Rescuing Rapunzel (31 page)

She ran her hands through his hair, fisting her fingers in it as he moved along her body, pressing kisses through the shift on the way to her chest, but careful not to touch her more intimate places, though her pebbled nipple pushed insistently against the gauzy fabric.

She arched her back, pressing her breast into his cheek, and he moaned.

“Was that wrong?” she whispered and she went rigid.

“No, Tressey. That was very right…” He let his cheek glide over the fabric on the side of her breast, and the stubble on his cheek snagged on the soft shift. He kissed the side, and she let out a moan.

The desire to taste her flesh drove him upward. Kissing the exposed flesh on her throat, he tugged at her gown, trying to reveal more skin for him to savor but the ties would not let him. He hesitated to loosen them. Tressey moaned beneath him.

“Please,” she whispered, lifting her hips.

“Are you certain?” he asked, his finger on the ties.

“I feel as if my body is full of lightning.” She tried to pull the ties loose, but they bundled into a knot.

“The same lightning burns in my skin as well,” he said as he started working the knot. In a moment, he had it loose, revealing the swell of her breasts. He kissed the skin, tasting every part of her chest.

Moving his kisses from one side of her chest to the other, Nick’s desire bubbled inside him and his ego swelled, as Tressey bucked beneath him, panting for release.

Very carefully, he tugged the shift to reveal more of her delicate skin, and as he slid his mouth to her right nipple, she let out a cry. Her body tensed, and she arched so hard, he thought for a second he had hurt her.

“Tressey?”

The growl she made would have worried him had she not grabbed the back of his head and held him to her breast again. Needing no further invitation, he kissed one side, alternating to the other, loving how she moaned and groaned beneath him.

He savored her with his mouth while he let his fingers explore her hips and the tops of her thighs. She twisted this way and that and he pressed his hips into hers, sighing at the sensation of their bodies shoved together in the most primal way.

His kisses continued downward and he bunched the gown to reveal more of her legs. She bent her knees, her hips raising into him as he touched her. Finding her hip, he let his hand slide over her, and stopped.

“Where are your undergarments?” He glanced at Rapunzel.

She blushed and looked away. “I thought it might be…easier.” She started to pull away from him.

Snagging her leg, he kept her right where she was. “Oh, it is,” he replied. “And a lovely,” he kissed the top of her thigh, “lovely,” he kissed along her leg, “lovely surprise.” Reaching the apex of her thigh, he let his lips linger, kissing her all along the crease where her thigh met her hip.

She shuddered, letting out little cries and groans as he let his hand glide over her hip while he lavished the other with kisses. Her body was warm and ready for him. Need added to her lovely scent, making her smell even more delicious.

He kissed her stomach, her hips, every part of her except the most intimate, and while he wanted more than anything to taste the divine flavor that was uniquely Tressey, he did not attempt it. Not when this was so new to her.

She pulled and tugged at the gown and he helped her slip it off. She was completely bare for him. Instantly, she twisted, covering her body from him, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

He took her hands. “You need never be embarrassed before me.”

As she looked over his chest, she pulled her hands from his grip. “You are still fully clothed.”

“That can be remedied.” Nick pushed off the bed and worked at his clothing–he had only worn a shirt and trousers, no cravats, waistcoats or extra layers. As he pulled the shirt over his head, he paused when he looked at Tressey.

She wore the most peculiar expression. “Your chest looks different than it did before.”

“When did you see my chest?” He sat on the edge of the bed.

“When you practiced at the field,” she whispered.

He ran a hand through his hair. “It seems you have learned some of my sister’s favorite pastimes.”

“Only her good ones.” With tentative hands, she barely touched the skin of his chest. She tugged at the bedding, pulling part of the coverlet over her as she examined him. When he stayed still, she caressed the skin again, feeling the texture of the hair, and the skin underneath.

He let out a breath, loving the way her fingers felt against him.

She smiled, and trailed them over his chest, drawing the lines of his pectoral muscles, down his stomach, following the hair. Each delicate stroke sent waves of fire through his body, but he held himself still because he did not wish to startle her.

“It goes all the way?” she asked.

He nodded, his desire about to burst from his trousers. She explored his stomach, then slipped a fingertip beneath his waistband. He sucked in a breath at the sensation, while other parts of him stood at attention.

A blush stained her cheeks as she grazed him, and he let out a breath. The blush on her cheeks slid down her neck, making even the tops of her breasts turn soft pink. He shuddered at the touch, sighing.

“I think it only fair,” he said, his voice a bit ragged, “that I be as naked as you.” He began to climb off the bed. “Would you like that?”

Tressey nodded.

He shucked his pants and was about to climb onto the bed next to her, but Tressey had gone very still, her eyes wide.

He knew what she saw and did not move, unsure if the sight of him would upset her.

“It looks painful,” she finally said.

He laughed. “It does not hurt.”

She stared at him a few moments more. “How do you keep it in your pants?”

“It is not usually this size. Most of the time it, uh, collapses for easier dressing.”

“So what is wrong with it now?”

“It is full of lightning too.”

“Oh.”
 

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, just…curious, I think.”

This did make Nick smile. He crawled onto the bed next to her and lay on his back. “Then by all means, my darling Tressey, satisfy your curiosity.”

She lay on her side, looking him over slowly and he felt her gaze all the way through his body. Her hand, trembling just a bit, stroked the length of his chest again. This time, not impeded by any fabric, she followed the path of the hair in the center of his chest to his stomach. She hesitated at his navel, then drifted to the side, and felt his hip, the joint of his leg and down his thigh.

“Is everything to your liking?” Nick asked.

“Everything is so warm,” she said.

“Warm?”

“Your skin is so much warmer than mine,” she said.

“Are you cold?”

“Not particularly,” she said. “You just feel hot, by comparison.”

He smiled. “I guess men are built to keep women warm at night.”

“And how do you do that?”

He rolled over and wrapped an arm around her, and pressed himself into her side. “Like this.”

As he kissed her shoulder, she shuddered, and moaned. Their bodies fit as though crafted for one another. He wrapped his hands around her, touching every part of her he could reach and she did the same, wandering over his shoulders, down his back, feeling the curve of his hips into his rear. Their hips rocked into one another and Nick moaned, aching for fulfillment.

He wedged one leg between hers, and she ground her hips into him, making him groan as he moved his leg to increase her pleasure.

“I feel as if I could ignite,” she whispered. “As if I could just burst into flames at any moment.”

He continued kissing her, letting his fingers dance over her. “Let me help you.” When he reached the apex of her thighs, she tensed, and he caressed her softly, making her buck and moan against him while he pressed kisses onto her breasts and shoulders.

“I do not…I cannot…”

“Yes you can,” he whispered. “You are free now, remember?”

She trembled and moaned as he guided his fingers along her womanly area. As the orgasm claimed her, he slipped one finger just inside her folds, and it tipped her over the edge. Tressey shook and shuddered, crying out as her body erupted in pleasure.

As she finally started to relax, his own desire was about to explode. He had never felt quite so hard and quite so ready to be inside anyone in his life.

“Oh my,” Tressey whispered, running her hand over her damp brow.

“There is more.”

She closed her eyes and opened them, an exaggerated blink. “I cannot imagine more.”

With his leg still between hers, he pushed her limp legs apart. “There is.”

He rained kisses on her face, and the light kisses turned into powerful ones again. She rocked her hips into his, and this time there was nothing between them. Skin to skin, he held her and she moaned.

Unable to wait any longer, Nick broke the kiss as he pressed into her opening. Tressey arched her body, whispering “yes” over and over as he started to slide inside her.

Forcing himself not to hurry, he entered her in fractions, watching her face as she adjusted to fit him.

“Tressey…”

“Shh,” she whispered. Her brow furrowed, making her look deep in concentration. She clutched his upper arms, letting out a soft mew as he pushed in another miniscule amount.

“Are you all right?” He stroked her cheek.

“This is a…mm…a most unusual sensation.” She arched her hips into his.

Nick let out a groan, her movement bringing him a bit deeper still. “I take it you like this?”

She smiled.

He pushed forward more, feeling the barrier of her virginity. “This will be painful at first, but the sensation will fade quickly.”

She nodded, gritting her teeth.

Nick pulled back slightly then pushed forward, a hard thrust that broke through her inner restraint. She cried out, and he froze. “Tressey?”

Tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. “Give me a moment.”

A single tear spilled down her cheek, and he wiped it away with the ball of his thumb.

“I am all right,” she finally whispered.

Nick slid back, then slowly forward, giving her time to adjust. He continued to rock gently in and out of her, though the tempo was killing him. She was tight and hot around him, and he wanted–so badly–to bury himself in her, to lose himself in her. If it took all night for her body to adjust and be ready, he would wait.

Her hips started moving in time with his, and he savored her tight, wet heat, and with each stroke, she welcomed him more. Hesitantly, he increased his pace, and she moved with him.

“More,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Nick groaned.

He pushed deeper, letting his body lead, not thinking, nor wanting to. He panted with every thrust, Tressey doing the same, her little pants coming out like cries.

She spread her legs wider, and placed her feet on his legs. He adjusted his hips to go deeper. Moaning, she dug her fingernails into his arms and arched toward him.

She cried out as she shook from completion. Nick did not stop moving against her, and with each thrust she pulsed around him, driving him to the edge of control, and beyond. He managed two powerful thrusts before he was spent as well.

He collapsed on her, sweat covering his brow. Taking in a shuddering breath, he rolled to the side, slipping his arms under her and pulling her against him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered.

Chapter 45

Today, I leave Castle Hohburg and the contract of my betrothal.

And Nick.

I paid little attention as Alda packed my meager belongings–the few dresses did not even feel like mine.

Though we had made love last night, I did not sleep well. I wanted to savor the secret moments with Nick, because I knew they were over. I had watched his chest rise and fall, took comfort in the soft snores he made as he slept and the simple fact of his presence there. Just before the dawn crept in, he awoke and we loved each other a second time–faster, more fully, more desperately than the first–because we knew as the sun came up, we would not be together much longer.

I told myself all morning, as my things were packed, that this was for the best. I needed to learn who I was and who I was supposed to be–but my leaving felt more final with every item the maid packed away and I could not stand it.

This was a good thing. I was free, not bound by a contract or a prize to be won. No matter how I reminded myself of this, I questioned my rationale.
 

Staring into the castle courtyard, I stroked the edge of the window and tried to bury my doubts.

Sometimes it is better to not think, and just do, rather than to dwell. Had not I said something like that to Penn a few days ago? It seemed logical at the time. Right now, however, it felt like foolish babbling.