Chapter 24 #2
After the ceremony came a three-day banquet. Nobles clustered together, drinking and laughing.
I was surrounded by noble ladies making conversation. Cedric got cornered by several elders discussing politics. He looked miserable.
Sometimes our eyes would meet across the crowd. He'd give me a reassuring smile or make a funny face that made me laugh.
After about two hours, I started feeling tired. I'd had no rest all day. Just as I was looking for an excuse to leave, Cedric appeared at my side.
"My apologies, ladies." He spoke politely. "I need to be alone with the Queen for a moment."
"Of course, Your Majesty." The ladies dispersed tactfully.
He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the hall.
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing." He didn't even look back, walking faster.
"Then why are you in such a rush—"
"I missed you." His voice was urgent.
"We've been together this whole time."
"That's not the same." He stopped abruptly, spun around, and pinned me against the wall. Golden eyes burned with desire. "I want you, Alice. I'm going insane. This whole time, I haven't heard a single word they said. All I could think about was you."
Heat flooded my face. "But the banquet isn't over..."
"Let them continue." He kissed me hard, voice rough. "I can't wait anymore."
"Mmm..."
His kiss was wild and fierce, his tongue invading my mouth, taking everything.
"Cedric," I gasped, pushing him. "This is a hallway. Someone will see!"
"Then we'd better get to the room fast." He swept me up in his arms and strode toward the bedroom.
"Hey!" I yelped, grabbing his neck. "Slow down!"
"Can't." He ground out. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to kiss you, to have you, watching you in that dress all day, so damn beautiful."
He kicked the bedroom door open, turned back to lock it, then tossed me onto the bed.
I sat up, watching him approach step by step. My heart was about to explode.
"Isn't it bad to just leave the banquet like this? Won't the nobles talk..."
"Let them talk." He leaned down, hands braced on either side of me, caging me in. "Right now, all I want is you."
His kisses trailed down—collarbone, chest. My head fell back. My breathing grew ragged.
"Cedric..." I clutched his collar. "Slow down..."
"Can't." He looked up, eyes full of hunger. "Do you know how long I've waited for this day?"
My body went soft as water, collapsing onto the bed. I wanted him too. I was going crazy with it.
Cedric began unlacing my wedding gown. "And you were so beautiful today. So beautiful I couldn't control myself."
The gown's complicated laces came undone under his hands one by one. His hand cupped my breast, rough thumb dragging across, sending electric shocks through me.
"Ah..." I couldn't help the soft cry.
"Still so sensitive." He grinned wickedly, thumb circling the peak. "Alice, you want me too, don't you?"
His other hand slid down, slipping between my thighs.
"Already so wet for me," he murmured against my skin, fingers finding me slick and ready. "Tell me you want this."
"I—" My breath caught as he circled slowly, deliberately. "Yes. God, yes."
He made a low, satisfied sound and captured my mouth again, swallowing my moans as his fingers worked me open. I arched into his touch, desperate for more.
"Cedric, please—"
His voice was dark, teasing. "Use your words, Alice."
"I need you. Now."
That snapped something in him. He stripped away the rest of my gown with far less care than before, fabric pooling on the floor. His own clothes followed in a rush of movement until we were skin to skin.
He lifted me easily, carrying me to the window. Cool glass pressed against my back as he hoisted me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.
"Hold on to me," he commanded, and I locked my arms around his neck just as he thrust inside.
The stretch made me gasp. He filled me completely, buried deep. For a moment, we both went still, foreheads pressed together, breathing hard.
"Fuck, Alice." His voice shook. "You feel incredible."
Then he started moving—slow at first, letting me adjust, but quickly building into a driving rhythm that had me crying out with each thrust. The window rattled behind me. Anyone in the gardens below could probably hear us, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
"Louder," Cedric growled against my throat. "I want everyone to know who you belong to."
He shifted the angle and hit something devastating inside me. I threw my head back with a sharp cry, nails digging into his shoulders.
"That's it." His fingers tightened on my hips, sure to leave bruises. "Let go for me."
The pressure built impossibly high. When it finally broke, pleasure crashed through me in waves. I shattered around him, his name torn from my throat.
He didn't stop. Didn't slow. He fucked me through it until I was boneless and shaking, then carried me to the desk, sweeping everything off with one arm. Papers and candlesticks clattered to the floor.
He laid me out across the polished wood and pulled my legs over his shoulders, diving back in with renewed hunger. This angle went even deeper. I could only hold on and take it, my fingers scrabbling for purchase on the desk's edge.
"So perfect," he panted, watching where we joined. "Made for me. Only me."
"Only you," I echoed mindlessly. "Always—ah!"
He found that spot again and worked it mercilessly, thumb pressing down on the bundle of nerves above where he moved. The dual sensation was overwhelming. Too much. Not enough.
"Come for me again," he demanded. "I want to feel it."
As if my body existed only to obey him, the tension coiled tight and released. I came with a broken sob, clenching around him so hard he cursed and followed me over with a few more erratic thrusts.
Heat flooded inside me. He collapsed forward, bracing himself on his hands so he wouldn't crush me, both of us gasping for air.
"Alice," he murmured, pressing kisses to my face, my throat, anywhere he could reach. "My Alice."
Before I could catch my breath, he pulled out and flipped me over, bending me across the desk. I heard him drop to his knees behind me.
"What are you—oh god!"
His mouth was on me, tongue licking through my folds, tasting our combined release with obscene enthusiasm. The wet sounds made me flush hot all over.
"Cedric, you don't have to do this."
"I want to." He pulled back just long enough to speak before diving back in, hands spreading me wider. "Want to taste every part of you. Want to make you come on my tongue."
He worked me with single-minded focus, alternating between broad strokes and targeted flicks that had my thighs trembling. When he pushed two fingers inside and curled them while sucking hard on my clit, I came apart with a wail.
He didn't let up until I was begging, oversensitive and shaking. Only then did he stand, turning me around and kissing me deeply so I could taste us both on his tongue.
"Bed," he said roughly. "Now."
We barely made it. He had me pressed against the wall three steps from the door, hiking my leg up and sliding back inside with a groan.
"Can't get enough of you," he muttered, hips snapping forward. "Never enough."
I clung to him, nails dragging down his back hard enough to leave marks. Good. I wanted him marked the way he was marking me. Wanted everyone to know he was mine.
"Love you," I gasped out between thrusts. "Love you so much."
"Show me." He gripped my jaw, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Show me how much."
I pulled him into a searing kiss, pouring everything I felt into it—all the love, the gratitude, the desire, the joy. He made a choked sound and his rhythm faltered, thrusts going erratic.
"Alice, I'm—"
"Me too. Together."
We came in tandem, clutching each other desperately. My vision whited out. When I came back to myself, we were sliding down the wall to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Cedric pressed his face into my hair, still trembling. "I love you, Alice."
I stroked his back weakly. "Love you too."
Eventually, he gathered enough strength to carry me to the actual bed. We made it there just before my legs gave out entirely. He laid me down gently and crawled over me, kissing me slow and sweet this time.
"More?" he asked, though his eyes already held the answer.
I pulled him down. "More."
That night, he took me again and again. Each time tender yet wild.
From the bed to the wall. The bathroom to the window. He seemed determined to make up for months of longing, like he wanted to fuse our bodies into one.
When dawn broke pink across the horizon, we finally stopped. He held me close, gently cleaning my body, then tucked the blankets around us.
"Sleep," he whispered, kissing my forehead.
"Good night..." I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open.
"Good night. I love you, Alice."
"Love you too, Cedric..."