Hawthorne

20

Vincent Hawthorne

“ Y ou better watch out, dear brother. You’re not the only one interested in beautiful Camilla in this manor.”

My brother’s words keep replaying in my head. Nonstop.

The whole situation is nagging me.

Just thinking of her giving someone else the same kind of attention she does with me drives me crazy.

Waiting for her in my office for hours on end with no prospect of knowing whether she will show up or not is making me want to crawl up the walls.

Is she ignoring me? She surely knows I expect her here… and soon .

My brother is long gone, and it is way past dinner time.

“Why isn’t she here?” I grit out just as my eyes catch a glimpse of the drink tray.

Whisky.

“I need a fucking drink.”

Knock. Knock.

The glass bottle clinks on the metal surface before I grunt a quick, “Come in.”

Took you long enough.

Just like I was expecting, fair-skinned and toned legs walk into my office. The steps are hesitant, but I can’t help but zone in on all of her movements like a hawk does to their prey.

A very fucking tasty prey.

Camilla’s eyes are cast down as she slowly shortens the distance between us. Too fucking slow. Just from watching her, I can feel my ears pulsing and it weirdly matches her heels, resonating the sounds inside my brain.

My muscles tighten with the sudden urge. The possessiveness… I’ll be damned.

“I wasn’t sure if I should come here, but—”

“I would have gone to you if you hadn’t.” I cut her off impatiently.

“That’s exactly what I was afraid of.” She blushes, with her eyes still locked on that bloody floor.

I know the wood is old, but it’s not that interesting.

“Come here.”

“We had agreed that—”

“You decided that on your own,” I cut her off again through gritted teeth.

My legs quickly take me to her, stopping just a few inches away, close enough to get a strong whiff of her addicting perfume. My body instantly relaxes, and I have to fight the urge to reach out to her.

It’s already a miracle she’s not stepping backwards.

“And to be honest, I tried giving you some space,” I trail off, thinking about how these last few days have been…vexing, to say the least. “Hell, I even considered respecting your choice, but I fucking can’t.”

My hand finally settles on her hip, and she startles. But she doesn’t back away. Finally, she doesn’t shy away from my touch.

“ Your Grace, ” Camilla starts, emphasising the formal way to address me. “This is too reckless.”

My hold tightens, and she gulps in response. Still not backing away. Good.

“Vincent,” I growl, pulling her hips closer to mine. “I have a name. Fucking use it.”

“We need to keep—I can’t...Oh, god.” She buries her face in her hands.

Her trembling hands are covering her face, teaming with the black curtain that is her hair. Is she crying?

That hits me like a bucket of freezing water, returning some sense.

“I’m sorry.” I am.

My hands find hers, and I cup them, willing them to stop trembling, but it’s useless. When I gently try to detach them from her face, she only allows it after the third try

“Camilla,” I call, covering her wet cheeks with my hands. I was expecting her to resist and finally move away from my touch, but instead, she leans into it and sighs. My stomach flips inside, and I can’t help the exhilarating feelings that overcome me.

It rides alongside the guilt like one of those sweet-and-sour candies. The kind that tastes like hell, but you can’t get enough of.

“I am sorry I brought you into this…For opening this bottomless pit of desire and lust that I have for you and preventing you from experiencing something lighter and…simpler. And most of all, I am sorry for allowing the way my mother and Eleanor behaved today. It was unacceptable.”

Camilla stops for a second, and then finally—fucking finally—meets my eyes. “That’s…I don’t—”

Not letting her make excuses for their behaviour, I add, “They were awful. For what it’s worth, I am truly sorry.”

I lower my head, leaning my forehead against hers.

“Why should you apologise?” she whispers, and the hot minty breath fans my mouth. I automatically lick my own lips, trying—and failing—to get a taste of her. “You’re my boss. They’re your family and my superiors, it’s—”

“Don’t say it’s fine,” I growl. “Just because we’re considered to be nobility in this country does not mean we can treat people like that. And especially not you.”

Her body warmth radiates off her into me, enveloping me in the cosiest and warmest sensations. It only makes me miss and crave her even more. With a mind of its own, my body no longer recognises what my brain is trying to remember, completely wrapping my arms around her back, forcing her full chest against my diaphragm .

Fuck yes.

“Vincent, we shouldn’t...”

“I can’t fucking help it,” I confess. “Every time I see you, all I want to do is touch you, kiss you, hold you, fuck you. I can’t stay away.”

“You have to. We have to.”

Shiny brown eyes meet mine, locking me in a trance. It’s overwhelming.

This. The closeness. It’s all I need. It provokes tingling skin, a fast heart rate, and a foggy brain.

I can’t think about anything else.

All be damned. “No.”

“You might still be king one day, and even if you’re not, Eleanor is your betrothed, and I can’t—”

“I don’t fucking care about any of that.”

Silence.

It’s a thick tension-filled silence, heavy on my shoulders as the truth of my words settles around us. I don’t want Eleanor.

Fuck it, I don’t want any of it. All I want is her.

Camilla.

My hands spread around her butt. and I hoist her up in my arms, wrapping her legs around my hips and turning around, setting her on top of my desk. She doesn’t put up a fight, holding onto my shoulders.

“I do not want to marry Eleanor, and I won’t. That’s all in my mother’s head,” I sigh. “I have been busying myself to figure out how to…”

“How to...what?” Camilla peeks from underneath her thick lashes, with a shy and hopeful expression.

“I don’t know exactly. But I’ll figure it out—eventually.”

A strand of hair falls onto her face, and I automatically grab it and place it behind her ear. The skin is smooth all over, and on her neck, underneath her ear, is no exception. I trail her skin over her jawline until it reaches her chin, tilting it up.

Breaths mix with the proximity, but instead of kissing her right away, I hover.

She wanted to stop whatever this was just a few moments before. If Camilla wants to stop this, I want to make sure I give her enough time to think and refuse me. It’s the bare minimum.

But when time stretches, and she doesn’t move back or hesitate, with her dark eyes focused on mine, I get my answer. That hesitancy floating over her before is no more, and I dive in.

The welcoming lips are silky, warm, and wet, just like every other time we’ve kissed—a trail of fire surges everywhere, jolting my body awake and craving more.

“Do you feel this?” I pant into her mouth as my hand travels down her neck to her cleavage.

She gasps when my palm presses to the middle of her chest, feeling the frantic heartbeat. It’s not just one frantic heartbeat. It’s two.

Synced as if they were one. One and the same.

“You can’t deny this. Not when I can see and feel that you’re affected by me as much as I am by you.”

My fingers spread, and my thumb slides closer, over her nipple on her breast opposite the heart side.

From under my nose, I see her skin prickle, and I stretch my hand, sliding the thumb even lower, grazing her erect nipple.

“Vincent,” Camilla moans.

The sound travels straight to my dick, and I can’t help but gulp, my throat bobbing up and down in the process.

“This is not just physical anymore. You light my body on fire while my soul stays in this dormant and peaceful state. So relaxed and vulnerable, like I’ve never been with anyone else before. And the more I learn about you, the more I want to have you around.”

“I’m not that interesting,” she counters, and I shake my head, disagreeing.

“You are. And I want you now. I’ll still want you tomorrow, and I can bet my balls I will want you for a long time…As long as possible.”

“Are you s-sure?” Camilla stutters, and if I weren’t this turned on, I’d chuckle.

“I can show you just how sure I am.” My hands find her hips, pressing them against mine as I grind my hard dick against her warm core.

So close and yet so far away.

It’s been far too long, and my body is dying to hurry up while my brain is begging to savour it. An eternal conflict I’ll be doomed to because I am sure this urge to get her naked in my bed doesn’t seem to want to go away anytime soon. Or ever.

Fucking Karma, what a bitter fate it reserved for me.

The dark wooden shades and weak office lights set the atmosphere around us, casting shadows in all the right places and making me want to rip her clothes off her, just to see more.

My lips latch onto her neck as my hands rip her blouse, making buttons jump all over. A breathy gasp hits my temple, and I growl, tugging on her pants. The roughness forces her to catch her balance on my shoulders once again. This time around, just that simple touch burns my skin—the good burning kind.

Because she seems less and less hesitant to touch me each time I do something.

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

There’s a weak whimper, and I can’t help but tighten my hold on her.

“Words, little Milla .”

“Yes.” I’ve died and gone to heaven.

No stuttering. No hesitating. That was a strong and assured yes.

Stealing her a glance, I see her face relaxed with her eyes completely closed as I continue to grind our cores together.

“How do you want it?”

“Huh?” Her eyes wide snap open in a second.

“I'll let you choose tonight. How do you want it?”

“I don’t...know.”

“You've got to have something you've always wanted to try,” I suggest.

Crimson cheeks and an evasive look. She surely has something.

“Oh, I’ve got to know now,” I smirk.

“It’s nothing crazy, but...never mind.”

“Camilla,” I growl, picking her up in my arms before having her sandwiched between me and the wall. “I missed you, and I am way too fucking turned on by you to just let you go. What. Do. You. Want ?”

“This,” she gasps, and her eyes roll back when I grind against her one more time.

My cock twitches at the sight. Why? Everything.

Everything this woman does is fucking erotic.

Cooking? Check.

It makes me want to bend her over that old kitchen island and fuck her until she’s begging me to stop. Or lay her on it and feast on her body like she’s fucking dessert.

Professionality? Check.

Watching her plan, prepare, and keep things in order, knowing I don’t have to worry because it’ll be done properly is a turn-on because she’s not only competent and trustworthy but intelligent and effective.

But most of all, being able to throw her off like this, to make her as vulnerable as she does me. Knowing that she needs me as much as I need her is too fucking addictive.

Shallow breaths. Flushed skin. Wild hair. Hooded eyes.

A sight for sore eyes.

“Do you want me to fuck you against the wall?” I murmur into her neck.

She nods affirmatively.

“Should I have my clothes on or off?” I kiss her collarbone.

“On,” she moans, and I groan.

She’ll be the death of me.

Say no more. Holding Camilla with one hand, I unzip my pants and free my erection from the painful constriction it was in. Then I feel the shelves until I find the one where my wallet is placed and take a condom out.

The moment it’s on, I rub the head on her opening, soaking it with her essence before thrusting up inside. Gurgling sounds leave my throat as she moans loudly at the feeling.

Warm, humid, and ridged walls engulf me in silky bliss, taking me into another dimension—one where only the two of us exist, without responsibilities or expectations.

“Fucking hell, I’ve missed this.” I pant, moving again.

Languid strokes, enjoying the way she takes everything in.

“This is w-wrong,” she mutters weakly.

Really? Is she growing a conscience again? After asking me to fuck her against the wall?

My hips thrust harshly, and she gasps, her eyes opening in a flash, startled. With fire in my own, I lock our eyes together in an intense stare.

“Is it?” I growl as one of my hands settles well under her ass and the other travels up to her neck. “Because it feels too fucking right.”

Another harsh thrust, and I take the opportunity to wrap my hand around her neck and squeeze just a little bit, making her moan louder.

The tingling is coming, the tremors are spreading, and I know I won’t last much longer. Not this time around.

“Camilla, darling,” I moan, sliding out and right back in.

“But we don’t belong together,” she moans just as I slide out of her.

I freeze. The fuck did she just say?

My body burns inside, rage spreading through my veins like thunder. Not getting it under control, I thrust even harder. Once, then twice. She moans in delight, a stark contrast to her cruel words.

Out again. Then in. Slowly but roughly.

“Is that what you feel when I am right here, deep inside you?” I growl, squeezing the hold around her neck once more.

“You’ve said it,” she gasps. “We’re worlds apart, Vincent.”

“And yet,” I start in a pant. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here, buried deep inside you.”

“Oh, god.” Her soft mewls spur me as I continue my assault. “Right there, right there.”

And momentarily, lost in the moment—lost in her—I forget about her words and the world outside these four walls and fuck her. First, hard against the wall until she’s clawing at my shirt and yelling my name, then slow and sweet in the bed before pulling her to a relaxing bath with me.

Just like that, everything that happened in the past week has been forgotten.

All the complications, all the problems.

The night goes by far too fast, not giving me enough time to learn everything I want to learn about her, making me plan more ways to spend time with her. There’s a feeling that the more I dig, the worse it’ll be for me and my heart in the long run. But it’s too late.

We’re far too connected to sever the bond now.

We would still be, even if we hadn’t given in. Because every moment spent with her—fucking, making love, talking, or arguing—is just another memory to add to the reason why we’re far too tethered. My heart has been pounding its way out of my chest for her long before I had even set my eyes on her all these weeks ago.