In the Flesh (26 page)

“It’s too late for you,” he growled.

Her lips twitched. “I love you, my arrogant prince.”

“Much better. Now smile and show my father how thrilled you are to become my wife.”

She turned her gaze to the double-doors that led to the king’s wing of the palace.

It was time to face Wulfric’s family.

Fingers linked with Wulf’s, Sapphire entered the informal receiving room, a part of the palace she’d not been allowed to see before.

Sunlight flooded the intimately sized chamber and illuminated the dark-haired man who stood within a golden halo. The royal palace in Sari was beautiful and many centuries old. The D’Ashier palace was much newer, using more advanced technology in the design, which allowed the use of massive windows without compromising security or cooling efficiency. The walls were made of a beautiful white stone, heavily decorated with multicolored jewels of all shapes and sizes.

Sapphire fought the urge to spin around and gape in wonder at the magnificence of the home—a residence that was now her home as well. She
promised herself to explore every millimeter of it at her first opportunity.

Turning her attention to the sovereign who awaited them, she tensed against her will, feeling a profound pressure to make this meeting pleasant for Wulf’s sake.

The King of D’Ashier was impressive. A handsome man, every bit as virile and healthy as his sons, both of whom looked so much like him. Tall, dark, and barrel-chested, he was formidable, a monarch who easily commanded respect with the force of his presence alone. The lines of strain around his mouth and eyes didn’t diminish him, but they did betray how he felt about the news Wulf had broken to him earlier.

Sapphire was about to prostrate before him when her movement was checked by Wulf’s hand at her elbow. She shot him a quizzical glance.

He shook his head.

“Don’t start me off on the wrong foot,” she protested.

“Father.” Wulf raised his voice. “I have advised Katie to curtsey, as befits her new position.”

The monarch’s full mouth, so like Wulf’s, thinned. “You’ll do whatever you like, as usual.”

She hid a wince and curtsied. “Your Majesty.”

The king studied her carefully, from her head to her toes. “I think my son is wrong about you. But Wulfric is stubborn and does as he pleases. I have to trust that he will manage you when that becomes necessary.”

“I love him. He is the most important thing in my
life. I will do everything in my power to keep him safe and happy, and to make him proud.”

Sapphire wasn’t surprised that Wulf’s father said nothing and continued to look at her with enmity, but it still hurt. Her grip on Wulf’s hand tightened.

“Excuse us, Father,” Wulf said, his voice harsh. “Katie and I need to make arrangements for our
shahr el ’assal
. We will be leaving after breakfast tomorrow.”

“Wulfric.” The monarch’s voice carried a note of steel. “You are the Crown Prince. The people want a union they can celebrate, one that would strengthen them. Not one certain to take them to war.”

“The binding is done, Father,” Wulf reiterated. “Certified in the interstellar records for all to see. You may arrange a reception with dignitaries and other important persons, if you like. Hell, arrange a second wedding if you want the people to celebrate. Choose whatever day you like, but the marriage stands.”

Sapphire was stiff. She felt the corresponding response in Wulf, he was so attuned to her.

The king’s face reddened. “This is intolerable.”

“We appreciate your felicitations,” Wulf said dryly, leading her away. “Good night.”

“That was horrid,” she whispered as they exited the room.

He squeezed her hand. “Lucky for you, I’m worth it.”

She leaned into him. “I hope you think I’m worth it.”

“You’re worth far more to me. I’d fight any war for you.”

As they walked the length of hallway toward their rooms, she asked about Prince Duncan, knowing that was yet another battle he would face to be with her. “Why wasn’t your brother with the king?”

After a brief explanation of the drafting, he said, “By all accounts he has adapted to military life. He’ll be commissioned First Lieutenant soon.”

“Your punishment hasn’t adversely affected his feelings for you?”

“At first, it did,” Wulf admitted. “Basic Training is difficult and he was singled out by my order for the harshest assignments. Now, he says he appreciates my decision.”

“Will he resent me?” Sapphire had her own resentments to overcome and doubted her ability to do so, even for Wulf’s sake. She’d found no redeeming qualities in the young prince.

“No more than you do him, I imagine.” His fingertips caressed the center of her palm. “He understood when I sent him away how important you are. Everyone will afford you the respect you deserve or they will answer to me. I assure you, no one is eager to try my patience. Duncan especially.”

Later that night, Sapphire slid from their bed and padded over to the massive windows overlooking the capital below. She stood there, shadowed in darkness, and wondered if she was up to the task she’d accepted by agreeing to become a royal consort.

She’d dreamed of the happiness inherent in claiming Wulfric as hers and hers alone, but she’d naïvely considered him only as a man, not as a monarch. She saw him as her lover, but the rest of the world revered him as a fierce crown prince, a warrior whose skills
were legendary. She was a match for the man. Was she equal to the king he would become?

“I love you,” Wulf murmured, his warm arms wrapping around her from behind.

Wondering—not for the first time—how a man of his size could move so silently, she leaned into him and asked, “And love conquers all?”

“You’re damn right it does. You can’t change your mind now. You made it clear that I couldn’t have you as anything other than my wife. I made the commitment, now it’s your turn.”

“You don’t have to sound so disgruntled about it,” she protested.

“Disgruntled? Katie, I knew that night in Akton that I was going to propose to you. If your father hadn’t interceded, we could have been spared a lot of suffering. After six weeks of torture, I have a right to be
disgruntled
with you.”

He tugged her away from the window. “Come back to bed. I can’t sleep when you’re not next to me and we have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. You’re going on a honeymoon tomorrow,” she teased, following him.

“I’m taking you to my favorite place in the universe. I’m going to lay blankets on the sand and make love to you under the stars. I’m going to fuck your luscious body until you can’t move, can’t think of anything but me and how much I love you. And how much you love me back.”

She smiled. “Do I have to wait until tomorrow?”

Wulf swept her off her feet and carried her back to bed.

Chapter 19

They raced across the desert with reckless abandon.

As the
skipsbåt
skimmed the desert dunes at high velocity, Katie clung tightly to Wulf’s waist and laughed with joy. The cooling wind whipped through their hair and the setting sun glimmered off the shifting sand. Their hearts light, they hurtled through the air to the spot where he’d promised to take her.

This oasis had always been Wulf’s favorite place, his retreat where he rested when winding down. After tonight, it would be “their” place, their shared escape from the problems of the world, a refuge for their love when the demands of their lives became too great.

Guardsmen were all around them, flying alongside in various antigrav-crafts. Ahead, the oasis was encircled with soldiers, the scene already set to his specified design. But all would keep their distance, allowing Katie and him the illusion that they were utterly alone.

Just the two of them in a world of their own.

As he heard her delighted laughter, Wulf sped
up, anxious to hold her and revel in the fact that she was finally his.

The sand undulated gently in the firm breeze. He loved their planet and his beautiful country, almost as much as he loved the woman destined to share both with him. They crested the next rise and he heard her exclaim in wonder. He smiled. Their destination stretched out before them, an oasis kilometers wide with a rare spring-fed pond in the center and lush greenery all around, a verdant haven in the midst of the sweltering desert. A white tent fluttered in the zephyr, shielding their food and bedding inside.

Wulf slowed to a halt and released the handlebars to cup her hands, now resting on his thighs. “What do you think?”

“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed. “Oh Wulf, I think it’s my favorite spot in the universe, too.”

He twisted around to look at her. Her cheeks were flushed from the ride, her dark eyes shining with happiness and love, her lips moist and parted in a beautiful smile. Wulf slid off the bike and caught her to him, spinning her around in his delight at being alone with her. She threw her head back, laughing, and he laughed, too, knowing he was grinning like a besotted youth and feeling as carefree as one. For tonight, at least, there would be no danger, no tension, no work. Tonight, there was only Katie.

He knew she was hurt that there had been no reception, no joyful family dinner. She’d had to tell her parents about her marriage after the fact, an announcement that had been met with tears and distress. But he was determined to make her forget
all the unpleasantness, to make her so happy that such things were mere inconveniences in a life otherwise filled with his love for her.

Wulf set her down and they ran to the pond, tearing off their clothes and diving into the sun-warmed water in unison. Katie laughed like a mischievous water nymph while she splashed him. He dove under the surface to catch her about the waist. The talgorite that adorned her piercings glittered in the water, and unable to help himself, he took her smiling mouth, drinking her in when she opened for him.

Katie embraced him and he groaned, madly in lust with her. Her legs came up, wrapping around his waist, and he thrust his hips into her softness. Her mouth parted from his and she licked along his jaw, murmuring hot, erotic words. He knew from her tone and her touch that she wanted to be in control and he was helpless to deny her.

“Carry me to the shore,” she whispered in her throaty voice. He did as she asked, moving with swift strides.

Wulf laid her gently atop the profusion of blankets, then lowered his body over hers. She caught him close and rolled, taking him with her until she was on top.

She straddled his hips, smiling. “My prince,” she cooed, her fingers caressing his chest and drifting across his nipples. “How I love your body and the pleasure it brings me.”

“Katie.” He groaned. She tortured him daily and he loved it, wanting her attention to remain focused on him forever. The enjoyment she received from
his body was as valuable to him as the pleasure he found in hers.

She lowered herself until her nipples pressed against his chest. She moved, wriggling until the head of his cock was lodged at the slick entrance to her body.

“See how ready I am for you?” she whispered against his mouth. “How wet you make me just looking at you?”

Her lips left his as she slid lower, sheathing his aching dick within her lush pussy.

His eyes slid closed on a ragged groan as pleasure burned through him with potent force. He shuddered, his love for her and their recent vows making the moment all the more devastating.

“Watch me.” She rose, using her weight to anchor her, her denuded labia clinging to the base of his cock. “Watch me ride you.”

“Katie.” As he watched her with heavy-lidded eyes, his fingers flexed restlessly. “You’re killing me.”

She lifted her hips, her gaze locking on the place where they joined. He rose up onto his elbows, and his eyes followed hers, seeing his cock glistening with her juices as it slipped from her body. Katie moaned his name before sheathing him again. “You feel so good.”

“Witch.” The sensation of heat, so hot, deep inside her was driving him mad. He, a man who had once fucked for hours without strain, was on the verge of exploding after only a few strokes. Because he loved her, and had no defenses against her.

And she knew it. He could see it in her eyes.

Wulf gritted his teeth, his fists clutching the
blankets. She rode him with brilliant skill and excruciating leisure, her head downcast, watching as she impaled herself on his throbbing cock again and again.

“I love the way you feel inside me.” The awed note in her voice made him agonizingly hard and thick. “I love the way you fill me.”

“I was built for you.” Sweat dampened his hair. She began to move on him with feverish, violent passion, their thighs slapping together as she took him without restraint. “Made for you.”

“You’re mine,” she gasped, her nails raking his chest. “Mine.”

“Yes.” His muscles grew taut as pleasure seared him, swift and sweet. He’d been hers the moment he first saw her from the healing chamber.

Raw, carnal words poured from her mouth, goading his lust until he was mindless with the need to spill inside her. His balls were drawn tight and aching, his fingers cramping from their grip on the blankets. “Katie…”

“Me first.”

Her hands moved from his chest to dip between her thighs. She began to rub her clitoris in time with the frenzied thrusting of her hips, the talgorite in her promise ring catching the light of the torches around them. The ripples started inside her, the first signs of her pleasure, and Wulf took control with a snarl, rolling them over and pumping savagely into her, swelling further, stretching her until she screamed his name into the desert night.

When Katie settled limp and pliant beneath him, Wulf slowed, relishing the tiny pulses that rippled
through her sated pussy. Stroking slow and deep, he gentled her, even as he built his own desire to a raging need.

Her fingertips brushed across his knee. “Wulf…?”

“I’m not done,” he bit out, rolling his hips as he pushed into her. She was tighter after her orgasm. Hotter. Plusher.

She stretched, arching her ripe body like a gift. The sight of her made his chest ache. “I’m all yours.”