Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(100)

Everything I had ever wished and hoped and thought it would be.

And then some.

Sullivan’s lips crashed into mine, and he growled and pulled me even closer so that our bodies were flush together from lips to chests to thighs. I tangled my fingers in his hair and kissed him back just as feverishly. Our lips and tongues dueled together the same way we had in the gladiator training ring, each one of us fighting for dominance, although the pleasure we brought each other made us both the victors.

Even as I kissed and kissed him, my hands trailed along his neck, then across his broad shoulders and down his muscled chest. I splayed my fingers over his heart the same way he had touched my face. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I could hear and feel the frantic beating of his heart. Or perhaps that was my own heart picking up speed with each passing second.

That first touch of our lips together ignited every single nerve ending in my body, and hot, electric desire crackled through my veins, stronger than any magier’s lightning. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anything, and I was finally going to have him.

In between kisses, I grabbed Sullivan’s jacket and tugged him backward with me. I was heading for one of the cushioned benches that lined the gazebo, but Sullivan had other ideas, and he pinned me up against one of the columns and tore his mouth away from mine. I dug my hands into his hair, feeling the silky locks slide through my fingers even as his lips scorched a path down my neck and chest.

Sullivan reached the sweetheart neckline of my dress, and he pushed the fabric aside, exposing one of my breasts. My nipple hardened in the cool night air.

His bright, fierce gaze locked with mine. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined,” he rasped.

He dipped his head and swirled his tongue around my nipple before catching it in his teeth and nibbling it gently. I gasped with pleasure, and he sucked on it hard. I gasped again, louder this time, and more of that hot, electric desire sizzled through me.

“I love it when you make that sound,” he growled.

I dug my fingers into his hair again, urging him on. Sullivan lavished attention on that breast, then exposed the other one and did the same thing to it, making more and more pleasure spike through me.

He lifted his head, and I cupped his face in my hands and crushed my lips to his. Our tongues dueled together again, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to touch him the same way that he had touched me, so I broke off the kiss and went to work on the buttons on his jacket. The second that the last one slid free, Sullivan stripped off the jacket and tossed it aside. I yanked on his tunic, and he lifted his arms so that I could pull it all the way up and over his head and off.

I tossed the shirt aside, then stared at his bare chest, which was all hard, glorious muscle, dotted here and there with white lines and a few other small, puckered scars. I ran my finger down one of the marks that cut close to his heart.

“The hazards of working for a gladiator troupe,” he explained.

“Well, then, let me kiss them and make them better.”

I leaned forward and softly kissed that scar, along with his other ones. Sullivan stood rock-still, but every touch of my lips and slide of my tongue made him tremble.

“Amazing,” I murmured. “Even your skin tastes like vanilla and spice.”

I started to kiss his scars again, but Sullivan put his finger under my chin, lifting my head. Then he dropped his hand and stepped away from me.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “Are you sure you want . . . me?”

The faint tremor in his voice made my heart ache. He wasn’t just asking about the sex. He wanted me to want him, bastard prince and all. And I did—more than he would ever know.

I stepped forward, cupped his face in my hands, and stared into his eyes. “I’ve never been more certain about anything, Sully.”

All sorts of emotions flashed in his eyes. Relief. Satisfaction. And something that was much hotter and far deeper than mere desire, something that was so intense and electric that it took my breath away.

He stared at me a moment longer, then reached down and grabbed the bottom of my dress, lifting my skirt up and out of the way. I hissed as his warm hands skimmed my bare thighs, then slid higher. He hooked his thumbs into the sides of my silky undergarments, then drew them down. I stepped out of them, and he tossed them aside. They landed in a pile with his jacket and tunic.

He dropped to his knees in front of me, grabbed one of my legs, and slowly, carefully hooked it up and over his shoulder. His gaze on mine, he reached out and stroked my soft, dark curls. I tensed with anticipation.

Sullivan gave me a wicked grin. “Let’s see how you taste, highness.”

He leaned forward, licking, nibbling, and sucking on my core just like he’d done to my breasts. Jolt after jolt of pleasure spiked through me, my entire body trembled, and I had to wrap my hands around the column behind me for support.

He stopped and looked up at me. “I love how you taste,” he growled.

He leaned forward and went to work with his mouth again, swirling his tongue around, even as he stroked me with his fingers. The pressure in my body built and built until it suddenly exploded in a fiery wave of pleasure. I groaned as the orgasm ripped through me, and my body went limp and languid.

Sullivan carefully slid my leg off his shoulder and got to his feet. He leaned forward to kiss me again, but I reached out, grabbed his shoulders, spun him around, and pinned him up against the column.