sends me soaring higher as I lean down and place an open-mouthed kiss to his neck.
His groan vibrates in his throat. “Careful,” he warns.
I laugh as I do it again, tasting the salt on his skin. “Or what?”
A shriek escapes as he dumps me onto the bed, followed by a laugh that dies on my lips as he moves over me with an athletic prowess that makes my thighs clench. He cups a hand over my mound.
His eyes darken as he slides one finger up and down my slit. “You’re so wet.”
My chest heaves as I struggle to draw breath. “You like that?”
“I love it.” He wraps his hands around my ankles, pulls me closer to him. “I need to taste you. Now.”
Before I can say anything, before I can even think, he lowers himself to the bed and places his mouth over me.
I cry out, arch up into his tongue as my hands fist the sheets.
The cool, smooth silk is a stark contrast to the heat of Dominic’s mouth as he ravages me.
He tastes every inch, tongue and teeth pulling me higher and higher until I come apart.
I tangle my fingers in his thick hair, arch my hips up as I pull him closer, sob his name out as lightning ripples through my body.
Slowly, I drift back down to earth. I’m dimly aware of Dominic shifting, moving himself over me and settling his big, hard body between my thighs. His fingers brush a strand of hair out of my face with surprising tenderness a moment before he presses his cock against me.
I just found my release. But the sensation of his thick length against me sends a greedy need spiraling through my veins. My hands drift up to his hips.
“You should be inside me.” I smile up at him. “Or is that too close to an order—”
He slides inside me, fills every inch of me with his hardness. I cry out, pressing myself against him as I wrap my arms around him.
Once he’s fully sheathed inside me, he leans down and brushes his lips over mine. “That’s one order I don’t mind following.”
I love it when he growls, like he’s on the verge of losing control.
He starts to move, long, slow strokes just like I imagined.
But my fantasies are nothing compared to the reality of him moving inside me, nothing compared to the sweetly sensual sensation of us moving together.
Pressure builds inside me until it bursts.
Dominic buries my cries with his mouth, kissing me as I crest once more.
Moments later he tenses. His body hardens as his warmth spills inside me.
Slowly, Dominic lowers himself down to the bed, then eases off me. I mentally prep for him to roll away and grab his clothes. But instead, he slides one arm across my waist and pulls me closer against him, gently nuzzles my neck as he lets out a satisfied sigh.
I blink back tears. It was never like this with Louis. Ever. Even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined that sex could be so enjoyable, so incredible.
I know it can never be more than one night. But for one moment, I wonder what if. What if Dominic were a relationship kind of guy? What if we had three nights, a month, a year? What if I could simply be a woman and not the future queen of Siravelle?
I trace my fingers up and down his sweat-slicked back. What-if’s are meaningless. I’m not going to waste my one night worrying about the future. Slowly, I turn my head, startled when I find Dominic watching me. He leans in, brushes his lips across mine. I sigh as his cock hardens against my thigh.
One night.
I’ve already broken my vow to stay away from Dominic, to not cross a line with my bodyguard. I’m going to indulge in every hedonistic desire I have until sunrise.
I plant one hand on Dominic’s shoulder and push him on his back.
Before he can protest, I roll over and straddle him.
I love watching the flare of fire in his eyes as I plant my hands on his chest, the rough hair scratching against my palms. I place my core on top of his cock.
Moan as I slide myself up and down his hard length.
“You did say all night, Mr. Hawke.”
His hands clamp down on my hips.
“A promise I have every intention of keeping,” he murmurs before he arches his hips up and drives deep inside me once more.