The bathroom door opens and Luke emerges. Holy mother of all that is good! He looks sexy as hell. Cotton pajama shorts rest low on his hips showing off the outline of an impressive dick. His chest is bare. His skin lightly tanned, and there’s only a dusting of dark hair on his chest and abdomen. Each muscle on him is well defined, but his abs show off just how fit he is. Each small ridge dips and flows into the next one, all the way down to a delicious V on his hips. His biceps are large and flex nicely when he combs back his hair with his hand.
His eyes meet mine and I know he caught me checking him out. There’s no way I could help it when he came out here looking like he did. This girl isn’t dead yet and is very unattached. I appreciate a fine male body when I see one. Especially when that body is of the prince I’ve been dreaming of.
He walks toward me like a wild cat after prey. His steps are graceful, yet precise. If he didn’t know the effect he has on me, he does now, because I actually start fanning myself with my hand. When I realize what I’m doing I quickly stop. Smooth move on my part. Real smooth.
Stopping only a foot in front of me, Luke peers down. My mouth goes dry and I instinctively lick my lips. His eyes flash to them, watching the movement my tongue makes.
His voice is low and rough. “Move over.”
I blink a couple of times and try to register what he said. Move over? Oh, right. I’m on the bed. I stand on shaky legs to get out of his way. His hand grips my wrist and he brings me back down to the bed.
“That’s not what I meant. I wanted you to slide over. Not leave the bed all together.”
He pulls the blankets back and insists, “Get in.” I look at him, but don’t say anything. Is he offering to sleep in bed with me? Or is he giving me the bed? I’m confused about what’s going on.
“Alison, I want you to sleep in the bed. I can take the couch downstairs.”
“The couch?” I swear it’s like I’ve never been with a man before and am a newbie. I slide into bed.
His lips quirk up on one side. “We need to sleep. I can sleep on the couch downstairs or climb into bed with you. It’s up to you. I only want you to be comfortable.”
Now I understand him. He just wants to sleep. My stupid lust-filled brain can’t even carry on a simple conversation. “I’d like you to sleep with me. In the bed!” I add quickly. “I mean you and I can share the bed.” I bury my head in my hands as embarrassment floods me. Too bad I can’t hide under the blankets.
The bed dips and strong arms and a bare chest envelope me. This is not helping in the least. He chuckles. “Ali, lie back. We’re only sleeping. Nothing more.”
Lifting my head, I look at him with what I’m sure is a face as red as a cherry and nod. I can’t speak. Who knows what would come out of my mouth if I did.
I lie back and look up at the black damask. Luke shuts the light off, pulls the fabric closed, and settles next to me. I turn my head and see he’s facing me. “Hi,” he says softly.
“Hi.”
“Roll away from me. I want to hold you.”
I do as he says. His arm reaches over me and pulls me flush against him, my back to his chest. He’s warm and smells like the soap in the shower. I wiggle in as close as possible. He starts to harden behind me, causing me to freeze. I would love nothing more to reach around and hold onto him, to explore every inch, but if that’s what he wants he wouldn’t have asked me to move.
“Relax, Ali. Sleep.”
I find a comfortable spot for my head on the pillow and eventually drift off with his warm breath on my neck, and his body encasing me in security and heat.
Ultimatum
Morning comes far too fast. I’m not sure of time anymore, since I don’t have a watch and haven’t seen a clock, which now that I think about it is a little odd. I probably just missed one. I know it isn’t the sun that wakes me since the damask is still closed. No, it’s the man behind me, nuzzling into my neck with his soft lips and coarse facial hair. And what a great way to wake up it is.
Luke’s voice is still thick with sleep. “Good morning, my princess.”
There’s something that warms in me every time he calls me his princess. His. But am I his? Or am I Oliver’s? No, I’m no one’s, even if I love hearing him say that. I’m my own person.
“Morning,” I reply.
“I wish we could stay in bed all day, but knowing my father, one of his men will soon be here banging on my door to ensure we arrive on time.” Goodbye momentary happiness, hello complete uncertainty and fear.
Groaning, I sit up and run my fingers through my hair. Hopefully it doesn’t look as frizzy as it feels. The bed moves as Luke gets up. He opens the dark fabric and light streams in. I have to squint to deal with the sudden change.
“I’m sorry,” he chuckles. “I should have warned you.”
“What time is it?”
“Time to get up.” I turn to look at him and notice he’s as sexy fresh out of bed as he is when he lies down. How is that even possible? His hair is perfectly messed.
I turn away before I start drooling. “Don’t you have a clock around here?”
“A clock?”
“It’s a way to tell time.”
“We have no need for one. My body knows when it’s time to rise. The sun guides us; we live by our bodies and what they need.”
“That’s interesting,” I mumble.
He walks to my side of the bed and opens the damask. The smile on his face is infectious. I return it with one of my own. “You’ll get used to it, Ali.”
“I don’t know. That’s if I stay.” The words slip out before I have a chance to think about them. Now we’re going to have an entire other conversation I don’t want to have.
His brows furrow. “Why wouldn’t you stay?”
I let out a breath. “Luke, this world is yours, not mine. Your father is talking about trading me to my father, like I’m nothing more than a tool to get what he wants, not a person. I don’t even know if I want to meet my father, let alone live in his kingdom. And what about Oliver? I’m just supposed to marry him if I’m made to live there?” I shake my head. “I don’t want to be forced into anything.” I’m trying to skirt the issue and not bring up the door or the key, although I have a feeling I’ll need to.
His jaw tenses and his tone is firm. “You will not have to marry that…that poor excuse for a knight! You’ll stay here, in the Azure Kingdom, with me. I won’t let them take you away.”
“What if you don’t have a choice? Your father is king, which means what he says goes. I should go back home. That would be best for everyone.”
“That would not be what’s best. I don’t want you to leave, Ali. I just found you.”
I place my hand on his arm. “Luke, this is your home, not mine. I don’t want you to have to fight with your father for me. We’ve only just met.”
“You’re worth it.”
“I’m not. I’m just an ordinary person who’s trying to find her way in life.”
“And your way led you here. Everything happens for a reason, Alison. Our dreams, finding each other, we were meant to meet. Now it’s up to us to continue on that path.”
“We can always alter the path, Luke. It’s what makes our lives our own.”
He nods. “That’s true, but in the end we’ll end up where we were always meant to be.”