Chapter 27 #2
“I’ve never thought about someone so much. You infiltrate every thought, and it drives me insane. I don’t know how to act around you,” he says, his mouth only inches from mine.
I swallow as his thumb strokes the hollow at the base of my neck. My pulse is erratic at his touch, my skin burning with every stroke.
He leans down, places his mouth beside my ear, and whispers, “Can we try again? Will you please have dinner with me? This time, I’ll be a gentleman. Or I can be the Prince of Darkness I imagine you secretly long for.”
My back arches at the words, and I force myself to think through the throbbing in my veins that’s slowly spreading throughout my body.
“Why should I let you?” I ask. My voice comes out rough.
“Tell me you don’t want me,” he whispers in my ear.
My pulse quickens at the thought of how badly I do want him. “I don’t,” I say, forcing my pulse to calm and my words to come out even.
“Liar,” he says, biting the lobe of my ear. The feeling of his teeth on my skin sends me into overdrive, and I gasp, resisting the urge to slam my body into his, my mouth into his, stubbornly holding onto any semblance of control that I have.
He moves his mouth away from my ear and hovers it above my lips. But he doesn’t kiss me. Instead, he whispers, “Dinner tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear the black dress again. I didn’t get a chance to bow to you in it.”
He turns and leaves, exiting the pool house, leaving me feeling flushed. That’s fine. Two can play at this game.
I leave the pool house, passing Holly and Elle again.
Elle glances from Asmo to me, a concerned expression on her face.
I shoot her a thumbs up, although I still feel like I’m slightly shaking, and she puts her head in her hands, groaning.
Holly looks confused, so I shoot her a smile and blow her a kiss, the expression on her face growing even more confused.
When I get back to the group, Asmo is sitting in his previous spot.
Instead of returning to my place between the two brothers, I walk to the pool, peeling my clothes off and stripping down to my underwear.
I use my magic to heat the pool, focusing on heating it from the ground and sending warmth to each individual stone.
Steam begins to slowly rise, and I toss my shirt over my head, revealing a lacy white bralette.
When I get to the steps of the pool, I slowly descend them, my very core feeling the warmth of the water.
I look back at the group to find everyone’s eyes already on me.
Barrett’s looking at me with a broad smile, but the rest are looking at me like they want to devour me.
The atmosphere has shifted again, and this time, desire floods the air.
Slowly, the princes rise and make their way to the pool, shedding their own clothes as they get closer.
They’re all godly in their own ways, each of them sculpted like warriors with muscles lining every inch of their bodies.
Barrett, in his black boxer briefs, makes a beeline for the drinks and brings back the entire bucket, setting it beside the pool for easy access. Mother bless him.
Koa grabs a drink before descending the steps, heading straight to me. Marik and Asmo are right behind him, both staring at me. August opts to forego the stairs, instead jumping into the deep end, splashing us all.
Koa reaches me first, smiling as he approaches. “Hey, you,” he says.
“Koa,” I say warmly, returning his smile. The water comes to his waist, exposing his perfect abs. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, feeling his arms wrap around my waist.
“Hi,” he says, but his tone and body language are holding back. I can feel the effort it’s taking him to keep his eyes on me, likely because Asmo and Marik are watching us like snakes about to strike. But I don’t care.
“I don’t blame you for the other night,” I say, looking up at him.
He sighs and says, “Thanks for saying that. But it’s hard not to feel a little guilty.”
“Can I show you how much I don’t blame you?” I ask, a smile on my face as I press my body against his.
He returns the smile and leans in to kiss me. I tighten my arms around his neck again and lean into the kiss. He pulls away before I can really get into it, and I frown a little but don’t push it.
“Alright, lady and gents,” Barrett’s voice booms. “Let’s get this party started. How about a friendly game of chicken? Winners get…what should the winners get, Mae?” Barrett asks me.
I contemplate this. There’s nothing that they lack, each of them a High Prince with everything. “Hm…How about instead of winning something, the losing team has to streak from one end of the pool to the other,” I say, beaming, feeling the alcohol and the steam rising to my head.
“You heard your Queen,” Barrett says. “Mae, whose team do you want to be on?”
I wag my finger at him. “Oh, no. That wouldn’t be fair. The teams have to be princes against princes.”
Barrett beams and divides the princes into teams: Marik and Barrett versus Koa and August, Asmo opting to sit out.
As they play, I make my way to the bucket of drinks on the other side of the pool. Before I can reach it, strong arms wrap around my waist from behind and pull me backward. I’m sitting in someone’s lap on the stairs of the pool, the water coming up to my chest.
“Hello, princess,” Asmo says against my ear, his ‘s’ sounding slithery. The sound makes me squirm against him, and he chuckles.
“I do enjoy making you squirm,” he says.
“Oh, do you?” I ask. “Is my squirming one of the things that drives you crazy?” I ask, throwing a little venom in my voice while I wiggle my ass into his lap. I feel his body respond as soon as I do, and heat fills my lower belly.
“Oh, princess, you have no idea all of the little things you do that drive me crazy.” His right hand is splayed across my lower stomach, his finger near the edge of my underwear.
“What exactly do I do that makes you crazy?” I ask him, struggling to keep my voice steady. I can feel the impressive length of his erection through the thin layer of clothes between us.
His left hand comes to trace the bottom of my bralette, and he says, “Well, for one, this is driving me crazy.” His finger grazes the lace just below my breast. His right hand drifts lower, one finger running along the edge of my white cotton underwear.
“This, in particular, is driving me insane. But watching you kiss Koa…drove me absolutely, utterly mad.”
“How insane?” I push, testing his limits as he tests mine.
He shifts, his hips pressing into me from beneath me.
“I think you know just how much,” he whispers into my ear.
I groan, feeling his length beneath me. I’m seated perfectly on top of it, and my body throbs in response.
“I can feel how you respond to me,” he whispers in my ear.
“Don’t think I can’t tell how much you desire me, too. ”
“So, you admit that you desire me?” I ask him.
“What do you think, Mae?” My name on his lips threatens to consume me. I try to turn around to face him, desperate to feel his tongue on mine, but he holds me tightly against him.
“Uh-uh,” he says, denying my nonverbal request. “You need to look like you’re sitting in my lap and only sitting here. I don’t want the other princes to see how much I make you squirm.”
Both of his hands find their way to my thighs and force them apart. He holds my thighs down while he rubs his erection against my center. The sensation feels amazing, and I let out a moan. My pulse is erratic.
“I think you do want me. And I think you hate it,” I say, focusing on my words.
He doesn’t respond to me. Instead, one of his hands releases my left thigh and wraps around my waist again, holding me tightly to him, while his other hand drifts lower and closer to my center.
He teases me, running his finger along the seams of my underwear, curling a finger and lifting the seams, but never actually touching me.
His left hand leaves my waist and wraps around my neck.
He has absolute control over my body right now.
“What do you want, princess?” he whispers against my neck.
I rock against his length, desperate to ease the tension that’s threatening to undo me, but his right hand doesn’t come any closer.
“Please,” I say, feeling close to begging.
“Tell me what you want,” he mutters against my neck, two fingers splayed across my center but neither finger touching the areas I’m desperate for them to touch.
“Touch me,” I grind out.
His left hand drifts upward and underneath the bottom of my bralette.
“Touch you here?” he whispers, his hand now underneath my bralette and cupping my breast.
I shake my head once. His thumb finds my nipple and strokes it, sending flames to my core. “Here?” he whispers again. “Or here?” he asks, his two fingers splayed against my underwear, pressing down, tightening the fabric there, and applying some pressure, but not nearly enough.
“Please, Asmo,” I say, holding back a moan.
His right hand finally cups my center. I instantly rock against it. I can hear the others across the pool shouting and celebrating as they push each other into the water, but I don’t care. All I’m focused on is the feel of him behind me, under me, and finally on me.
His finger finds that bundle of nerves, and he rubs in slow circles over my underwear. The feeling is intoxicating, and I’m struggling not to completely come undone in his arms, struggling to hold in my moans at the feeling of his finger expertly rubbing in slow, torturous movements.
“Asmo,” I groan, arching my back, but he pulls me flush against his chest, cutting off the movement.
“If I see your back arched while you’re sitting on my lap, I don’t care who’s around. I will lose what little sense of self-control I’m still holding onto,” he mutters into my ear. “Do not test me, Mae.”