Epilogue A Devotion
The ballroom felt cold, even with the roaring fire in the hearth.
Shay traced patterns on the condensation of the wineglass, ignoring the politely spoken conversations swirling around her.
Months. Months of being Princess Shay again, betrothed to Prince Jacob, months of smiles and curtsies and endless processions.
She’d anticipated it, of course. A life lived under glass, a queen expected to be seen and not… felt.
Jacob found her near the French doors, overlooking the frost-laced gardens. He didn’t speak, simply slid his hand over hers, the warmth of his touch instantly thawing the chill that had settled in her bones.
“Thinking?” he asked, his voice a low rumble against the background music.
She lifted her gaze to meet his, the familiar blue of his eyes anchoring her. “About how easily a cage can be gilded.”
He chuckled, a sound that always felt like a secret shared. “Is that so?” He tugged her gently away from the crowd, towards a smaller, seldom-used drawing room. Velvet drapes muted the sounds of the party, shutting out the performance.
A small fire crackled in the grate here, casting dancing shadows on the walls. He closed the door, the click echoing in the sudden quiet. He turned, his eyes never leaving hers.
“You needn’t perform for me, Shay.”
She managed a small smile. “I know.” She shifted, restless. “It’s just…difficult. Sometimes.”
He crossed the room in three long strides, cupping her face in his hands. His thumbs traced the delicate line of her jaw. “Tell me.”
“Everyone expects…something. A queen. A wife. Someone…pristine.” The word tasted like ash in her mouth.
He leaned closer, his breath warm against her lips. “And what do you expect, Shay?”
Her own desires felt dangerous, illicit even after their betrothal. “I… I want to feel.”
He didn’t hesitate. He lowered his head, his lips brushing against hers, a tentative exploration. She responded instantly, her hands rising to tangle in his hair. This wasn’t the chaste, polite kissing they’d indulged in before. This was a claiming. A slow, deliberate unveiling.
He tasted of wine and something uniquely him—woodsmoke and spice and a hint of the stables. She deepened the kiss, urging him closer, her fingers tightening in the thick strands of his hair. He groaned, a soft sound that vibrated against her lips.
He pulled back slightly, his brow furrowed with a question. She just looked at him, a silent plea in her eyes. He understood.
He moved with a controlled grace, his hands sliding down her arms, tracing the curve of her shoulders. He peeled off her shawl, then the delicate lace sleeves of her gown, revealing the ivory silk beneath. She felt a blush warm her skin, but didn’t pull away.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
Her hands worked at the buttons of his waistcoat, her fingers trembling slightly. He helped her, and soon, both of them were shedding the layers of formality, revealing the vulnerability beneath. The silk of her gown pooled at her feet. They stood naked, embraced, his hands hovering near her waist.
She tilted her head back, her lips parted in anticipation. He lowered himself to his knees, his gaze traveling over her body with an intensity that made her suck in a short breath.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he murmured, his voice raw.
He kissed her again, lower this time, tracing the delicate curve of her hips. Her fingers dug into his hair, anchoring him to her. He started slowly, reverently, his touch featherlight. She arched into him, meeting his touch with a desperate need she hadn’t even realized she possessed.
He explored her with a painstaking devotion, mapping the terrain of her body as if she were a sacred landscape.
Each touch, each kiss, was a revelation.
He’d been so careful, so respectful, observing the boundaries she hadn’t even known she’d set for herself.
Now, those boundaries were dissolving, melting away under the heat of his desire.
He kissed closer and closer to where the heat was building between her legs.
She moaned softly, her hands gripping his shoulders.
His touch was sending tremors through her, igniting a fire that threatened to consume her.
He deepened his exploration, his fingers following his lips, finding her wetness had already started to pool.
He kissed her there, sending pleasure up and down her body at once.
His fingers found their way inside her, slow and deliberate.
“Jacob…” she breathed, her voice barely a whisper. “What will your father… we’re not married yet. I don’t want you getting in trouble…”
“Shay,” he responded, just as breathlessly. “I see the way you ache to be touched, by them, by me. You’re safe now, you can relax now, and I can’t resist you any longer.”
He started to move, a slow, rhythmic pulse that built with each thrust of his finger.
Kisses on the front of her pussy turned to deeper licks as his fingers played inside her.
He put one finger in his mouth. “Mmm so sweet.” he said as he licked up the rest of her wetness.
He slowly kissed his way back up her body, pressing his erection into her side as he stood.
He kissed her neck, his teeth grazing her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
“Tell me what you want,” he urged, his voice husky.
She hesitated. Years of ingrained obedience fought against the burgeoning desire within her, but she couldn’t deny it any longer.” I want…I want you to take control.”
He stilled for a moment, his eyes locking with hers. He saw the vulnerability there, the hesitant plea for release. He understood.
“Lie on the chaise, bring your neck up over the armrest,” he commanded.
The authority in his voice made her shiver with anticipation. She draped her back over the armrest letting her legs stretch out on the couch.
“There. Now I get an incredible view while you can take me deep into your throat.” He stepped forward and Shay tilted her head back further, opening her mouth to allow him in upended.
He reached down and ticked her nipples with his fingers, circling them slowly and gently while Shay closed her mouth around him and allowed him to slowly thrust his hips forward and back.
“Touch yourself,” he commended. “I want to watch.”
Shay was surprised, intrigued, and excited by this new side of her prince. She didn't know he had it in him. She reached down to her already soaked heat and slowly circled her clit around and around while Jacob pushed further inside her mouth with each steady, smooth stroke.
As she fingered herself, Jacob started thrusting further and harder.
The feeling of his cock hitting the back of her open throat sent waves of pleasure down her body.
She rubbed her clit faster, spread her legs wider.
She could feel it coming. She kept going, it felt so good.
The thought of how good she knew her mouth was making Jacob feel built her even closer to orgasm.
“Oh my god you’re so sexy,” spilled out of Jacob’s mouth and those words sent Shay over the edge. She slammed her legs together and pulled off of Jacob’s cock as she came, enjoying wave after wave of pleasure.
“Oh what about the chaise? We’re making a mess,” she said sheepishly after she regained clarity.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’m not through with you yet,” he replied as he sat and pulled her on top of him.
She had to ease her way down onto him slowly due to her clenched insides from the orgasm.
Shay started slow, Jacob helping her movement with two strong fistfuls of her ass in his hands.
He increased the tempo, his movements becoming more insistent, more demanding.
She cried out, her body arching against his.
He drove deeper, filling her completely, stretching her to her limits.
She tangled her fingers in his hair again. “Oh, Jacob…”
He ignored her, his focus solely on her pleasure. He kissed her mouth, ravaged her tongue with his tongue, and then continued to thrust with a relentless energy.
She began to reach for him, to pull him closer, and tried to shift the motion and the tempo.
“Oh no you don't,” he growled, expertly flipping her and pinning her beneath him, his weight anchoring her. “My job is to make you cum, to make you forget everything but this moment. You shouldn’t always have to work for it so much.”
His words were both a reprimand and a promise. He continued to pump into her as her own pace began to accelerate, one hand gripping her hip, guiding her movements. She twisted beneath him, gasping for air, her body clenched tight around him.
“I love you,” he whispered against her ear, his voice thick with desire. He looked her right in the eyes as he continued pumping.
The words resonated through her, a shockwave of emotion. She hadn’t heard those words in a long time, but had dreamt of them frequently—but never like this. Never with such raw honesty, such consuming passion.
“I…I love you too,” she breathed, the words tumbling from her lips with a newfound conviction.
Jacob leaned down to kiss her breasts passionately, not slowing the thrusts. The admission unleashed something within Shay’s body. A searing heat blossomed in her core, building with each thrust. She cried out, her body arching against his in a desperate attempt to reach the precipice.
He matched her rhythm, intensifying his movements, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. He caught her gaze and stared lovingly into her eyes. “I want you to come for me,” he whispered.
Her muscles contracted, squeezing around him, and then—A wave of pure sensation washed over her, obliterating everything else. Her body convulsed, her breath came in ragged gasps. She clung to him, her nails digging into his back.
He groaned, his own release building, mirroring hers. And then, he too succumbed, his body shuddering with pleasure. They clung to each other, their breaths mingling, their bodies locked in a tight embrace.
They finished together, staring into each other's eyes, overwhelmed by the force of their shared passion.
Morning light bled through the velvet drapes, soft and gold, settling over the crumpled silk of the chaise and the scatter of clothes like relics of a private war. Shay stirred, bare shoulders brushing against Jacob’s chest. He was already awake, watching her.
She turned into him, fingers tracing the stubble along his jaw. No words. None needed. Last night had spoken in gasps, in moans, in the raw truth of skin and surrender.
Outside, the kingdom stirred—duties called, councils convened, the world moving as it always did. But here, in the hush of the forgotten drawing room, time had cracked open.
She sat up slowly, the thin sheet pooling in her lap. He didn’t reach for his clothes either. Just studied her, eyes warm, unreadable in the best way.
“You’re quiet,” she said.
“You were dreaming,” he replied. “Even before you woke. I could see it behind your eyelids.”
She frowned. “What was I dreaming?”
“Freedom,” he said simply. “And this.”
She looked down at her hand, still resting on the sheet. Her ring—the betrothal band forged from ancestral silver—glinted in the light. Not a cage. A choice. Hers.
He shifted, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “Today, they’ll expect the princess. Tomorrow, the queen.”
She turned to face him fully. “And you? What do you expect?”
His hand found hers, laced through her fingers.
“The same woman I’ve always loved. The girl in the stables, the woman who managed to survive again and again, the vixen who broke the rules last night.
The one who isn’t afraid to want. That’s who I married in my heart long before the crown sanctioned it. I love you, and I’ve always loved you.”
“I love you too,” Shay replied.
She smiled, small, real. Not for the court. Not for the chronicles.
For him.
And for the first time, that was enough.